Activity-based day camps your preschooler will love
by Pamela Seeds and Leanne Olson
What’s better than a summer filled with playing outdoors, making new friends and exploring new interests? An activity-based summer day camp can be a great choice for preschoolers. These camps give kids exposure to a variety of age-appropriate activities that they might not encounter at home, play groups or their regular daycare.
Many camps are quite flexible and can work around your needs. Day camps can act as a summer-long childcare option, as a special, one-week treat, or as a starter camp for kids who may want to try overnight camp when they get older. Most camps allow children to be dropped off as early as 7:30 a.m. or picked up as late as 5:30 p.m., making scheduling simpler for working families.
We’ve profiled three different activity-based camps to take a look at the variety of programs they offer.
Zodiac Camp, Toronto
Zodiac Camp’s KidVantage program is aimed at kids from age 2.5 to 6.5. This introductory camp experience provides kids with a variety of indoor and outdoor activities, including daily swimming instruction (a specialty of the camp) and unique programming in three areas: Imagination, Junior Sports and Creativity.
Kids enrolled in the Imagination camp will experience a unique program blending music, drama, dancing, laughing and creating, and costumes add to the fun. In the Junior Sports camp, kids learn the skills and rules of soccer, baseball, tennis, basketball and other sports. And in the Creativity camp, kids explore their creative side through the visual arts.
KidVantage kids also have a treat to look forward to: Once they’ve hit grade one and graduate the program, they can choose a from a variety of exciting activities in the specialty program, including land sports, court sports, extreme sports, science and rocketry, magic, martial arts, culinary arts, creatures and creativity, horseback riding, gymnastics, comics and animation, cheerleading, adventure challenge and circus arts. [SU1]
Ellen Howard, one of three Camp Directors, emphasizes that Zodiac offers something for everyone. She and her staff (made up of professional educators and certified swim instructors) are enthusiastic about working with young children and providing creative age-appropriate, cooperative programming.
Hillcrest Camp, North York, Ontario
Hillcrest caters exclusively to preschool children (ages 2.5 to 5) and emphasizes making the child feel secure and welcome. Camp Director Queenie Spindel takes special care to maintain contact with parents. Before camp starts, parents are free to call and ask questions, and during camp, parents can phone to check on their child at any time.
Camp procedures are designed to ease separation anxiety. Parents drop their children off in their turn-around driveway so that separation takes place outside the camp perimeter and is not associated with the camp experience. Counselors are careful to redirect children to a fun activity right after arrival.
Staff members are handpicked from the private school’s existing teachers or, at minimum, university students. They are trained in specific fields, such as Red Cross swimming, Dash Sports and Early Childhood Education.
Activities include age-appropriate, non-competitive sports, daily arts and crafts, drama, science, music with interactive songs, and free time on adventure-style playgrounds with pirate ships, spider nets, trucks and sandboxes. Hillcrest encourages imaginative exploration and development at each child’s own pace.
Sport Western Camp, London, Ontario
Sport Western is run by The University of Western Ontario. The camp offers special programs for kids aged 4 to 7, including a mix-and-match option of half-day activities for campers staying the full day. Activities include art, science, sports (specific sports focus or multi-sport), dance, drama, swimming and games such as obstacle courses and treasure hunts. Sport Western emphasizes flexibility: some campers attend for a week, and others for the entire summer.
University-run camps like Sport Western provide kids with the chance to interact with positive, young role models in the university students who work as counsellors. There’s a real sense of community to the camp, as kids who may start out at age 4 with one week of camp return year after year, trying different programs, with some eventually becoming counsellors.
Camp Coordinator Wes Vanderlinden also notes that the University’s facilities are a major drawing point of the camp; the kids get to swim in an Olympic-sized pool, and visit real science labs and art studios on campus.
How do you find an activity-based camp?
If you don’t live near one of these camps, you can certainly find a camp that fits your needs, with its own unique touch. Check out your local university for fun-filled camps led by students like Sport Western. Nursery schools, day cares and private schools similar to Zodiac and Hillcrest will often have a summer camp attached to them, and will be particularly suited for the younger ones. Many institutions such as zoos, museums, art galleries and science centres also offer summer day camps with specialized activities for kids.
Questions to ask when choosing a camp
- What is the adult-to-child ratio?
- What are the qualifications of the counsellors? Consider First Aid certification, Early Childhood Education or teaching degrees, subject-specific expertise and police background checks.
- Does the camp offer half days or full days?
- Are supervised early drop-off or extended pickup times available?
- What types of activities are offered? What will your child enjoy?
- Are healthy snacks and lunches provided? How does the camp deal with allergies?
- If your child has special needs, how will they be accommodated?
- Must your child be potty-trained?
- Is there a preview day? Are there parent or visitor days?
Tips for parents of first-time campers
- Choose a camp involving a familiar activity and kids their own age.
- Many camps offer flexible scheduling. You can begin with half days, or try one week instead of a full summer.
- See the camp environment in advance. Most camps offer a preview day for parents and kids.
- Talk to camp staff about procedures for easing separation anxiety, such as a drop-off spot outside of the camp.
- Your attitude makes a difference! If you’re nervous about leaving your child, he or she will be nervous too.
- Emphasize fun activities, new friends and the stories they’ll share at the end of the day!