When choosing an educational camp for a child, it's better to start from his or her interests
It seems that in matters of personal and intellectual growth, one cannot waste a minute. But that's just how it seems. It turns out that sometimes it's better to let the child do whatever he thinks is necessary. Otherwise, the summer may end badly.
Time for fun
Experts believe that three months is not such a long time to recover from a school year full of stress and prepare for the next. After all, during the school year, children don't even have time to catch their breath. "It only seems that our schoolchildren rest more than foreign ones," says Natalya Kuindzhi, Chief Researcher at the Research Institute of Hygiene and Health Protection of Children and Adolescents of the Scientific Center for Children's Health of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Doctor of Medical Sciences. "It has been proven that our academic year is the most intensive in terms of volume of academic work. Therefore, a long period of rest is absolutely necessary to relieve previous tension, reach an optimal state, and consolidate it. That's exactly three months."
Indeed, it is unlikely to accomplish this three-step maxim program during the short autumn and spring breaks. With winter break, it's even more difficult. "High school students and middle school students are often given huge homework assignments, and they don't have time to rest," explains Maryana Bezrukikh, Director of the Institute of Developmental Physiology of the Russian Academy of Education, Professor, "and little ones are taken from one New Year tree party to another, so they don't really get a proper rest."
That leaves summer, which experts unanimously recommend first and foremost as a time when a child, forgetting about routine and a strict schedule, can turn into a little sybarite. "First, you need to let the child rest for at least two weeks so that he can simply get enough sleep," says Maryana Bezrukikh, "because during the school year he lives in a situation of constant time pressure. This lack of time becomes a stress factor that negatively affects both the physical and mental state of the child. So let him relax, allow him not to live in a constant rush." What does that mean? Let him lie on the couch? As strange as it may seem, let him lie if he wants. It doesn't matter what your offspring does – run with friends to the river or play his favorite computer shooters. This is his personal time, which he has earned. He knows better how to relieve accumulated stress.
And moreover, left to his own devices, at a certain point he will get tired of rest, paradoxical as it may sound. The parent only needs to catch this moment in time. If relaxation has turned into sloppiness, the child is simply bored and completely thrown out of his usual rhythm, for example, staying up until two in the morning, it's time to gently remind him of workdays. You can move on to the stage where the vacationer reaches his optimal level. But when choosing tools to achieve this, you should follow the principle of "do no harm." Otherwise, instead of a cheerful and rested child, by the end of summer you will get a nervous wreck.
Time for business
When experts talk about the new level that a child can reach during vacations, they hardly mean the school curriculum. The rigid school schedule leaves no room for maneuver. Maryana Bezrukikh calls the stress of time constraints one of the strongest factors that constantly affects a child over many years. It is practically impossible to discover something new and enjoy it under such conditions. During the school year, there is simply no time for creativity, even though it itself can be a source of energy. In the summer, freed from the pressure of parents and teachers, the student will no longer perceive the learning process as something negative.
"There is one curious point," notes Natalya Kuindzhi, "in its time, at our research institute, we tried to introduce regulations for creative activities, such as ballet or drawing, but we abandoned that idea. In children who are passionate about creativity, the perception of these loads is different. They don't get tired because they are emotionally involved in the process." A 12-year-old boy may look forward to summer to study the life of bugs, even though the school biology course does not evoke positive emotions in him, simply because he approaches the subject creatively.
Summer is the ideal time to engage in a favorite activity without stress. Moreover, there are plenty of options – from traditional language schools and sports camps to quite original programs in various scientific and creative fields. However, before running to a travel agent, you need to understand what age child you are going to develop and what goals you set for him.
"For children of middle and older age, a trip to camp will only be beneficial. The most favorable age here is 9-13 years," reasons child psychologist Natalya Seliverstova. "But older teenagers have too many temptations when they are sent off on their own. Children aged seven or eight should not be sent to summer camp without a special need, because they do not yet know how to negotiate with each other and conflict. Many also miss their parents and even think: 'They sent me to camp on purpose because I am not needed.'"
Older schoolchildren can easily cope with the mandatory daily load if it is served under the right sauce. How many hours of classes per day a teenager's body can handle in the summer is a complex question. 'There is no academic load on children during vacations in our standards,' says Natalia Kuindzhi, 'it's just that the process needs to be organized so that it is a pleasure, not a punishment.' Eighth-grader Anya recalls a camp where they practiced leadership skills: 'We were involved in a constant creative process, there was not a free minute, but since we were praised every evening for our work, we got a sea of positive emotions. And in the end, I realized how my self-esteem had increased – it was great.'
The same emotions can be obtained by learning, for example, a foreign language. High school student Anton Bondarenko recalls how after the tenth grade he was sent for two weeks to a summer language school in England. 'We had four hours a day of grammar lessons,' he says, 'everything like at school, but entirely in English. Strangely enough, the learning process itself turned out to be not at all heavy. There was a lot of free time. Everything very interesting and relaxing. Plus communication with kids from other countries. And, of course, the main thing – I definitely improved my language.'
However, to make it worthwhile, you need to choose a camp according to interests. Anton, for example, clearly realized that he needed to improve his language, so he was satisfied with the result. Here, experts note, everything depends on how much the proposed theme excites the child himself. If he dreamed all year of looking at tissue samples under a microscope, days at a camp with a biological focus will seem like a gift of fate.
According to Natalia Seliverstova, such education helps to significantly increase the student's cognitive interest. The main thing is to guess the moment so that the child does not burn out before the start of the school year, but at the same time manages to prepare for school. Parents who plan camp training for the end of July or beginning of August hit the mark 100 percent. With proper organization of rest, he will return home a couple of weeks before the start of classes rested and inspired by a thirst for knowledge. Even if only two or three weeks are spent on education, and the rest of the time he is left to his own devices, the result can be incredible. And certainly more effective than that of a child who, after a 'developmental summer,' comes to school on September 1 with the words: 'Well, finally I get to rest!'
• 'Land of Oz' – a children's camp and simply a great place for summer vacation for your children! Give your little one the opportunity to spend a couple of wonderful weeks surrounded by talented educators and creative children's animators who will find an approach to any rascal! Allow your son or daughter to find many new friends! In addition to excellent 4 meals a day in a well-equipped dining room and round-the-clock security, children receive excellent medical care – on the territory of the camp there is a well-equipped medical center. Stepping over the threshold of the camp, children and adults find themselves in a real fairy tale, because thanks to the unique landscape design of the territory, a complete impression of being in some parallel galaxy is created. Give your child an unforgettable summer vacation at a camp in the Moscow region!
Marina ZUBAKOVA,
Anastasia REZNICHENKO. <\/strong>