Summer is here! Bidding farewell to school friends, exams & play-time at school, it becomes a laborious task for children to fight boredom. For parents, it can’t get worse. If “digital detox” was ever meant for adults, we’d say that it's pivotal for toddlers & teenagers who are glued to their tablets & phones. While going gaga over ice-cream & chocolate milk shakes this summer, your children will have newer reasons to rejoice & have fun with “Summer Camps For Kids”. Keeping your hyper-active brats occupied constructively for 2 long months maybe an impossible task. Summer classes are one of the best ways to improve your child’s cognitive abilities, make the most of those 60 fun-filled days & create a huge bundle of memories. Read on the 'top 5 reasons how summer camps improve your child’s cognitive abilities'.

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What is ‘Cognitive Development’? The term ‘Cognitive Development’ was coined to characterize the way a child learns, acquires knowledge and interacts with his surrounding environment.  Different cognitive skills acquired by a child over a period of time will promote active learning.  Encourage your child’s cognitive development in sectors of memory, concentration, attention and perception by incorporating simple activities into your everyday routine.

1.   Interacting With Children From Varied Cultures & Backgrounds

Scientists have proven that a child’s exposure to other students who are different from themselves, who come from varied cultures, languages and backgrounds, leads to improved cognitive skills, including critical thinking and problem solving. Your children will ultimately be better prepared to succeed in the rat-race that is more racially, ethnically and religiously diverse than you can imagine.

They say that some of the most meaningful friendships come to you in the most unexpected ways. Camps are just the right place for your child to break the shackle of their comfort zone, discover new things and learn to deal with other kids by continuous interaction with them in different capacities.

Camps provide a ‘blank slate’ to your child, allowing them to fill it in their own unique way by exploring their independence and improving their self-confidence.

One of the most significant improvements was in the area of emotional intelligence, often referred to as EQ (emotional quotient). With EQ, which involves recognizing, understanding and managing emotions, children learn how to work, play, relate, get along, empathize and connect with others.

My father always said – “It’s nice to be important. But more important to be nice”. Summer camps would teach you that.

2.   Visit New Places

Remember how much you longed to go for a picnic with your school friends? Your parents may have taken you to Singapore or Dubai in the past. But THAT trip to the amusement park or the national zoo with your school friends had a charm of its own – it’s memories still unmatched.
How summer camps improve your child's cognitive abilities? Visiting new places like an organic farm to see how the farmer milks his cow, to identify noises & relate it to objects in their everyday environment (for instance running water by the river, a horse neighing or tinkling bells on the bull’s horn) are a delight to any child. They will begin to understand how sounds relate to objects in their everyday environment.

Go for a nature walk. Teach your child simple ways to embrace nature and become conscious individuals. Activities like making “best out of waste”, recycling tips and how to conserve water can make long-term positive impacts on the society as a whole.

Let your child see the traditional attire of the citizens of different countries at the national museum,or get your hands messy with some pottery, which stimulates curiosity and provides a hands-on experience to your young one. Children learn about geography and countries - their flags, craft, art and traditions. Older kids would love to visit factories manufacturing cars, assembling units or science research centres.

3.   The Power Of Games

Playing simple games for an hour a day can do wonders and foster skills that 18 hours of teaching can’t. Because a child is SEEING, DOING, LEARNING BY MISTAKES and getting acquainted with several activities that they probably had never done before. Interactive fun games with your infant, toddler, tween or teen will encourage problem solving, out-of-the-box thinking and foster competitiveness in your child. Simple board games, blocks, puzzles and outdoor games will hone fine & gross motor skills, along with cognitive skills, and will improve a child’s logical thinking and pattern recognition. This could minimize the occurrence of Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

With technology taking over, there isn’t much priority left for outdoor activities. A recent study found that only 7% of Indian kids aged 6-19 years (especially in urban areas) got the recommended hour a day of exercise they needed. Camps are a solution to these problems where physical activities are disguised in the form of fun activities and games that kids love.

4. DIY Crafts & Art

Creativity comes with no bounds. A child with colours and a canvas can create magic. The trees can be pink and ostriches can fly high. No art is perfect. A child’s craft can leave you spell-bound – they can express their thoughts through their choice of colours and strokes, materials or placement of random objects. As long as they are having fun with those messy hands, they should be encouraged to learn different forms of art like quilling, origami, painting and DIY crafts. 

5. Role Of Technology & AI

There are a few skills that your child possesses without you even knowing it. Camps are the perfect place for them to explore these skills. From science to space, theatre to photography, creating videos to robotics – these are becoming increasingly popular among kids. Well, summer camps are meant for a “digital detox”, but if technology can be used constructively to ignite young minds, teaching them the “HOW” and “WHY” of “things” taught seldom at school, why not? Learning ‘pressure’ and ‘gravity’ with some mind-blowing interactive hands-on experiments would allow children to grasp & retain better. Interactive learning will develop quick thinking and decision making, rapid memory retrieval, reaction speed.

As a parent, I strongly recommend enrolling children into summer camps. One of the Best Summer Programs For Children 2019 is by Amelio Early Education. It is an early education brand that creates and operates high quality onsite preschool and daycare centres primarily inside tech parks and companies having 15 centres across Chennai, with a presence in Bangalore and Hyderabad. The programs offered at Amelio include Infant care, Daycare (Full day), Preschool, Afterschool and Backup care. Amelio also offers a Summer Camp program for children every year, with flexible fun activity workshops.

Amelio’s Summer Camps start on the 18th of March and extends until the 7th of June, 2019. Full day and half day programs are available from 2 to 12 weeks, for children between 4 - 12 years. Activities include Art, Robotics, Photography, STEM, Theatre Workshops, Gardening, Cooking and more, across 15 centres in Chennai and one in Bangalore. For more information on Amelio’s summer camps, click here.