Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Picking The Best Summer Camp

By Brittany Flokstra


He was 10 and I knew he was looking for more than a summer of day care and TV shows. So i wondered if Wisconsin Summer Camps was the right answer.

Today, my son is 15 and has attended Swift Nature Camp for, four years and he will return for as long as we can. He loves it. His ADHD seems to be little trouble at camp.

Swift Nature Camp took their time with the children's, the staff had a hands-on approach to leadership, social skills development and confidence-building seems to really work

Along with enthusiastic counselors, Jeff and Lonnie, provide an great atmosphere encouraging positive traits to rise to the surface. My son has developed greater peer understanding and empathy, greater self-confidence and trust, better leadership skills, an understanding of group dynamics and fair process and many other valuable lifelong skills.

At first I like all parents was reluctant to sending him to a place I had never seen, except in a dvd and the website. Yet the rewards were well worth it! I talked to Jeff and Lonnie over the phone before I signed him up for the Discovery Camp . A special program for the First time at Camp.

Lonnie was so willing to chat about any and all question I had. Thus calming, my fears then making the decision easy. So off my son went taking the bus to camp, Yet, I picked him up when camp was over so I could see first-hand all what Swift Nature Camp was all about.

He was so excited about camp that I'm not sure he drew breath on the total journey home...nearly 8 hours!

The website of Swift Nature Camp says everything need. To me, I love how the camp is set up. Each cabins houses the same gender and age. They do activities together, including laundry and cabin clean up.

Campers daily have the opportunity to pick from a variety of typical camp activities (arts ... crafts, archery, swimming, etc.). My son especially loved looking for frogs.

On top of this, the camp is dedicated to environmental awareness and nature preservation. They have a Nature Center well equipped with microscopes and frogs and tadpoles and lots of hands on activities. There is also a small petting zoo of well-adored animals.

Like most camps there is plenty of laughter, games, campfires, food, sports, fun, drama, singing, etc. This is what makes this sleepaway camp an experience every camper remembers for their entire life.

As a parent, I was looking for a general camp nothing ultra specific. Kids at SNC get to be kids and by experiencing all sorts of different activities and a diverse set of campers and counselors, learn more about themselves than at a specialized camp. I was Pleased that it was a Coed Summer Camp, because I believe this only helps the learning.

My son has learned so much from this camp in the four years he has been attending. We have noticed a HUGE difference in his attitude, manners and abilities. He is more mature, pleasant and competent. We would pay any price for the experiences and social education he has gained from SNC.

As a joke i used to say that you can find math, reading, or science tutors but no tutors for social skills. Well we were wrong! Summer Camp and specifically Swift Nature Camp is exactly what my son needed at exactly the right time in his life.

Should you be thinking about overnight summer camp for your kid, consider Swift. I think it is so successful because it is a non-competitive, confidence-building camp where kids get to be kids. I know it is the best thing we ever did for our son.

A special Thank you to Lonnie and all the magnificent counselors, cooks, nurses, etc. We hope our son returns as a counselor when he is older (it is a new goal)!

Find more FREE information on how to Choose a summer camp see www.summercampadvisor.com




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