Emily is 7 and Ryan is 5 years old and they are siblings. On Mondays, Dina, their mother, takes Emily to gymnastics and Ryan to karate. On Wednesdays, both children take piano lessons at their home. On Thursdays and Saturdays Emily goes to dance. Ryan goes for skating lessons on Saturdays and will be starting hockey in the Fall. Dina’s world is not unlike most moms these days. Children are very programmed and are specializing at a young age.
The trend over the past decade has been to continue to work on their specialties over the summertime. One week of Hockey Camp, one week of Music Camp, two weeks of Dance Camp. But this is beginning to change. Parents are rediscovering the value of the outdoors and the traditional camp.
Camp Green Acres, in Markham, Ontario, has been noticing a rise in their traditional camp registrations, with parents expressing a desire to give their children the opportunity to try many new things and make new friends. Traditional camps like Green Acres, offer activities in a variety of disciplines for campers to try, like pottery, visual arts, basketball, pony rides, radio, drama, gymnastics, archery, swimming, ropes courses, woodworking, music, cooking, landsports and many more.
In a Tradtional Camp, children get to try new things in a fun, non-competitive environment, where failure does not exist. In fact, children often develop new passions after trying an activity at camp because there isn’t the pressure to perform. Children come home everyday with new skills learned and new interests acquired. Parents who send their kids to camp often notice TV time being replaced by pastimes such as macramé and tennis.
“Summer is the time to just be a kid, and camp is the place to do it! My daughter competes in dance all year, but she can’t wait to get outside and be with her camp friends during the summer”, says a Green Acres parent. With computers, video games, the pressures of homework and competitive extra-curricular activities, parents are wanting to get their children outdoors again and experiencing a well-rounded summer camp experience. Sending children to a Traditional Camp program is the way to put fun back into your child’s summer!
Lori Bogomolny is the second generation to run Camp Green Acres. She has been involved in camp her whole life as a camper, staff and head staff, both at day camps and residential camps.
Camp Green Acres is Toronto’s Premier Country Day Camp and has been family run since 1966. We offer an amazing variety of activities, including a Parent & Tot program for children ages 16-30 months, a 1/2 day Bunny program for pre-nursery and nursery aged children, a full day program for children ages 3-15, daily swim instruction and door-to-door transportation. We also off an All-Star Sports camp, MyCamp (All ‘Elective’ Program) and Cedar Creek horseback riding camp.
