Despite your best efforts as a parent, there will probably come a time when no amount of cajoling will coax your kid into a car karaoke of “Rainbow Connection.”
Too old for The Muppets and too young for Marilyn Manson, your preteen has reached an in-between phase, and finding interesting activities for this age group can be complicated.
Spring Break presents a particular challenge for some families whose preteens may not be old enough to stay home alone for two weeks unsupervised, but are too old for traditional recreation centre camps that focus on programs for younger age groups.
Throughout the year, the District of West Vancouver offers various afternoon and weekend drop-in programs for preteens and youth that involve a combination of organized activity, such as swimming or cooking, and hang-out time for playing pool or ping pong in the recreation centre’s youth lounge, all supervised by youth leaders.
Melanie Clark is a youth program co-ordinator with the district and says her team noticed a bit of an uptake in attendance in their drop-in programs over the fall in particular. In response, they quickly pulled together a winter break program for that age group that proved popular so they decided to add another version for Spring Break.
“It became apparent to us that there was interest in having something with a little more structure than just your general, typical daily drop-in, but not as structured as some of our other traditional camps,” explains Clark.
The Youth Spring Break Camp is for kids in grades 6 to 9 and offers a mix of activity, both structured and unstructured, specifically suited to that age group. The program takes place at the Ambleside Youth Centre, which is a large space at Ambleside Park equipped with two pool tables, two ping pong tables, a kitchen, and more.
The camp will offer outings to the beach, Laser Tag, Extreme Air Park, and maybe even the mall, as well as indoor activities, such as swimming and cooking. But the unique element of this program is that it builds in time for participants to just to hang out and socialize, a popular activity for this age group. During downtime, participants can play board games, ping pong, or pool, or just sit and chat (not online but face to face). All activities are supervised by district youth leaders.
Clark says the camp combines the best of both wolds for this age group. It also reaches across the district, allowing youth from different schools in the area to come together, try some new activities, and meet new friends.
Says Clark: “This is for special kids who are feeling a little too old for camp but still in their hearts really want to be a part of something.”
There are also plans for a summer version of this camp, details of which are still being finalized. Youth Spring Break Camp runs Monday to Friday, March 20-24, 9 a.m.-3p.m. To register call 604-925-7270 or visit westvancouverrec.ca. There are also plans for a summer break version of this camp, details of which are still being finalized.
This story originally appeared in a special section of the paper focusing on kids activities.
