Middle school can be a rough time for many teens. This phase of life often centers around establishing your social circle and the desire to be accepted by your peers. While a school environment may not be the most welcoming, there are other ways to help your child hone their social skills such as enrolling them in a summer camp for middle school aged students. Here are four ways Pali’s summer camp can help your teen:
When your middle schooler is away at summer camp, they are free from the parental and peer pressures that they may experience at home or school. At summer camp, they are free to make decisions and are encouraged to do things for themselves. Learning to think independently will help your child create and strengthen their identity during this pivotal time.
If your child is in middle school, it’s likely that he or she may want a little bit of independence. At this stage in life, many preteens are comfortable with the idea of being away from home for a period of time. While college may still be a distant thought, this may be the first time that your child has wanted to pursue their interests and the activities that they are interested in, rather than those chosen or guided by their parents.For this reason, summer camp is invaluable since campers can gain broad exposure to various specialties & electives in a matter of only a few weeks.
If your child has trouble making and maintaining friendships at school, summer camp can be a great way to get a fresh start and a boost of confidence, all with the help of camp counselors. Summer camp for middle schoolers can give kids the tools to work through relationships and practice people skills outside of the classroom. If your child has trouble making and maintaining friendships at school, summer camp can be a great way to get a fresh start and a boost of confidence, all with the help of camp counselors.
At camp, kids will learn to work as a team in order to complete activities and tasks. Joining as a bunk for an activity or a team for a water war are teamwork-centered activities that will help give kids the tools they need to flourish in both the classroom and the real world.
Summer camp can be a great way for kids to adjust to the independence of adulthood without many of the pressures and responsibilities. Camp allows kids to be free from everyday duties while still coaxing them out of their comfort zones. Despite going through many changes, middle schoolers are still just kids. Today, many students are faced with more and more adult responsibilities and maintaining a healthy amount of extra curricular activities. Summer camp gives kids time to decompress and to let loose, away from the pressures of middle school and the real world[B1] .
Summer camp can be a great way for kids to adjust to the independence of adulthood without many of the pressures and responsibilities. Camp allows kids to be free from everyday duties while still coaxing them out of their comfort zones.
Summer camp presents children with the opportunity to have fun all while preparing them to make independent choices; this can present a healthy experience for middle schoolers as they become familiar with the challenges of growing up.
Camp offers a healthy dose of perspective teaching kids and teens that life is bigger than middle school, and they will make it through to the other side. Likewise, getting through summer camp can be a lesson for your child as they learn that they truly can do it!
Making new friends from all different backgrounds can help to expose your middle schooler to life outside their friends in school. Trying new activities and taking on new challenges will help to show that there is more available to them than just what goes on within the halls of their middle school or their hometown.
From trying new activities, to making new friends, to just getting a change of scenery–summer camp can do wonders for preteens and middle schoolers. For more information, check out our blog posts on the values of camp friendships and the best summer camp activities for teens.