Egg hunts, giggles, stories, and a little bit of magic .. and chocolate – Easter is here!!!!
You want your child to have fun this Easter break – but you also want your child to learn, to grow, to develop their skills, their abilities, and make new friends. Choosing the right camp can turn this school break into an opportunity for growth, confidence, and joyful experiences that your child will remember long after the school break ends.
Here are our top tips to look for when choosing the perfect camp this Easter.
- Match the camp to your child’s interests: Every child is unique in their personality and their interests. Some children will thrive in Sports camps, outdoor adventure, while others shine in drama focused camps, whereby children enjoy story-telling, role-play, play pretending, art, music. These creative camps provide opportunities to build communication skills, confidence, and teamwork, all while having fun. When you are at home observing your child’s natural preferences, what excites them? This is your starting point.
- Research the Camp Experience and Credentials: Safety and quality are the top priorities when choosing a camp for your child. Look at the instructors/ facilitators, are they experienced in this field, are they experience in working with children? Do they have a child safety policy and safeguarding measures in place? What are other parents saying? Look at parent testimonials and the reviews online.
- Check the group size and the Staff Ratio: Smaller group sizes with attentive and qualified staff means that children receive individual attention, and personalised guidance and this leads to meaningful connections whereby every child feels involved and supported in their learning journey.
- Prioritise Social Growth: Easter camps are a wonderful opportunity for children to widen their friendship circle, to be exposed to other children that they might not otherwise have the opportunity to meet. This way of participation will strengthen their inter-personal skills. Shy children may benefit from smaller, guided groups, while outgoing children can thrive in interactive team based exercises. Drama camps in particular encourage self-expression, empathy, pretend play, and cooperation. These skills go beyond the camp setting.
- Evaluate the Daily Schedule and Activities: When choosing a camp for your child, it’s not all about the theme – look at how the camp day is structured and what activities are included. A strong camp will work their schedule with the children at the centre of its planning. This can help children stay engaged, learn new skills, and have fun without feeling overwhelmed. This will mean that there will be a balance between structured play and free play. Structured play provides guidance, skill building, and goal orientated fun. For example sports drills, science experiments, or drama workshops. Free Play or unstructured time allows children to explore, create, socialise, and process what they are learning and developing. Camps that balance the two tend to keep children happier, invigorated, engaged throughout the day.
Choose a camp that offers a variety of activities:
Physical: Sports, dance, obstacle courses, or yoga to expend energy
Creative: Art, craft, music, story-telling, building project, writing
Educational: Drama experiments, Science, nature exploration, problem-solving activities
Social/Team Building: Group challenges, cooperative games, and collaborative projects
This type of variety in a camp will cater to lots of different learning styles.
- Skills development and Opportunities: Look for camps where activities go beyond just entertainment. Each activity should help your child develop confidence, problem solving, creativity, imagination, teamwork, social skills etc; Even a fun obstacle course or craft session can teach children patience, resilience, or creative thinking.
Camps that allow the children some choice in their activities foster independence and self-confidence. Options like choose between art or story-telling and free play or team game. This style encourages decision making and personal interest exploration.
- Age Appropriate Structure: Check is the camp a full day or half day. Check are the activities based on age or ability? Younger children often benefit from shorter, more playful sessions, while older children can thrive from longer time periods and skill focused workshops. Consider the way the breaks, downtime, and lunches are laid out throughout the camp day because these are essential for children’s energy and focus.
- Consider location and Convenience: The practicality of bringing your child to and from camp each day really needs to be considered. A camp near home or a camp close to your workplace can simply pick up and drop off with half day or full day options – can make planning easier for the whole family. When choosing your camp, consider travel time and whether the schedule fits your family routine.
- End of day Reflect: Find out how the camp wind up each day. Some camps conclude each day with a reflection, show and tell, some even do mini presentations or performances. Even for a general camp, a closing activity whereby the children are given the space to share what they enjoyed about their day can consolidate their learning outcomes, and celebrate each child’s individual efforts, and this strengthens their confidence, and their self belief in their own abilities.
- Trust your instinct: Finally, always trust your gut feeling when it comes to a camp. Choose a camp where your child feels safe, challenged, and excited to attend. Your child’s enthusiasm, their interests, coupled with your research, is the best indicator of a great camp.
About the Author
Adrienne Lee a specialist educator in Drama education and child development with over 20 years
experience in this sector. She is the founder of PlayAct Drama School – guiding children and
young people through drama, education, and play.