In anticipating what exciting possibilities the summer will have in store, many families enroll their school-aged children in summer camp to take advantage of the well-known benefits such as learning new skills, developing relationships, and exploring new passions.
At the same time, it is important to remember that preschoolers also benefit immensely from a high-quality summer program. Preschool children crave stimulation, learning experiences and social interaction as much as older children, and the summertime is a relaxed time to try new adventures.
At LEAP our Summer Programming is specifically designed to take advantage of the beauty of the season while also focusing on welcoming new children into our community through a balance of free exploration and guided instruction. Highlights of a typical week will include:
Immersive Creative Arts Experiences
We are passionate about developing our children’s creativity and self-expression through the creative arts. Dancing, painting, sculpting and dressing up are critical tools that children use to express their thoughts and feelings. In our summer program these art modalities are enjoyed both inside and out.
Opportunities To Build Friendships and Enhance Social Skills
Our camp curriculum is designed to help relationships blossom. We play games to learn about each other, implement routines that inspire collaboration and consideration, and incorporate activities that illuminate what make each classmate special. It is a wonderful time to get to know each other and a lot of learning happens through the natural problem-solving opportunities that arise. At the preschool level socialization isn’t limited to their peers. Our teachers are their friends too! The relationships between our teachers and their students are a critical part of what makes our program such a high-quality experience for our children.
Ample Outdoor Exploration
At LEAP we are very fortunate to have gorgeous well enhanced outdoor play areas at each of our locations. We provide room to run, obstacles to climb, places to dig, nature to investigate, and in the summer, water play too! Boredom is never an issue on our play yards. What’s more, when they are in camp, they are naturally reducing their screen time consumption and they’re too busy to miss it!
Structured and Unstructured Activities
The summer is an ideal time for a child new to preschool to learn about the structure of school. Schedules are a little more relaxed in the summer as we all focus on getting to know each other. At the same time, we create predictability so that the children feel secure in knowing what to expect.
Structured activities can include learning games, science experiments, cooking projects, special visitors, and cooperative art projects.
Unstructured activities can include creative dramatics, open-ended art exploration, nature appreciation, and exposure to music enrichment.
Cognitive Development
Exposure to new places, materials, and people are the primary ways young children develop cognitive skills. We design our curriculum to include “provocations” to stimulate our children to ask “why” and then find answers using hands-on exploration. Problem solving, critical thinking and decision making are all involved when children are building a structure, learning how to balance on a beam, or doing a science experiment. New experiences also directly contribute to increased language development as children build their vocabulary together.
Enhanced confidence and independence
When children are stimulated to try new things, take appropriate risks, and challenge themselves, their confidence grows. Camp is an ideal time to nurture this development. Through this process the children build their confidence as they tackle challenges and find solutions. Whether a child is just learning how to separate from their parents or if this is the last summer before kindergarten, there is great benefit to be gained from taking advantage of this time. When children are participating in activities in a camp program, they learn to follow instructions, make decisions, and solve problems on their own. Self-reliance leads to overall confidence.
Taking advantage of the summer season to boost your child’s skills and independence is a great investment in their future. If you would like to learn more about the specific offerings LEAP provides, we invite you to reach out to our Program Director at the location nearest you.
