Finding The Rainbow In The Rain…Turn That Frown Upside Down
Written By: Samantha Crawford | May 19, 2020
The summer break may look different this year, but the options for safe summer fun are endless!
For kids, late-May usually marks the beginning of the countdown to summer break. The anticipation of summer camp, pool days, sports, vacations, no school, and hanging out with friends is heightened as that last month of the school year commences. Since we have now learned that kids are at risk for complications due to COVID-19, in-person summer camp is out of the question but there are still tons of opportunities for enriching fun this summer! While summer break may look quite different this year, that does not mean that it cannot still be a time for online camp, to relax, to recharge, to have fun with the family, and to make happy memories with your kids.
Online Camps & Enrichment
Many summer camps and extra-curricular activities are not disappearing, they are simply redesigning the way that they provide enrichment services based on our world’s current needs for social distancing and remaining safely at home. Cheryl Appleman, President of Performing Arts Workshops, explains that “The most important thing to me as an educator is that children are still able to access programming that provides them with the life-affirming benefits of an Arts education, even if that has to happen virtually this year. We want to be there to open up kids’ creative expression, inspire them, help them stay connected to each other, and provide the structure of a routine.” While some summer camps are selling access to pre-recorded videos for children to watch at their leisure, others are enrolling children in LIVE workshops where they are able to interact with their peers and their teachers.
So this is the perfect summer for kids to have fun and get together for an Online Camp through Zoom, while staying safe at home.
Relaxation & Recharging
A key to relaxation and recharging as a family is stepping away from your individual devices. From family backyard picnics, to family movie nights, Summer 2020 has lots of opportunity to practice new family relaxation activities. Games like 21 Questions, I Spy, Concentration, Charades, Heads Up, and Kids’ Board Games are great ways to practice being present with your children. There are also lots of child-friendly meditations available to practice slowing down and checking in, for a family friendly meditative experience. The popular app Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame is a great way to engage kids with easy, calming and de-stressing activities!
Family Fun
These days have brought out the creativity in children and parents alike, and it is truly inspiring. Parents have been recreating favorite theme park rides, creating adventurous stories, setting up camping trips in the backyard, crafting together, building elaborate forts, learning to cook new recipes together, experimenting with at-home outdoor activities such as chalk art and gardening, reading new stories, watching new movies, and even tapping into creative arts. Online based performance classes and workshops can be concluded with a fun performance by your child in your living room (with friends and family tuning in via Zoom) for an exciting performance feel and a rewarding demonstration of all that they have learned! Timothey Fitzgerald, Curriculum Director at Performing Arts Workshops & Theater Professor at Loyola Marymount University, suggests that, “Online performance based camps bridge the gap between your public persona and a special private moment. You are out in the world, but you are also at home sharing a moment with those that you are closest to, and you are in a safe space. Sometimes starting with a small, intimate step can give children the courage to take the next step in the performing arts in the future.”
Happy Memories
Summer 2020 is absolutely going to be different than the summers we are used to, but this does not mean that it is a lost summer. The world is changing and we are all adapting along with it. With access to online programming and activities, the magic of Zoom in connecting us to one another, and the countless creative activities and projects that can be done from the comfort and safety of home, we can provide kids with happy memories this summer that they will look back on for years to come.
Trusted for over 30 years, PAW’s award-winning camps for kids ages 5-14 are going online this summer! PAW’s Virtual Summer Camp will include workshops in Acting, Singing, Dance, Guitar, Magic, Comedy, & Debate For Kids!
Online Camps & Enrichment