This past week my boys attended a ball hockey camp. This is Kyle’s third year at this camp and Ryan’s second and they have always enjoyed it, so it was a no brainier when we were deciding what camps we would sign them up for.
Their camp this week is supposed to teach them ball-hockey skills through practice and games. The only exception is on Wednesday, when there’s a special outing (this week was going to the Blue Jays game). This is a private camp, so it’s not cheap, at a going rate of $350 a week per kid. While that’s a standard price, you still have certain expectations from a camp as a parent.
Last week, I had to come by mid morning to drop something off. When I came by the camp, most of the kids were playing around in the park. There didn’t seem to be too much of ball hockey going on. In fact, based on my boys’ reports, they didn’t really play much ball hockey the entire week. Kyle said that he only put his shin pads on twice. Even on Friday we received a last minute message that they would be going swimming. Again, an activity not in the schedule and time taken away from playing ball hockey.
At first, John and I were slightly upset that the camp wasn’t actually doing its intended purpose. But the more we thought about it, the more we realized that it’s actually great. I mean, the kids were just enjoying unscheduled play and figuring out what to do without guidance. The truth is, kids need more of that! Even I’m to blame as I feel like we over scheduled our kids in camps this summer. They hardly had any downtime to be ‘bored’ and figure things out for themselves.
So here they are, at camp, playing in the sand, with water, in the mud, working as teams, making new friends, conversing, spending time outdoors, screen-free. It’s being a kid in all of its glory.
I actually saw another biking camp last week who stopped for a break in the field along my running trail. It was a small group of about 10 kids and 3 staff. But guess what? Every single one was on their phone / ipads. I mean, they were in the middle of a beautiful trail, outdoors in nature, and they choose to spend their break on their screens. I’m not judging, but I much prefer a camp that ends up giving my kids unscheduled play vs. a screen break.
In fact, I have a feeling that in just a few short years, parents will be seeking out these type of camps. The ones that promise to offer your kids NOTHING. The ones that are all about free play, outdoors, and completely screen free. At least that’s what I think. What are your thoughts on this?
Morley had her first camp experience this summer with Pedalheads. It was an hour each day for a week, the perfect introduction. And short enough that I just hung out in the park with Berkley and observed (from a far distance of course). I was so happy with the camp – they spent most of the time on their bikes, but their instructor was so attentive that she noticed when they started tapping out and moved on to something non-bike related. And I was ok with that too, because she was still having fun with the other kids, learning how to play.
Yes!! Kids are way overly stimulated with activity after activity. Nice to hear this camp let them from their own thing. You may be on to something with “free play” camps! Let’s talk business. Haha
Let’s!!
I agree to an extent….. on one hand I think great, being screen grr and playing with other kids. Fantastic. On the other hand I think that’s a lot to pay for basically a week of babysitting and not getting what I paid for. Could have done those things at home for free. But as long as they had fun I guess that’s what counts.
I know. I go back and forth to figure out what my alone time is worth. $350, ya. But $700? That’s a lot. They did have fun though. More stimulation than I would have provided them at home