The preteen years are a unique period of development for kids.
So says Samantha Morrison, a program developer with the North Vancouver Recreation Commission.
"This particular age group, part of their personal development is being able to be more independent and to acquire skills. It's like a key time for children to acquire gross motor and fine motor skills, and to express creativity," she explains.
In order to meet the needs of the preteen age group, the recreation commission is offering a new approach to some of their summer camps this year.
Mix & Match Camps will feature the opportunity for kids to choose a different program for the morning and the afternoon. Kids must commit to those programs for the whole week, but their morning activity can be different than their afternoon choice. In addition, kids who only want to attend in the morning or the afternoon can do so. Full-day camps will also still be offered. The prices of the various Mix & Match Camps differ based on the type of activity offered, so parents can mix and match cost to some degree as well.
The camps include sports, performing arts and a general interest program called HJ Adventure Club, which has a variety of activities.
Morrison refers to the new Mix & Match Camps as a "Choose Your Own Adventure kind of camp."
She says a survey of all camp clients was conducted at the beginning of September about what the clients wanted in summer programming. Kids in the programs were also asked what they were interested in. The program development team also reviewed demographics information and used all the data to determine how the programs could meet the needs of parents, and of kids, particularly in the areas of personal development and interest.
"We're in a world where people are really tailoring their leisure time to their interests, so we wanted to provide that opportunity to kids to have the flexibility to choose different things to do," says Morrison. "We wanted them to have really specific opportunities in recreation. The idea is we want to build the kids' skills so that they have the ability to access more activities as an adult and stay active through their youth."
This is the first time that the North Vancouver Recreation Commission is offering the Mix & Match Camps, and Morrison expects a positive response.
"What we're trying to do here is give people tons of choice," she says, adding the program offers choice in both activity and schedule.
"We know when kids hit puberty that there is a decrease in activity," she notes. She says they thought if kids enjoy what they're doing and get to choose their activities, they will probably choose to stay active.
"It allows for them to explore new skills and there's lots of variety."
This story originally appeared in the North Shore News special section called Summer Camps, which highlights local camp programs.
