I have spent a week each summer at an overnight camp called Camp Tecumseh for the past three years.The days were filled with activities alongside fellow campers, and we dedicated time to pray to God in the morning and afternoon. I genuinely enjoyed meeting new people and appreciated the camp itself. The staff were friendly, and there were activities available for everyone.
From rifle shooting to learning different types of braids, overnight camps are one of the ways children spend their summer days. Sending kids to overnight camps can develop independent skills and build friendships while enjoying the outdoors.
Some people start going to summer camp at seven years old, at least that’s what Natasha Wheat did. “I was extremely excited about going to camp. I thought it was the coolest thing going to camp as a kid.”
Wheat went to a Girl Scout camp where the theme was fairies. Day-to-day activities at the fairy camp were to wake up at eight in the morning and go on hikes, and to do crafts. Wheat’s favorite activity at camp was when she got to build fairy houses with sticks and other things around. “You were warned not to knock down the other fairy houses, or else the fairies would take your left shoe. The left shoe belonged to the fairies, you were not going to get it back.”
Wheat has been going to overnight camps for almost ten years now, and her only regret when she was younger was “choosing a bunk close to a window as it stormed one night while I was at camp.”
While Wheat went to camp young, Rhys Moore went to his first overnight camp at the age of 13 with his cousins and brother. Moore went to a Dungeons and Dragons, also commonly known as DND, themed camp at a college campus.
“I was pretty happy about the camp because it was not for advanced people who had played a lot, but rather for more inexperienced people to learn,” he said
A typical day at DND camp, according to Moore, was waking up around eight in the morning and going through the day by the theme for the day, such as painting or drawing the base of a map.
After lunch at the cafeteria, Moore said, “There was often a competition to compete in to win a new book or dice, or assorted other things.” Once the day’s activity had ended, the campers were free to do whatever they wanted to do, whether to play video games or cards, “as long as we were not annoying.”
While many children enjoy being away from home, others prefer the comfort of staying near home to avoid homesickness and spend more time with their family. That was a reason why Simon Smith did not have any regret about not going to an overnight camp when he was younger.
“I always liked returning home at the end of the day,” said Smith. He went to an art day camp where the entire day was spent painting and drawing.
Smith enjoyed his time at camp, but his only regret was that “I’d get burned out because I had no friends there, but it was still fun.”
Lilly Beeson also had little interest in overnight camps as she spent her summers at tennis camp. Beeson’s day-to-day camp activities were spent practicing rallies, shots, techniques, and serves. Sometimes the camp would play competitions, and her only regret was not going sooner to put in more effort.
While many of us enjoyed spending time away from home, camps are not the only way children can have fun during the summer. There are ways to learn and enjoy the skills that could be taught at a camp. Summer camp is all about winding down from a year of school. So, if the answer to relaxation is not summer camp for some, there are other ways to enjoy the summer break.