MOUNTAIN LAKES — Summer is here and parents are busy getting out the bicycles and patio furniture, they are also considering the age old question of what to do with the kids when the school year ends. It might well be that the best answer is to enroll them in a summer program. Research consistently finds that children don’t usually keep acquiring new information and skills when they’re not in school, and in many cases, they actually forget some of what they already know.
Most people tend to forget things that aren’t practiced or used regularly. That’s why football skills and the ability to remember how to play tennis fade over time. And while we can certainly relearn both these things, the time it takes prevents us from moving forward. Young children are even more likely to experience a decrease in learning over the summer since many of the skills that they are learning haven’t yet become automatic. This is true not only of academic skills, such as naming letters and counting, but it’s also the case for the softer, social skills that children are learning in their early years.
Learning to play well with others is one of the most important goals of childhood. And although some children seem to learn to do this naturally, many need ongoing opportunities to practice the sharing, interacting and cooperating, sometimes as a leader and sometimes as a follower, that are trademarks of group play. These social skills, which are often learned with the same kind of teacher-guided practice as more academic skills, need to become consistent and automatic when children are young. By the time they are 7 or 8 years old, it is much more difficult for them to learn social skills. Summer camp becomes an important place to continue the social development of young children.
There is another important reason to consider a summer camp for children. They, as well as many adults, generally function best with a consistent, predictable daily routine. They are happiest and feel most secure when things happen routinely.
For many young children, it takes some time to establish a pattern of getting to school, comfortably separating from parents, participating in school routines and then reconnecting with family at dismissal. Once this pattern is established, it is usually best to preserve it rather than change it for a few months before starting it up again in fall. The best way to preserve this pattern?
Summer camp, and the Y has a great one! There are morning rotations (different activities per week), swimming, lunch and recreational time which allows for socialization and making friendships that will last a lifetime.
Camp at Lakeland Hills also offers exciting theme days, special events, sports camp options and so much more. So this year, consider summer camp and by September your kids will be ready for a great school year!
Call (973) 334-2820 or click here for more information.
