Summer camps for teens

Summer is the time when schoolchildren and students are waiting with particular impatience, because now it will be a lot of free time available for various entertainments. However, today's young people are rather poor at coping with the independent organization of their own leisure time - at least numerous stinging social media posts about the next summer that testifies to a suspiciously large number of likes, show this. That’s why summer camps are good, that this is a way to spend a vacation in an organized and versatile manner.

Modern society deserves fair criticism for excessive dedication to the virtual world to the detriment of the real world. In practice, this leads to a narrowing of the circle of real friends and contributes to an additional closure to virtual reality. Hence - the main, but not the only plus of the summer camp. In general, the advantages of this summer pastime can be described as follows:

• In the adolescent camp, predominantly the same age groups and children with a small age difference are collected, which greatly increases the likelihood of finding new acquaintances with common interests. In terms of communication, staying here is much better than anywhere else, since the grandmother in the village hardly has many young people, and at home the child is not always forced to go outside, and even there he most likely already knows everyone. In the camp, he will choose at least one or two strangers, with whom he will be mutually interesting, and will be able to expand his horizons.
• The tasks of counselors include the organization of leisure of their wards. There simply is no such problem as “there is nothing to do”. In addition, the camps recently also have a certain specialization (this will be discussed in more detail below). This, firstly, helps each teenager to find as many like-minded people as possible, and secondly, it allows him to acquire new skills or improve existing ones - and therefore, to spend time with benefits.
• Nowhere did not disappear and the original function of the camps is rest and restoration of health. Usually such institutions are located in the corners of untouched nature, somewhere on sea or in the mountains, where clean air in itself contributes to the normalization of life processes. It will not be possible to start your physical state here - charging will most likely be carried out daily.

In other words, with the right attitude to the choice of a particular camp, you can achieve a tremendous effect, when with such a trip you can make the child's dream come true and give him unforgettable memories for many years to come.

The classic pioneer camps, from which this industry began in our country, all or almost all had a standardized structure and differed among themselves, except for their geographical location and leaders, who in any case cannot be absolutely identical.

Understanding the diversity of today's varieties is not so easy, but we will try.

This is perhaps the most sought-after and numerous cohort of recreation centers for teenagers and young people, since they traditionally love the movement and competitive spirit that are present here than anywhere else. Sports camps are often divided into even smaller categories - there are specially dedicated to football, basketball, volleyball, golf, equestrian and other sports.

Something similar to a sports and tourist camp - with the difference that there are no winners and losers, and its special type is the extreme camp, where tourists are taught not to lose even in the face-to-face confrontation with wildlife. All these activities require a good company. If it is problematic in one’s own yard to gather two basketball teams, then in a basketball camp one can be interested in playing 100% of those present.

Such institutions are focused on bringing the younger generation together on the basis of love for the Motherland, teaching them practical defense skills - or even teaching them to do without the benefits of civilization. A typical military camp certainly offers both a sports program and a study of the fundamentals of military affairs - at least its automaton’s structure should be known to the graduates.

Patriotic institutions can pay extra attention to studying the glorious history in order to teach adolescents to love their country by the example of their ancestors. A popular trend in recent times is the Cossack camp - a careful attitude to culture can be traced here.

Initially, institutions specializing in the study of a foreign language won popularity, and to this day remain an everlasting summer trend. Any international camp gives the broadest opportunities to study the same English, since all peers are from different countries, which means they can tell a lot of interesting things, and in the process of inevitable communication the level of the language will definitely increase.

Another area of ​​educational recreation is the business camp, where the lecture part interestingly reveals the peculiarities of running your own business, and games in your free time are likely to strongly resemble Monopoly. The vocational guidance camp has a specific function - it allows the teenager to briefly plunge into the atmosphere of a certain profession and check whether she is suitable for him until he has devoted her whole life to her.

Creative recreation can also be successfully organized on typical camp principles: the literary camp provides an opportunity to discuss with like-minded favorite authors and discover new interesting books, music is an excellent platform not only for listening to music, but also for creating it. Inherently close to sports dance camps, where the corresponding competitions are often held.

This is only the most common division of camps, while many institutions of this type do not relate to anything named (or have certain features that radically distinguish them from others, generally similar). For example, a winter camp may be military or sports, but you must admit that it is strongly out of the general mass. Volunteer camps gather under their wing people who take rest, working - bringing certain gratis to society. The psychological camp is notable for the special sincerity of the staff and allows you to “let go” of all the problems. For those to whom the Orthodox spirit is close, special recreation centers will do - in compliance with all traditions and rituals.

Even on this thematic camps do not end there - perhaps there are even more specific varieties.The concept of “free camp” is also popular, but remember that when organizing high-quality recreation, the financial side of the issue should be the last argument.

In our country there are all the necessary conditions to create teen camps - there is a huge territory with a variety of natural conditions, and a rather large number of people who need to have a rest every year.

It should be noted that among the most popular institutions in Russia there are no representatives of the most demanded direction - recreation at sea. At the same time, there is no shortage of camps on the coasts of the Russian seas, quite the contrary - they usually do not differ from the main mass and are noticeably inferior to their foreign counterparts located in warmer areas. Therefore, modern Russians are usually more interested in recreation for teenagers in the forests and mountains.

An example of a super popular camp is KOMOK near Moscow. Located just 80 kilometers from the capital, it is easily accessible to a huge number of our fellow citizens living nearby, but it is located in a place where the air is clean and the nature is beautiful.

A separate “trick” of the institution is an orientation on a specific topic, which may vary from shift to shift. In particular, in August 2017 all activities and entertainment here are organized with the constant presence of characteristic elements of British culture.

If we talk about the main Russian camps, where parents send teenagers to spend their summer holidays, Perm and Perm Krai stand out, as well as camps in the Altai Krai. These regions are characterized by high forest cover, and in the Altai you can see both the mountains and the real taiga with the cleanest mountain lakes.

If you get into such places, even an adult will not be able to resist the delighted exclamation, and the child will come to indescribable delight - in these places the recreation infrastructure is developed quite well.

Recently, a vacation has become very popular. by the border, and foreign camps for children - as well. For those who have problems with learning English in their homeland, camps in America and England are perfect, although they are interesting for those who want to improve the level of the language, and for those who are simply interested in the culture of Britain and the USA. Similar logic, but already with the German language, is relevant for camps in Germany.

If a child does not want to go to the sea and does not like the heat, and you also live somewhere in the north-west of the country, the camps of Norway and Finland will be a good choice - Scandinavia is famous for its natural beauty. For residents of the south-west (due to geographical proximity and low prices), recreation facilities for teenagers in Ukraine may be of interest.

The list of countries where you can send your child for the summer is far from complete. Special international institutions exist in any state of Southern Europe, to a lesser extent they are represented in other European countries. Russian teenagers are waiting for the camps of North America, but they are less popular in Russia because of the considerable distance and high cost of flights.

A set of things for recreation in a teen camp should be the same as for any other holiday. Take care of the most important thing - underwear and clothing. When choosing clothes, be guided by what the institution does - for example, for a sports camp you should take more sportswear, and in the literary one you will need less, although at least one tracksuit will be needed at any recreation center.

Pay attention to where is the place where you send your child - swimming trunks, bathing suits and towels are very relevant to the sea, but in the mountains, even in the summer, a jacket would be much more useful.

In all other respects, a set of things is standard - personal hygiene items, food and drink on the road, some medications, if they are rare and necessarily needed.

The very specifics of the camp may require certain additional things, but then it is better to simply contact representatives of the organization and ask for advice from them. Even if the host organization is not a tourist, remember the rule of experienced tourists: the more experienced a tourist, the less his backpack.

A teenager is already a person with his own views and preferences, able to make an informed choice (especially if he is already 16 years old), so do not pull the blanket over yourself and discuss with your child exactly how he sees summer vacation. This can be done even if a trip to the camp is planned as a surprise - tactfully provoke a son or daughter to talk about what they ideally would like to do in the summer.

However, this is a matter of choosing a direction, and there are more practical points. Any good parents will probably not trust their child to unreliable people - they will want to know what awaits him. Fortunately, modern technology can reliably determine this.

If you want to understand what conditions this or that organization offers, refer to its personal website. There, all the advantages of choosing in her favor will be described in detail, there you will also find photos that allow you to get an idea of ​​living and recreation conditions. Usually, there is a daily schedule with information about educational and entertainment programs, and you can find out the cost of the voucher on the same site.

At the same time, the website of any organization always presents it in a good light, while the flaws are usually concealed. If you do not trust what was read and seen on the camp site, use the search engines and thematic forums to find on the Internet the opinions of people who have had experience of staying at a particular recreation center.

If the organization of interest clearly fits your teenager, the site promises favorable and comfortable conditions for recreation and development, and the Internet is not replete with negative about this recreation center - it means that this is the ideal camp for this summer.