With the onset of spring and the start of the Easter holidays, many parents in Spain are already beginning to seriously think about summer leisure activities for their children. If the winter holidays are predominantly the time when Christmas and New Year events are attended and large family celebrations are held; spring break – the time of carnival processions and gifts from the Easter Bunny; Then the summer holidays last almost three months and pose a difficult task for working parents: how to organize a pastime for their child at the same time with benefit and pleasure.<\/p>\n
Today we will try to answer the most popular questions: at what age can you send your child to camp, what types of summer camps are there in Spain and how children\u2019s leisure time is organized there.<\/p>\n
In fact, there is no \u201crecommended\u201d age that can be applied to all children. For example, you can go on your first hike in an organized group at about 8-9 years old. However, much will depend on the physical and emotional maturity of your boy or girl.<\/p>\n
Many parents make a common mistake in our modern society – excessive guardianship and restriction of the child\u2019s independence.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The rule \u201cthe sooner the better\u201d works in this matter, because in a children\u2019s camp you will have to use all your social interaction skills. Parents are usually able to objectively assess when their child is ready to leave home for a period of time and become a little more independent, but it is better to do this gradually, step by step.<\/p>\n
In many cases, the first trip to camp is the first time your child will sleep away from home, and it is important to avoid stressing him out in this new situation.<\/p>\n
The most experienced organizers of children’s leisure activities perfectly understand such features and organize events that allow minors to integrate into the life of a children’s camp as quickly as possible, meet other children and gain new positive experiences.<\/p>\n
Let’s consider the characteristics of different age groups.<\/p>\n
Children aged 4 to 5 years<\/h3>\n
In Spain, children can be sent to children’s city camps from an early age (4-5 years old). Such camps often open right on the school premises and begin their activities on June 22, immediately after the end of the school year.<\/p>\n
Because preschool is free education in Spain<\/a> (infantil) starts at the age of 3, then a children’s camp at this age will not be something extraordinary for a child. Essentially, it’s the same as just going to school, just doing slightly different activities, where more emphasis is placed on games, creativity and sports, and educational goals are postponed until the new school year.<\/p>\n
Children aged 5 to 7 years<\/h3>\n
As with preschoolers, for the first camp of children of primary school age (5-8 years old), we can safely recommend city camps, also called day camps, since they use the same school schedule with which the child is already familiar. In day camps, as the name suggests, the student spends the night at home.<\/p>\n
Children aged 8 to 14 years<\/h3>\n
For the next age category (from 8 to 14 years old), we can already recommend children’s camps, where children contact and live with other children 24 hours a day, sleep outside the home, and gain new socialization experiences.<\/p>\n
Such summer camps are also great for learning foreign languages, completing sports and adventure quests, learning dancing, basic cooking, surfing, taking scout courses and much more (we will look at these in more detail later).<\/p>\n
Teenagers aged 13 to 18 years<\/h3>\n
As a summer camp for teenagers (from 13 to 18 years old), it is worth considering foreign camps, where older children can learn and improve a foreign language abroad. Very popular, for example, are such camps that offer English language learning directly in the UK, USA, Canada, as well as in Turkey, Greece, Cyprus and some other countries.<\/p>\n