There are numerous benefits of summer camp, including these: 

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When deciding to send your child to summer camp, you’ll likely factor in practical factors as well as some social ones. And, here’s one of the most practical reasons to send your child to summer camp: you need to work to support your family and you want your child to be in a safe, educational environment. So, you might as well choose someplace where your child can also have a fun adventure! 

Here are more reasons why sending your child to summer camp makes good sense. 

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“Summer break may be only about 10 weeks long, but during that time kids can forget a lot of what they spent the previous nine months working hard to learn. Recent studies have shown that kids can lose up to two months' worth of reading and math skills over summer vacation—and that means teachers have to spend precious classroom time each fall bringing them up to speed.” (Parents.com)

So, how will you help to prevent brain drain? Here are six ideas.

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What happens to your child’s brain development during summer break? Between the end of the school year and the start of the next, every student is at risk of learning loss.

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“The building blocks of self-esteem are belonging, learning and contributing. Camps offer unique opportunities for children to succeed in these three vital areas and even beyond home and school.” —Michael Popkin, family therapist and founder of Active Parenting

“The biggest plus of camp is that camps help young people discover and explore their talents, interests and values. Most schools don't satisfy all these needs. Kids who have had these kinds of (camp) experiences end up being healthier and have less problems which concern us all.” —Peter Scales, noted author/educator and Senior Fellow, The Search Institute

Both of these quotes come from the American Camp Association, which shares the benefits of summer camp for kids, including social development benefits. To be successful in life, according to the ACA, children must learn to be resilient, and that includes developing self-esteem and self-reliance, life skills and strong social behaviors. Summer camp provides this development because children get to participate in a true community environment. These camps encourage and facilitate healthy development that includes large doses of fun, where children “interact with positive role models who have time to listen, talk, relax, and reflect.”

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The American Camp Association (ACA) has listed three crucial components of a true camping experience:

• Intimacy with nature
• Authentic human connection
• Human-powered activities

The ACA said day camps that follow these three traditional camping pillars are “important” and provides this description of a quality summer day camp for kids: “a beautiful natural site where caring counselors help children create new connections and reach outside of their comfort zones to try new things. Laughter bubbles as jokes are shared and new friendships are built. Campers unplug from technology to commune with nature, realizing their roles in stewardship of the land. Skills develop throughout camp, both in physical things like swimming, horseback riding, and art and social/emotional things like teamwork, creativity, and self-confidence. Then, at the end of each day, a fleet of buses rolls out of camp, returning campers to their families.”

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“Laughter, singing and cheering are all common sounds heard in and around summer camp . . . Summer camp is a special environment where kids have the opportunity to explore nature, find new talents, try new activities, gain independence, and make lifelong friendships and memories.” (Parenting New Hampshire)

As we mentioned about a year ago, summer camps have existed for so long it’s hard to imagine not having them. In fact, the first organized summer camp for kids was founded more than 150 years ago (1861) and it was so successful that the program was repeated for the next dozen years. (Of course, there were no camp buses then, so the group needed to hike to the camp site, lugging all of the equipment!)

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If your child has difficulty adjusting to school in September, he or she may be struggling with summer learning loss. Summer learning loss happens when a child forgets important skills and concepts during summer vacation because they do not have the opportunity to practice what they learned during the school year. Horizon Summer Camps are built to prevent this gap with fun and engaging field trips, lesson plans, games and more.

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