Picture the perfect summer camp scenario — capture the flag in the field, sloppy joes at lunch, free swim off the dock, parrot-training seminar at noon.…
If there’s one activity that doesn’t seem to fit, there’s a good chance that it might ring just right for a cluster of curious youngsters, and that’s what many programmers of a new breed of specialized summer camps are counting on.
“We’re all about animal programming,” says Jennifer Ego of Pawsitively Pets for Kids Camp in Toronto.
“For example we have programs for kids who are interested in the animal care industry. They get to work in a clinic, practise veterinary care on dummy dogs and cats, learn pet first aid, etc.”
As tailored as this camp may seem to the pet-loving population, Ego argues that specialized children’s programs such as hers are gaining serious ground and holding their own against their more generalized competitors.
“Last year we were sold out with a massive wait-list, she says. “There’s little competition as we’re the only camp of our kind in the country. We’re the only option in this field.”
“These camps often give kids the opportunity to do something they’ve never done before,” Ego adds. “For example, a lot of kids come to us because they have siblings who are allergic and can’t interact with a pet as much as they’d like to, so they get to engage in that excitement for a week.”
As far as a young child’s interest spectrum can stretch, so seemingly goes the range of camp programs tailored to them.
If learning acrobatics and aerial skills sounds like it would fly with your youngster, the Toronto School of Circus Arts may just be the perfect fit.
“We focus on making sure that, when kids leave our studio, they have something they can call their own,” says program director Decker Ladoucer.
“They won’t have just made a new friend, but gained a new skill that will boost their confidence and breed positivity for the year.”
Ladoucer adds that specialized children’s programs, by nature, call for instructors with a certain amount of expertise, which in turn can result in a richer learning experience overall.
“We are very fortunate to have professional coaches teaching at our camp,” says Ladoucer. “You can have all the hardware in the world, but if you don’t have the software to run the program, it’s just not a specialty camp.”
Elliot Bay, co-founder and co-owner of Real Programming 4 Kids — a camp concentrated on video game programming — agrees that the quality of training that comes along with subject-specific camps is a draw for both the kids and parents alike.
“Parents are really sophisticated these days,” says Bay. “They know the difference between a four-kid class and a 10-kid class”.
Bay warns however, that a pitfall with any ultra-specific camp is that a child may sign on with the wrong expectations.
“Every so often we get kids that find out that programming a game isn’t the same as playing one. It’s definitely fun, but it’s serious stuff.”
Bay says he navigates this obstacle by offering free, no-obligation trial classes, while Graham Bridel, of Par Golf Camp, confronts it with communication.
“There is some talking involved, says Bridel. “For some it’s hard to comprehend doing one sport for five days straight.”
“The bottom line is that we want them to have great memories because after all it’s camp. The way we do that is by making it fun. It’s more a camp than an instructional school.”
And while many camps nowadays may be more pared down than in the past, it is clear that there is still room for variety. At Artventure Camp, run out the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the kids concentrate on creativity but can express it in many ways.
“They have the opportunity to do environmentally friendly art, to learn about sculpture. They can incorporate drama, props and costumes, mixed media; they can even work alongside a practising artist,” says program co-ordinator Jessica Sharp.
Faced with traditionalists that are keen to keep the authentic summer camp spirit alive, Sharp contests that most specialty camps, as well as her own, continue to possess the essential qualities of camp regardless of their concentration.
“Kids get to go outside every day and explore nature”, she says of Artventure. “They’re continually playing the same camp games and get the same feelings of camp. The same kids are back every year, the same counsellors. The only difference is that everybody loves art.”
Graham Bridel says the same of his program.
“Sure this isn’t a camp with 10 sports, but this is still camp,” he says. “It’s camp, and it’s the summer. And no matter what the kids are doing, the main priority should always be keep a smile on their faces.”
