Summer camp
A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer vacation in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camps are known as campers. Summer school is usually a part of the academic curriculum for a student to make up work not accomplished during the academic year (summer camps can include academic work, but is not a requirement for graduation).
For other uses, see Summer camp (disambiguation).
The traditional view of a summer camp as a wooded place with hiking, canoeing, campfires, etc. is changing, with higher acceptance of different types of camps, which offer a wider variety of specialized activities. Examples of such themes include the performing arts, music, magic, computer programming, language learning, mathematics, children with special needs, and weight loss.
In 2006, the American Camp Association reported that 75% of camps added new programs. This is largely to counter a trend in decreasing enrollment in summer camps, which some argue to have been brought about by smaller family sizes and the growth in supplemental educational programs. Some summer camps are affiliated with religion, including various denominations of Christianity and Judaism.[1][2]
The primary purpose of many camps is educational, athletic, or cultural development. A summer camp especially for children may allow people to learn new skills in a safe and nurturing environment. Summer camp experience can have a lasting psychological impact on the development of a child.[3]
The first organized camp is often credited to the Gunnery Camp, established in 1861 by Frederick W. Gunn in Washington, Connecticut. This camp primarily served as a place for young boys to engage in outdoor activities and develop physical skills.[4] Girls camps in the United States began to appear around 1900; many of the early camps were located in New England.[5] In 1900, there were fewer than 100 camps in the United States, but by 1918 over 1000 were in operation.[6] Early camps for girls were located in remote, natural areas, and many camps featured a water venue. There were outdoor activities such as canoeing, archery, and hiking. Other types of popular instruction involved handcrafts, dramatics, camp and fire-making. Campers slept in wigwams, tents, or open dormitories. Any of these options encouraged a camper to take responsibility for maintaining her own personal space and to develop self-sufficiency.[7]
Mimicking Native American traditions such as council fires and storytelling generated a sense of community and inspired campers to become conscientious members of a group.[7] Typically, girl campers wore their hair in a version of native style. Uniforms were standard in most camps, but braided hair and headbands were common attire for campers. For camp ceremonies and pageants, girls would dress in special Native inspired dresses, at times even contributing to the handiwork.[8] In this era, camps were considered to be a natural pathway for young girls to develop healthy bodies, self-assurance and a sense of community.[9]
Today's girls' camps offer many activities, such as STEM Camps, sailing, and dramatic arts.
Organization[edit]
In most camps in Canada and the United States, young adult supervisors are called counselors or "cabin leaders". In many camps, counselors are assigned to small groups of campers, called "bunks", "huts", "cabins", or "units", who participate in activities as a group, such as campfires, hiking, canoeing, swimming, nature lore, and arts and crafts. Counselors often share living accommodations with their group.
In the United States and Canada, counselors for residential camps are typically drawn from older teens and college-aged adults (early 20s) because of the temporary, seasonal and low-paying aspects of the work. International staff are often hired alongside their North American counterparts through agencies who vet the staff beforehand. Overall camp supervision is typically done by older camp directors, who lead a team that includes cooks, sports instructors, a nurse, maintenance personnel and counselors. The director and the maintenance personnel have a longer-term affiliation with the summer camp. Professional camp staff organize the preparation of facilities and supplies for the camp season and supervise the maintenance of the camp during the off-season. Camp directors conduct the hiring of seasonal counselors, instructors, and support staff, often during job fairs held on campuses or on online job boards.[10][11]
At some camps, all campers stay overnight in cabins and eat all their meals in a cafeteria. At some camps, also known as day camps, the campers go home each night. Some other camps allow both day and overnight campers. In the US and Canada, residential camps that have overnight facilities are sometimes called "sleepaway camps".[12][13] Summer camp is often the first time that children spend an extended period of time away from home.[14]
Many camps cancelled their 2020 season in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]
Other type of camps[edit]
Art and performing arts camps[edit]
Other camps have become summer training grounds for a variety of arts. Many offer elective classes in a range of creative and performing arts activities including visual arts, music, theater, speech, debate, dance, circus arts, rock and roll, magic and other specialties. Some of these programs have a narrow focus on one particular area, while others offer a wide range of programs. Due to the popularity of these activities, many traditional camps have added some elements of the visual and performing arts into their programs as well.
Oftentimes camps will have various totems or traditions that pass from one group of campers to the next, with each group adding something that denotes their time at the camp, often like a time capsule. Painted totems, wood carving, and show programs often accumulate as a sacred object that passes from one group to the next. Cheer camps have popularized the concept of a spirit stick.[18] Performing art camps often run 3 or 4 week sessions that culminate in some sort of performance that parents and families attend.
Around the world[edit]
Australia[edit]
Summer camps are largely non-existent in Australia, because the Australian summer break (known as the Christmas holidays) only lasts between six and eight weeks, and occurs over Christmas and the New Year, shorter than in North America. Most children participate in School-camps, Girl Guide/scout camps, or school holiday camps with some religious groups (Such as the Salvation Army and Seventh-Day Adventists) holding week-long Summer Camps. Girl Guides and Scouts offer 'jamborees' which are camps over 1 to 2 weeks. Multiple-week camps are next to unheard of.
Many of Australia's youth music organizations hold annual rehearsal camps in summer including the Australian Youth Orchestra's National Music Camp and Gondwana Choirs Gondwana National Choral School. Other than the Seventh-Day Adventist Summer Camps, most holiday camps are referred to as "Adventure Camps", because they largely do not occur over summer. Many groups hold holiday day-camps for Primary aged children, and often run week-long adventure camps during the Spring, Autumn and Winter breaks.
Australian Defence Force Cadets often and almost exclusively (excepting school-based units) run their extended camps and courses over school holiday periods, which provide food and lodging for cadets over the course of the camp. However, these camps or field exercises often last only one or two weeks and thus do not fill up the majority of the school holidays. This allows the cadets (who are aged 12–18 years and therefore mostly attend school) to attend the camps whilst still completing normal schooling.