Summer camp objectives: how to choose the perfect one 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, however, during the school vacations, it is sometimes necessary to resort to summer camps. However, among the objectives of a summer camp, the most important is not the work-life balance.
The set of activities of a camp is designed for children to enjoy outdoor leisure time in a healthy environment, and that this serves to increase their level of socialization while stimulating their development through sports 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 an environment different from 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.
Programs of this type are, above all, spaces that seek to generate autonomy and strengthen values such as solidarity, trust, cooperation, personal and collective respect. Therefore, we can speak of them as a formative activity.
Every summer camp is, in essence, an educational camp, since it seeks to strengthen some of the learning acquired during the school year or to take these lessons to the outside world from a more practical point of view.
In the long term, the fulfillment of the objectives of a camp involves incorporating the skills acquired about environmental and ecological awareness and assuming that sports are 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 to spend a few days in summer with other children and to satisfy the high leisure time they have when they do not go to school.
The practice of a sport provides multiple essential values for the development of children. Values such as respect, solidarity, companionship, leadership skills and empathy are highlighted when practicing a sporting activity.
In addition, in summer camps of this type, they not only practice a sport, but can be initiated in different modalities, since many institutions that organize these sessions have a wide variety of facilities.
At SLAM International, for example, we have soccer fields, swimming pools, an equestrian center, a sports center with courts for volleyball, indoor soccer and badminton, and a lake with sufficient resources for water sports.
Through sports, 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 internalize that if they want to achieve results they have to strive to achieve that goal.
The spirit of sacrifice and self-improvement is another of the lessons they learn from playing sports, as well as teamwork. In many team sports, individual talent is not enough to achieve success, so it is necessary to rely on the rest of 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 betting on 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 9 and 16 years old can enjoy personalized bootcamps, summer camps and even a specific one for basketball lovers, the latter for children between 8 and 17 years old.
When choosing a camp, therefore, it is important to take into account criteria such as the children’s tastes, their educational needs and the richness of the activities offered. On the other hand, going to a center such as SLAM International guarantees that the youngsters acquire many of the values mentioned above. And all this in a multicultural environment that is very healthy for their development.
The objectives of a summer camp go beyond the simple reconciliation of work and family. In them, children reinforce the learning acquired during the school year and deepen other issues, such as respect for nature, fun through sports or empathy with other classmates.