Summer camp objectives: how to choose the perfect summer camp for your children in Spain
Summer is a real challenge for many families because of the inability to reconcile work and social life. During the school year it is much easier to manage both activities, but during the school holidays, it is sometimes necessary to resort to summer camps. However, among the objectives of a summer camp, the most important one is not the work/life balance.
The set of activities at a camp is designed so that children can enjoy leisure time in the open air in a healthy environment, and that this serves to increase their level of socialization while stimulating their development through sport or educational training.
What should be the objectives of a good summer camp?
The general objectives of a camp are very varied. They range from children getting to know a different environment to the one they live in, surrounded by nature, or in other urban environments, living with other children during the period outside the school calendar and, above all, integrating socially, affectively and culturally.
Programmes of this type are, above all, spaces in which they seek to generate autonomy and strengthen values such as solidarity, trust, cooperation, personal and collective respect. Therefore, we can speak of them as an educational activity.
Every summer camp is, in essence, an educational camp, as it seeks to strengthen some of the learning acquired during the school year or to take these teachings outside, from a more practical point of view.
In the long term, the objectives of a camp are to incorporate the skills acquired about environmental and ecological awareness and to assume that sport is essential as an element to stay healthy.
Why opt for a sports-related summer camp?
Of all the possible types of summer camps, sports camps are among the most popular. They are an ideal option for spending a few days in summer with other children and satisfying the high level of leisure time available to them when they are not in school.
Playing sport provides many essential values for the development of the youngest children. Values such as respect, solidarity, companionship, leadership skills and empathy become evident when practising a sporting activity.
Moreover, in summer camps of this type, they not only practice one sport, but can also be introduced to different modalities, as many institutions that organise these sessions have a wide variety of facilities.
At SLAM International, for example, we have football pitches, swimming pools, an equestrian centre, a sports centre with volleyball, indoor football and badminton courts and a lake with sufficient resources for water sports.
Through sport, the children understand that there are a series of rules that they have to follow, something that they can extend to their daily lives. At the same time, they learn the value of effort and work and internalise that if they want to achieve results they have to make an effort to achieve that goal.
The spirit of sacrifice and self-improvement is another of the lessons they learn through sport, as well as teamwork. In many team sports, individual talent is not enough to achieve success, so it is necessary to rely on the support of other teammates. This idea of synergy can be transferred to the rest of their daily tasks or later, as adults, in their professional careers.
How to choose the perfect camp for your children in Spain?
Once we know the objectives of a camp and the suitability of opting for one in which sport plays an essential role, it is time to decide which is the best option available.
In Spain, every summer there are countless activities of this type, but few have the variety of resources and wealth of activities that we offer at SLAM International. In our case, children between the ages of 9 and 16 can enjoy personalised bootcamps, summer camps and even a specific one for basketball lovers, the latter for children between the ages of 8 and 17.
When choosing a camp, therefore, we must take into account criteria such as the children’s tastes, their educational needs and the richness of the activities on offer. On the other hand, going to a centre such as SLAM International guarantees that the youngsters acquire many of the values mentioned above. And all of this in a multicultural environment that is very healthy for their development.
The objectives of a summer camp go beyond simply reconciling work and family life. In them, children reinforce the learning acquired during the school year and deepen other issues, such as respect for nature, fun through sport or empathy with other classmates.
