It’s almost that time of the year when summer vacations are round the corner and parents start looking around for summer camps. Children love the fun of outdoor activities and parents believe they are important for children's development, offering opportunities to instill confidence, independence, social skills, and leadership abilities, while also fostering creativity and a love for nature.
Listen to six-year-old Samuel Crasta who attended one such camp last summer: “I love doing things with my hands, especially clay modelling. I also like to cycle around and meet other kids in the camp. Sometimes, I just love to run around in the open.” The popularity of summer camps can be gauged by the fact that the numbers are increasing every year, as vouched by the organisers of camps in different parts of the Goa.
The way forward
Satish Desa works with children, parents, teachers and schools. He orgnises a camp in Moira. He says, “We look at childhood as an overall theme. We are organising a summer camp from April 7 to the 19. We will be having a morning club, evening club and Saturday time travel club. We do a half-day camp. If you look at these camps, most of the activities are based on parents’ agenda. Our camp is based on what the children want. We have books to read in one corner with a storyteller. There is a carrom board and many other such activities. We have an adult to monitor each activity. We restrict the number of children to 35 so they can be handled better.”
He says they get children from different strata of society. They have expats, kids from Mumbai and Delhi and other cities. He says that migrant kids are as talented as the ones from Goa. It is the interaction that teaches them vital social skills. He even organises a scholarship for 10 days which is paid for by rich people who don’t have kids.
He says he organises activities only from 8 am to 1 pm to avoid exhaustion. They go to the fields to watch the birds in the morning and then at 10 am, go indoors. Sessions to work on coconut fronds are organised on one day, then some artistic assignment followed by some music. This is organised over ten days. Satish says the focus is not on the activity but to ensure the children get what they want. None of the sessions are compulsory and it is left on the children who are attending. Number of participants, he says, is increasing every year.
Shubhangi Tandon will be organising a camp in Santinez. They will be having four batches of 10 kids each. All the activities will be theme-based and will involve playing games and creative writing and play time.
Play while you learn seems to be the mantra
and the exposure gives the children an edge
over their peers.
Why summer camps?
Most of the organisers as well as parents believe that these camps provide children with the much-needed confidence as well as team spirit while they interact and play with other kids. Parents stress the fact that they learn new skills that will hold them in good stead in in the years to come.
Sabina D’Cunha, a mother of three kids, says she wants her children to not only learn but also enjoy themselves during the camps. She says, “There is a camp in Moira which has weaving sessions, badminton, board game, art and music. The kids will be exposed to new things that will help them develop new skills. And yes, playing with other kids who are slightly older than them will be a great experience. They have to learn to be smart and deal with situations that will arise. It is a tough world out there and my kids are between 4-13 and it is never too early to expose them to the challenges.”
Roulette Gitane has two school-going children. He looks for a camp that will provide sessions of swimming, dancing, outdoor games, colouring, art, yoga and cycling. He says these activities will happen on certain days and will keep the children occupied. He believes swimming is very good for the children though getting one that teaches the skill in Calangute has been tough for him. He says learning something new and having fun is very important.
Sherwin D’Silva from Parra wants to put the younger of his two kids to a camp this summer. He says, “It is too early for him because he will not follow the rules but I will ensure he plays with different kids and learns to play in a group.”
Navedita Singh, a teacher, is of the opinion that a summer camp should help develop skills that the kid may otherwise not gain in today’s fast-paced academic life. She says, “I feel activities that allow children to use their hands, head and hearts are the most enjoyable and inclusive activities in the summer camps.”
Afshan Mariam, who is a coordinator at an alternate learning centre that focuses on migrant kids, says that it is important to learn any kind of new skill. She says that the kids should be taught the basics of weaving, sports, gardening and anything related to photography so that they can create content for the internet. She says these skill sets would be useful to these kids in their later life.