If you’ve ever been to camp, you’ll know that having a
go at new adventure activities such as archery, quad biking, climbing and
kayaking is not only super fun and exciting, but did you ever consider the
other, longer lasting benefits that being at camp can offer a child. Here is
our list of the top ten benefits for spending even just a day at camp:
1. Developing
emotional and social skills
At camp, children learn to be away from familiar
environments such as home or school, meeting new people and have the
opportunity to make their own decisions in regards to the activities they want
to participate in during the day.
2.
Unplug from technology
It’s really difficult to navigate a climbing wall with an
iPhone in hand, so at camp, there is usually a ‘leave it at home’ mantra. Being
away from technology allows children to rediscover the great outdoors, be
creative and get lots of fresh air!
3.
Trying new things
Activity camps offer just that, lots of activities –
from archery to climbing and bush craft to kayaking, these may be unknown but
by trying something new, children can find hobbies and interests outside of the
norm!
4.
Friendship building and resilience
Being at camp means that children have the opportunity
to make friends with others that they wouldn’t meet otherwise. Not only that,
by participating in different activities throughout the day, these friendships
are bonded through shared experiences.
5. Mental stimulation and physical activity
Many activities at camp have a problem solving or team-building
element to them, so not only are the children physically active in an outside
environment, they are also cognitively active!
6.
Independence and empowerment
Children given the opportunity to do something on their
own, gives them great empowerment. Daily passports used to record their camp
experience are very often used for school show and tells, which gives each
child great ownership of their experience.
7.
Confidence reinforced through success
Achieving something new at camp makes children feel
good, reinforced by awards for effort and achievement allow a child’s
confidence to develop.
8.
Creativity, free of judgement
Outside of activity sessions are periods of unstructured
free time for children to play under supervision. This is really important for
allowing children to explore their creativity and unleash their imaginations.
9.
Sense of community
After bonding through a series of adrenaline inducing
activities, it is quite often that children request to come back year after
year to join their camp friends. Some even progress on to stay residentially!
10.
Happy parents
Children sleep well after a day at camp, what’s more,
camps fit around a parent’s working day perfectly, with the ability to drop off
early and pick up late with lunch included; spending the day at camp takes the
stress off!
So what are you waiting for...activity day camps are running at Finborough Hall, Suffolk this Easter from Tuesday 29th March until Friday 8th April and then nationwide during the Summer!
