Youth Summer Camp Experiences Provide Unique 21st Century Skills
By Kristin Heimall
The summer months creep up on us faster than we might think. For our children, summer can't come quickly enough. Though the rigors of school-based academic learning are on pause for most of June, July and August, there is a tremendous amount of invaluable school, work and life skills to be learned and experienced by children, youth and teens who participate in high-quality summer camps.
A 2018 study published in the Journal of Youth Development demonstrates how camp experiences were vital to former campers who have since entered college or the workforce:
- Teamwork and Collaboration - participants of the study reported that relationship skills built at camp applied to making friends outside of camp, namely in school and jobs (customer/client service)
- Self-esteem and self-control - camp experiences were credited with instilling the confidence to respond calmly to adverse emotional experiences such as being bullied or picked on. Additionally, former campers said that in school or jobs, they are more skilled at accomplishing tasks and assignments with less distraction.
- Work ethics and conscientiousness - students and young adults who attended camp programs as youth stated that camp taught them how to better focus and attend work (job or school) independently and in a more organized manner. They also learned to better persevere through challenges and adversity.
- Mechanisms of learning - including diverse, experiential learning, campers reported being better and more open to learning as a result of the summer camp environment. Older counselors setting positive leadership examples; sharing space and time with youth from diverse cultures and backgrounds; and the concept of communal living (be it in day camp as well as residential camp) with individuals recently acquainted, translated to being open to new kinds of learning experiences outside the summer camp environment
“Summer camp is a context that can incorporate intentional programming to elicit learning outcomes related to academic and workplace readiness. In order to effectively target specific outcomes, camp programmers and frontline staff must be aware of the mechanisms at camp that help facilitate campers’ learning.” (Wilson & Sibthorp, 2018, #98)
At YMCA of Bucks and Hunterdon Counties' summer camps, directors and counselors are taught in pre-service training and workshops how their leadership is the key to providing this important learning. Most if not all of our camp leaders are former campers who know the value of the experiences we provide and understand their role therein. We couple that with a daily camp curriculum that includes experiences in nature, swim instruction, creative opportunities in the arts and group projects.
Families seeking positive, affordable, high-quality learning experiences for their children should visit our camp webpage. Financial assistance is available to those who qualify. Feel free to also check out our financial assistance webpage and a great recent video testimonial from one of our camp families!
About the Author
Kristin Heimall is VP of operations for the Hunterdon County region of YMCA of Bucks and Hunterdon Counties. Kristin has over 20 years of experience overseeing Hunterdon County YMCA summer camp programs, serving over 400 campers per week. She graduated from Davis and Elkins College in 1993 with a BA in Recreation Management and minor studies in psychology.