When parents think about choosing a summer camp for their child, a lot of questions come into mind, such as whether it would be good for the child and, more importantly, does it offer any benefits? A one-liner to that question is that, yes, there are a lot of benefits of summer camp for children.

At a typical summer camp, a child spends valuable time in other activities outside of the school and also gets to pursue any special interests as well. All of these things are not possible at a typical school where most of the focus is given to academic performance only. However, Camp Blue Ridge at Haymarket Children’s Academy is a 2-month program that includes several benefits for children up to 12 years old.

If we talk about some of the benefits a child can get from summer camp, it includes the development of social, cognitive, and emotional skills. Although all of these skills are important, let’s not forget what the summer camps are meant to be! A summer camp is meant to be fun, and when you choose a summer camp for your child, you are allowing them to have fun and even make lifetime memories!

But if you want to gain the most out of a summer camp, then you would need to spend some time choosing the right one. These days, you can find tons of summer camps in your area, but not all are created equal. A great summer camp should be fun while also helping your child develop important skills, and help them unplug from technology.

Top 5 Benefits of Summer Camp for Children

What are the benefits of summer camp for children? A good summer camp such as the Camp Blue Ridge at Haymarket Children’s Academy can offer the following benefits for your child:

1. Social Skills

You can think of summer camp as a full community away from the school and even home. At a good summer camp, your kids learn important social skills such as how to build relationships, work with each other, and even how to manage conflict!

Through a range of field trips, learning experiences, and other activities, a child develops important social skills which can prove to be highly beneficial even later in life! Summer camp at HCA is a perfect opportunity to learn how to navigate through different situations, how to support each other, and how to stay happy.

2. Improved Self Confidence

According to a study from Philliber Research Associates, around 70% of parents reported that their kid’s self-confidence improved after attending a summer camp. As your child engages in different activities and works through difficulties, they start to foster a feeling of self-reliance and personal pride, which are the building blocks of self-confidence.

And since most summer camps also offer a lot of different field trips and activities, proper engagement can also help them get outside of their comfort zone!

3. Friendships

Summer camps can also prove to be a great way for the children to make strong friendships. In fact, a summer camp can be the perfect place for making friends as it takes away all the pressure, social structure, and labels which might be present at the school. And since any good summer camp is full of fun activities, there is no reason why a child wouldn’t be able to make new friends.

Away from the pressure and worldly distractions, a child can bond with like-minded people and foster friendships, according to Dianne (a parent).

4. Healthy Lifestyle

According to the statistics from CDC, obesity among children has almost doubled in the last 30 years. And among the teens, the rate of obesity has almost quadrupled in the last 30 years!

If we look at the reason behind this alarming rise in obesity among children, it can be attributed to bad eating habits and less physical activity. Surprisingly, you do not have to worry about this problem as summer camps ensure that your children stay physically active. On top of that, healthy food choices are also available at most summer camps which is an additional benefit!

With a summer camp such as Camp Blue Ridge at Haymarket Children’s Academy, children also learn about gardening and cooking (among others), which helps them learn how to make nutritious and healthy meals!

5. Unplug from the Tech

The use of tech devices among children is on the rise and has set alarms among experts as well. According to experts, technology devices such as mobiles and other gadgets are posing serious health and even cognitive risks to the development of kids.

At the summer camp, your child will be free from any technology-based distraction and actually get to enjoy the great outdoors! Instead of being glued to the tech devices, your child can make valuable friendships and even engage in active sports!

Summer Camp at Haymarket Children’s Academy

Camp Blue Ridge is the summer camp at Haymarket Children’s Academy and packs the perfect dose of fun and skills development you would expect from a top-tier summer camp! Some of the things you can find at Camp Blue Ridge include field trips, crafts, science projects, water park trips, gardening, archery, arts, sports camps, guest speakers, and much more.

To put it short, you can think of Camp Blue Ridge summer camp as the perfect adventure for your little one. Some of the distinct features are given below:

• Planned field trips during each week.
• Enjoy waterparks all summer long!
• For younger and older students, separate field trips are arranged.
• All the meals and snacks are included!

Registration & Weekly Fees at Camp Blue Ridge

For registration, a $90 fixed fee is charged at the sign-up and will get you 2 camp shirts, a water bottle, a backpack, and sunglasses.

Depending on how many days per week you have booked, the rates are as follows:

• 5 Days: $330
• 4 Days: $290
• 3 Days: $240

To make it easy for the parents, you can also book for a minimum of 4 weeks to get an idea of whether the summer camp is the right choice for the children or not, and you’ll understand that there are tons of benefits of summer camp for children.

Benefits of Summer Camp for Children: Summer Camp Ages

Summer Camp at Haymarket Children’s Academy also offers interesting and interactive field trips for cubs and bears:

Who are cubs?  

Children who just finished Kindergarten or First Grade.

Who are bears? 

Children who just finished 2nd Grade (up to 12 years of age).

Cubs: Taekwondo Expo, Air & Space Museum, Laser Tag, Pirate Ship Trip, Billy Beez, Long Park, Burke Lake Park, Luray Rescue Zoo, Northern Fauquier Park, Dinosaur Land, Drew Blue Shoes the Magician, Hyper Kids Indoor Playland, Reptile Exhibit, Catharpin Park, Lake Arrowhead Beach, Adventure Theater, Skyzone, Signal Bay Waterpark and Atlantis Waterpark.

Bears: Fun Land, Air & Space Museum, Atlantis Waterpark & Splashdown Waterpark., Monster Mini Golf, Lake Arrowhead Beach, Long Park, Drew Blue Shoes Magician, Catharpin Park, Summit Ropes Climbing, Taekwondo Expo, Fredericksburg Nationals Baseball Game, Reptile Expo, Burke Lake Park, Adventure Theater, Laser Tag, Uptown Alley, Skyzone, and Northern Fauquier Park.

How To Enroll My Kids in Camp Blue Ridge at Haymarket Children’s Academy

At this point, you have navigated through several benefits of summer camp for children. Camp Blue Ridge at HCA is the perfect opportunity for your child/children to have a variety of different play and learning opportunities as they enjoy the outdoors and explore our designated building for school-age children, The Outpost. If you are ready to enroll your child, contact us now: 571-261-2020 | awilson@haymarketca.com.