Visiting A Summer Youth Camp

Worried about sending your child off to a Summer Youth Camp without knowing enough about that camp? Take a journey to your child's summer camp while it is in session. You will learn enough through direct observation and conversations to make you feel more comfortable, especially if you have reviewed the information about the camp and arrive prepared to ask questions.

Keep in mind that summer camp is always in motion! Campers may be out of camp, or it may be visiting day or between sessions. In those cases a camp director may ask you to choose another day. Review the camp's promotional materials before the visit and have your questions ready.

You should allow at least two to three hours to spend at the camp so that you will have ample time to tour, observe, and chat. Observing activities for an extended period will give you a chance to see how the counselors juggle the demands of campers and to observe the safety precautions that are taken.

Take your child with you on the tour and pay attention to how the guide relates with your child. The way the guide interacts with your child will tell you volumes about the camp's attitude towards the children it should be there to serve.

The camp director may or may not be the tour guide, but you should make sure to meet him or her before you leave. You need to know if the director is someone that you can trust to take care of your child for the summer. Is the director a hands-on administrator, or does he or she appear to spend more time in the office with paper work than with the staff and campers? Does the director know the names of most of the children that you meet? Where is the director's on-camp residence?

The counselors are the adults who your camper will spend all his or her time with. You will want your child to be treated well. So make sure the counselors you see are kind, caring, sensitive, imaginative, patient and skilled. During activities, you should see counselors supervising the campers rather than chatting amongst themselves. Make sure that the specialty staff are not only skilled themselves, but also are enthusiastic, communicative teachers.

All this can be seen in a summer camp onsite tour. So if at all possible schedule a vist to camp , you will be glad you did.

Looking for more information? Visit Summer Camp Advisor, a FREE Summer Kids Camp website filled with information to help parent select the best summer camp for their child

Article Source: TravelFreeGuides.com

About the Author

Swift Nature Camp is an overnight camp for Boys and Girls Ages 6-15. Our programs are for first time campers as well as adventures for teens.

by: Lonie Lorenz

Total views: 1 Word Count: 446 Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2011 Time: 8:40 AM - 0 comments

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