A day spent inside when the weather is beautiful is a day wasted. So is an entire summer spent at home and not at a youth leadership camp? Of course, kids will be kids, and they should be able to spend their summers the way they want to. On the other hand, summers off from school provide children with plenty of time to keep learning outside the normal classroom setting.
You always can enroll your children in community service summer programs, especially those specifically designed to teach leadership qualities. After all, the best summer camps for teens leave the young adults will a tremendous sense of both self and accomplishment. Plus, it gets them out of the house. Here are four ways community service summer programs can benefit your children:
1. Expanding their horizons
Your kids might already spend every waking minute outside exploring, but doing it in a camp setting allows them to actually learn about the plants and wildlife they have, so far, only observed from afar. Oppositely, summer camps can be greatly advantageous to kids who have never done much exploring at all. It all depends on what the camp is geared toward, but the best community service summer programs allow children to have a balanced and beneficial out-of-school experience.
2. Safety first
Depending on the type of camp they will be attempting, it might be a good idea to review some safety basics with your children. Obviously, some camps will tackle this in the opening days, but these important tips always bear repeating. Some community service summer programs, particularly leadership camps, encourage kids to take on more responsibility and figure these lessons out for themselves.
3. Address their anxieties
If your children have never spent extended periods of time away from home before, it might be a good idea to let them talk about their nervousness regarding going away. Developing leadership skills does not simply happen overnight, and for some kids, leaving home is a huge deal. It always helps for you, the parents, to recognize and validate their feelings before any progress can be made.
4. Get back in the saddle, literally
Some community service summer programs are geared toward bettering the surrounding areas, and some are simply geared toward bettering yourself. Getting a chance to ride a horse, though, is something both camps could benefit from. The process of training a horse to be ridden by humans is called “breaking” the horse and is typically left to the professionals. But these same pros can be the one to help you climb on the saddle for the first time and see what adventures await.
Community service summer programs are not for everyone. Indeed, some children would do better spending a summer at home riding bikes with friends and maybe working a part-time job if they are old enough. But for the ones who might get something out of it, summers in community service summer programs just might be the start of future success. For more information, read this website.
Sending my kids to camp was one of the best decisions I ever made. They’re grown now, 32 and 29, but they still thank me for doing it.