Here is How to Prepare Your Child for His First Camp Experience

Life at camp is different from what most children are used to at home. It can take some adjusting to make out the most of the time at camp, but parents can help.

In this blog, we share a few ways all eager parents can ease their child’s transition to camp life, especially if it is his or her first time to camp. Continue reading if your child is going to experience camp life for the first time this year:

Learn About the Camp

Most camps share booklets, user guides, links to private forums and other materials with parents. Go over them to become familiar with the camp’s procedures, schedule and activities. Talk about the activities with your child and ask which ones he wants to try. Speak to the camp about your kid’s preferences. It will help.

Start a New Friendship

Some summer camps in New Jersey assign children a pen pal at the time of registration. Encourage your child to write to that friend. Having one person who knows you in a new place will make transition to camp life easier.

Reassure Your Child

Most children are excited about going to camp, but if yours is nervous, you can reassure him by reminding him about the great things that will happen at the camp. Showing your confidence in him by saying something like you are confident that he will do great. You can also advise your kid to be friendly and open to what the camp offers.

Stay Away from Pick-up Deals

It is normal for parents to get carried away and promise their children that they are only a phone call away. Do not do it. This type of behavior can weight on your child and set him up for failure. It can make it difficult for him to decide if he should stay at camp or go home. This confusion will never let him fully embrace his new surroundings.

Set Realistic Expectations

Nothing causes more headaches than unrealistic expectations. Prepare your child for it. You don’t have to promise him that every moment at camp will be filled with excitement. Speak about the ups as well as downs of camp life, encourage your child to read about camps online and set realistic expectations.

Camp life is exciting. But for first-timers, it can be overwhelming. Parents can help their children by speaking to them about the camp, setting realistic expectations and encouraging them to make friends early.

5 Ways Summer Camps Change Children’s Lives

More than 11 million people attend summer camps in the U.S. each year. Most of them are children, whose lives are influenced positively by spending time away from their homes. Although everyone carries their own experiences home, there are some changes that are common. You will learn about those changes in this blog.

Lasting Friendships

Summer camps are places where your kids can make lasting friendships. It should not be a surprise. When your children are eating laughing and creating new memories everyday with other kids, they are bound to make friends. These friendships usually not only grow stronger with time, but also shape your child’s future.

High Level of Responsibility

There are few places other than summer programs where your children can assume a high level of responsibility without jeopardizing their own safety. Taking on significant roles at camp teaches them the crucial skills of empathy, responsibility, leadership, decision-making and problem-solving. These skills help children become successful later. Many celebrities—Jennifer Lawrence, Anne Hathaway and Ben Bernanke’s names come to mind—attended summer camps when they were children.

Boating, Camping and Other Activities

More than 16 million children in the U.S. live in families living below the poverty line. These children cannot afford to have their own sail boats or gather enough friends to go camping in a safe place. If it were not for summer camps, those children would miss many experiences that others take for granted.

Transcendentalism

There is life outside your smartphones, PC screens and HVAC controlled homes. Few kids leap into lake water, see stars at night or witness wildlife in their usual lives. Camps give them a chance to take a break from their ordinary lives and reflect on how they live. This is important.

Confidence Boost

Freedom is one of America’s strengths. We worry a lot someone else making decisions for us and controlling our lives. We strive to break the mold and be liberated. Summer camps can teach your children this quintessential American habit. Camps give campers many tasks, which the kids have to complete them without assistance from their parents. This experience is invaluable because it boosts their confidence.

Summer camps help to give children new experiences and are a positive influence on children. If you are interested in learning more, dial 732 821-9155.

3 Ways to Find the Best Summer Camp for Your Kids

We are barely into the second month of February and parents are already looking for summer camps for their kids. It usually happens that during their search for a camp, they know on some level what they want but are not always successful at expressing it.  Sometimes the sheer number of options here in Middlesex County may seem overwhelming. But there are some easy ways to shorten the list. In this blog you will read about three ways to help you find the safest and most fun summer camp for your kids.

Figure Out What a Day Camp Looks Like

Start out with some research. You may find this part easy if you took part in summer camp activities as a child. But if you did not, try to talk to others who did have a chance. A second way is to visit some camps to see what it is like there. If you cannot visit a camp in-person, check its website and notice how many activities they offer. Eagle’s Landing Day Camp in North Brunswick offers 30+ activities in arts, sports and science to children ages 3-15.

Find Out if a Camp is Licensed

The internet has made this task easier. You can use the American Camp Association’s (ACA) website to confirm a camp’s accreditation details. Most camps in North Brunswick are registered with the ACA, the state of New Jersey, the county of Middlesex or the township of North Brunswick. Registration ensures that a camp adheres to certain standards of safety, health and program activities.

Inquire About the Camp Employees’ Backgrounds

There is no way you are going to send your children to a camp where employees with questionable ethical or moral standards work. So find a place that is open about who works there, what their educational qualifications are and how long they have been working at the camp. Eagle’s Landing Day Camp publishes verifiable background information on its employees on its website.

These three are the most important checks to perform before sending your kid off to a camp. Other things to notice include: timings (the camp’s hours may not be convenient for your and your spouse) and special offerings (which you may need if your child has specific needs).

Spread over 20 acres of shaded area, Eagle’s Landing Day Camp is a licensed camp that is open about its employees, offers transportation and willing to take care of your child with specific needs.

3 Reasons Zika Shouldn’t Stop You From Sending Your Kid to a Summer Camp

Few Americans had heard about Zika until October last year. Life was good. Then the sky fell in a flash. A little-known virus went beserk in Brazil; affecting many pregnant women and deforming hundreds of newborns in that country. Things went downhill so quickly that in a matter of a few weeks, hundreds of thousands of people were affected. The World Health Organization (WHO) took notice, sprang into action and declared the spread of the Zika virus a global health emergency. It was already late.

Some 1.5 million people had been affected in Brazil alone and the virus had spread to 30 countries—including the United States—when the WHO released its statement on Zika. Although many national governments have taken preventive measures to stem the spread of the virus, people remain wary.

The flow of tourists to Brazil has taken a hit, the State Department has advised pregnant women to avoid travel to South America and near home in New Jersey (NJ) many parents are wondering if it will be safe to send their children off to a summer camp in NJ in the middle of this year. Although the  concerns are out of care, I think those worries should not come in the way of your children’s growth.

Summer camps in NJ provide kids with once-in-a-year opportunities where they can meet other children, develop friendships, partake in STEM activities, learn leadership skills and practice being independent. All of this helps your children grow as responsible and successful adults. A virus like Zika—especially when the guidelines to prevent its spread are public—should not scare you into taking away such growth opportunities from your children.

In this blog, I will share with you three reasons that will try to ease some of your parental concerns and convince you to let your little ones join a kids’ summer program this year:

Zika Epidemic May Subsidize by Summer

Right now, everyone is concerned about Zika because there is no vaccine available. However, researchers in many countries are working around the clock to develop a treatment. It is very likely that they will come up with a medication by the time summer camps in NJ kick off.

Even if it does not happen, we will know a lot more about Zika and many new ways to protect your children from it.

Zika Prevention is not Difficult

Mosquitoes spread Zika. A way to guard yourself against the virus is to either kill all the mosquitoes around you or prevent mosquito bites. Both are doable. Removing standing water, wearing long-sleeved shirts, using window and door screens and sleeping under a mosquito bed are some simple ways to protect you and your kids from Zika. Many camps will follow these steps to keep your kids safe.

Zika is not Fatal and not Likely to Become an Epidemic in the U.S.

Fever, rash and pain in the joints are common Zika symptoms. They are mild and visible in only 20 percent of people affected with the virus. The remaining 80 percent do not even sense a thing. To top it, the Centres for Disease Control states in a release that while “we may eventually see Zika cases that originate in the U.S., the virus most likely would not become epidemic.” In another release it says that “Zika is not something most of us in the U.S. should panic about.”

Summary
Do not let a virus spoil your children’s summer. Send them away to a camp where can grow and learn. By June, most summer camps in NJ will have taken preventive measures against Zika and the virus itself may have vanished from public memory and people’s bodies.

Carol Dweck Wants You to Send Your Kids to Summer Camps

Do you think it is important to tell your children they are smart? If your answer is a “yes,” you are in good company. According to a Columbia University survey, 85 percent of American parents think it is important to praise children for their intelligence. Parents do it because they think it builds their self-esteem. They are wrong.

Telling your children all the time that they are geniuses does them more harm than good. It prevents them from taking on difficult assignments; be it a new concept in mathematics or adjusting to a novel sports schedule in the field. It makes them more concerned about being perceived as smart than working hard to improve their skills. And it happens because your children assume that intelligence is innate and fixed. Both of which are false beliefs that inhibit their growth.

When a child—who has been told repeatedly that she is smart—encounters a new, difficult concept that she cannot understand quickly, she usually gives up. She thinks that it is beyond her natural abilities. She also fears that others will think of her as not-so-smart if they see her struggling on a problem. This attitude further deteriorates the situation and her intelligence becomes her biggest liability. It does not have to be.

A Stanford University professor, Carol Dweck, has done extensive research on the right ways to motivate kids. She has shared her research on Ted and in a popular book, Self-Theories: Their Role in Motivation, Personality, and Development. She thinks that the right way to help your kids is to praise them for their effort. So instead of uttering those mawkish phrases like “You’re smart, kid!” parents should say something like “You put in a lot of effort on solving this problem. It’s awesome, kid!” This small change in how you phrase your excitement can do wonders. There is a scientific proof for it.

To test her theories, Dweck did a series of experiments on 400 fifth-graders in New York a few years ago. At first, she gave the children an easy problem. When everyone had solved it, she told some children that they were smart but praised others for their effort.

Those praised for their effort did better on a second problem, which was harder. But those who were told that they were smart looked for a escape when confronted with a more difficult problem. Then, Dweck gave the children a third problem which was as easy as the first time. Those praised for their effort did 30 percent better than first time but those who were told that they were smart showed a performance drop of 20 percent. The writing was on the wall.

Repeatedly telling your children that they are geniuses does not help them at all. A better way is to encourage them to focus on effort, not some innate ability. And a summer camp is a great way to do it.

In most summer camps in NJ there is an emphasis on the process instead of the results. For instance, when your children come to the Eagle’s Landing Day Camp, they are encouraged to play sports in the field, swim in the pools, participate in robotics and science classes , experience the drama school and engage in dozens of arts and crafts programs. All-in-all, there are more than 30 activities your children can participate in. The counselors praise them for their efforts. No one tells them that they are smart without explaining why. And it helps!

When the process of making an effort and getting praised for it happens repeatedly over the course of several weeks, it drives home the belief that your children are responsible for their success, irrespective of their natural abilities. And this is what Dweck wants.

If Dweck’s whole research were to be summed up in one sentence, it would be: “It is important to tell your children that efforts matter, no matter the natural ability.” And there is no place where your children can get a first-hand experience of being masters of their own destinies than a summer camp in NJ. And it is in this sense that the Sanford professor wants you to send your children to a summer camp.

How do Summer Programs for Kids Prevent Summer Learning Loss?

In 1996, a professor of education at Duke University, Harris Cooper, looked at 39 studies examining the effects of summer vacation on test scores. The results he achieved are arguably the most popular scientific evidence we have of summer learning loss today.

Cooper studied children’s scores on standardized tests just before the start of summer vacation and in the fall, when the children return to school. The fall scores were a month lower. Naturally he concluded that students can lose a month of academic achievement over the summer.

Why does Summer Vacation Hurt Kids Academically?

The idea of keeping schools shut during summer is an old one. It was proposed some 100 years ago to let children stay out of school so that they could help their parents with agriculture during the harvest months. It worked well because back then because 85 percent Americans were involved in agriculture. But today, when only 3 percent of Americans earn their living from agriculture, the old idea needs an update.

Today, many children spend their summer watching TV, browsing the web, chatting. Only a few care to revise what they have learned and most throw away their books for a month or two. As a result, when they return to school in the fall, they struggle and their teachers have to spend a lot of time on review.

But if that is an issue, why isn't anyone doing anything about it?

A Country Obsessed with Summer

Over the past century Americans have developed a kind of an obsession with the summer break. Any attempts to reduce summer vacation or extend the academic year from the 9 months to 10, 11 or 12 months meet with fierce resistance. Entire industries depend on entertaining kids when they are not in school. In fact, things have taken such a bad shape that in some quarters summer breaks are considered an inviolable birthright.

Does that mean there is not a way out?

Yes, there is.

Possible Solutions

Cooper did not stop at identifying the problem. He proposed three solutions. One of them was extending the academic year. Though it sounds good in theory, the idea is not workable in most states, including New Jersey, where governments are reducing education budgets.

In our current political climate, changing the academic calendar will probably take forever. So it is not workable.

But a third idea of Cooper’s can be used with a little change to help prevent your kids’ academic performance from sliding during summer.

He proposed sending your kids to a summer school, but that is not feasible for all parents. A better solution can be to find summer camps for kids and let your child spend time there anywhere from 2-8 weeks. A summer program for kids has several advantages over summer school. Your child gets to meet new people, learns to be independent and—if the camp offers STEM activities—excels in mathematics and science.

Takeaway

Summer learning loss is real and there is scientific evidence for it. But you can prevent it from happening to your child by sending him away to a summer day camp that offers sports as well as STEM activities.

Eagle’s Landing Day Camp offers more than 30 activities to campers, including many sports, arts and STEM experiments. Letting your child join the kids at Eagle’s Landing can help him or her in their studies. You can read about the complete Eagle’s Landing program at http://eagleslandingdaycamp.com/Programs.html and contact them.

4 Things to Know Before Sending Your Child to a Summer Day Camp in NJ

Although it is still January, many parents are already looking for summer programs for their kids. Parents start their search so long in advance for many reasons, but the main ones are securing a place in a coveted camp that will help their children grow and  massive early-bird discounts. But, as with all things in life, an early start is no guarantee for success. It takes more than a long search to find the suitable camp for your little ones—you need to know how to conduct your research in the right way.

Being someone who has been running a summer camp in NJ for the past 20 years, I have a few tips to offer on how best to secure a summer camp for your child in New Jersey that will help him or her grow.

Determine your child’s interest before sending him to a specialized camp

If your child is interested in magic tricks, not mathematics, you will do more harm than good by sending him to a math camp. In the same way, if your child is a mathematics prodigy, it is no use sending him to a sports camp. First, determine what your child is interested in and then kick off your hunt for a camp.

Tell the camp of any special needs your child may have

Is your child gluten intolerant? Or is she painfully shy? Share this information with the camp organizers before you enroll. The camp will either say they cannot accommodate your special needs, or they will make arrangements to. In either case, it will turn out to be good for the health of your child.

For children, experience matters more than results

A 4- or 8-week camp is not going to prepare your child (if she is interested in acting) for Hollywood or (if she is interested in programming) turn him into a professional coder. So expecting the impossible will bring stress, but little more. Let your child experience what they like, cooking, acting, computer programming or swimming for a few weeks and then let him decide for himself if he really wants to dive deeper into the activity.

Find the right age-group for your child

It may not be fun for your child to join a group of 11-year-olds if he  is only 7- years -old. Your child may be advanced for his age, but that does not mean he should be in a group with children twice his age. Sending your child to an age-appropriate summer camp for kid allows them to develop emotionally, mentally and physically.

When you look for a summer camp for your child, make sure it caters to your child’s interests, is accommodating to his needs and offers memorable experiences through an age-appropriate group.