Camp News

Month: March 2023

How Art and Creativity Aid Your Child’s Development

Art and creativity play a significant role in your child’s early development. Many children use art as a form of expression, with various types of art revealing children’s thoughts, interests, and feelings. In fact, many children communicate ideas through dance and bodily expression. If parents learn how to interpret their child’s artistic language, they can glimmer into their child’s inner world.

While art and creativity are beneficial to children at any age, early childhood is the most advantageous stage to teach artistic disciplines. Studies show that participating in creative and artistic activities when children are young helps them learn other subjects like math and reading. Children also easily retain information when they’re young as their brain soaks up new information like sponges. That’s why at Frogbridge Day Camp, we focus on including a variety of creative and artistic activities for children starting at age three.

Literature Enhances Children’s Cognitive Skills

Learning to love reading as an adult isn’t easy. Most adults who enjoy reading every day usually read often as a child. There are few experiences in the world that are so enriching as reading to your children. When you read stories to your child, it enhances many cognitive skills, such as:

  • Language
  • Imagination
  • Memory

Books and stories can transport a young mind to a new world, so reading feels more fun than a chore. As a parent, if you share stories with your child from a young age, combining books into their free time when they’re older will be much easier. Your child will no doubt learn how to read at school, but they must also read at home for this ability to truly develop.

Painting & Drawing Develops a Child’s Personality

Learning how to paint and draw at a young age plays a significant role in a child’s maturity and personality development. These tasks advance excellent motor skills, creativity, reading, writing, and self-esteem. Many children express their emotions and how they’re feeling through their paintings and drawings before they speak about them.

To inspire your child’s inherent creativity, allow your child opportunities at home to paint and draw. Whether your child leans toward paints, clays, or crayons, provide the necessary materials so they can let their imagination run free. To create outside the box, let your child play with materials other than paper, like cardboard, canvases, chalkboards, or even chalk on the outdoor sidewalk!

Theatre Teaches Important Values

When children are involved in theatre, they use their imagination to put themselves in another character’s shoes. It helps them think about how others might feel in experiences vastly different from their own, teaching children respect, empathy, and open-mindedness. Bodily expression and social interaction found in theatre help children learn to carry themselves with confidence as they grow.

At Frogbridge Day Camp, children can participate in a variety of performing arts activities that includes a show unlike any other through our TheatreWorks program. Letting children’s imaginations soar using bodily expression in theatre helps children express themselves. Maria Montessori, the famous philosopher and educator, has noted:

“Imagination does not become great until human beings, given the courage and the strength, use it to create.”

Explore Creative & Performing Arts at Frogbridge Day Camp

At Frogbridge Day Camp, we focus on fostering children’s artistic and creative sides with a variety of creative and performing arts, like painting, ceramics, arts & crafts, drama, and more. We invite you to discover all the educational, fun, and exciting activities we offer children young and old alike by visiting and seeing for yourself the Frogbridge Difference. We offer daily personal tours throughout the year! Complete an online contact form or call our office at (609) 438-8275 to schedule yours today!

Pros and Cons of Limiting Screen Time for Your Kids

We all do our best to limit the amount of screen time our kids have. The Mayo Clinic suggests that children under the age of 2 should have no screen time, children between 2 and 12 can have an hour of screen time a day, and teens and young adults can have up to two hours. Many parents, however, wonder about the benefits of limiting kids’ screen time. We’ve broken down the pros and cons of restricting screen time for your children.

Pro: Children Will Have Time for Other Activities

By placing a strict limit on how much time your kids can spend on screens, they’ll have plenty of time for other activities such as reading and exercising. Children should spend less time glued to their screens and more time outdoors playing with friends.

Con: Kids Need Screen Time for School

This is especially true now, with most kids learning remotely. They have to be online for their education, so try not to hold their school screen time against their personal time. Whenever they have a break, such as for lunch or recess, turn off the computer and read or go for a walk.

Pro: Good Eyes and Fewer Headaches

Staring at a screen for too long can have negative effects on our eyesight. After a few hours of mindless scrolling, we may start squinting or feeling headaches. Chances are your kids will feel better and have healthier eyes by limiting screen time.

Con: Jealousy of Older Siblings

As kids age, it becomes harder to limit their screen time, especially for teenagers. But giving free reign to your teens and limiting tech time for your younger ones could cause kids to be jealous of their older siblings. If you start to see them become angry, talk to them and explain how you want them to have enough time in the day to play outside and be with friends.

Pro: Awareness of Their Surroundings

It’s tempting to scroll through Twitter or read text messages while waiting in line at the grocery store or for your food to be ready, but if you’re not paying enough attention, you may not know what’s happening around you. Limiting screen time for kids will get them in the habit of being more aware of their surroundings, thus protecting their safety.

Con: The Internet Is Great for Learning

While it’s not great to spend your entire day looking at a screen, the internet is a fantastic learning opportunity for your children. Kids can play learning development games that teach them math, English, science, or other languages. By limiting their screen time, you might be limiting their ability to learn.

Steps to Take When Allowing Screen Time

While screen time in moderation can be beneficial, there are steps you must take to ensure your child is safe both from both strangers on the internet and vision strain from the screen itself. Some of these steps include:

  • Avoiding screens at night: Blue light from smartphones and tablets affects how our body produces melatonin, the hormone that makes us tired. Too much screen time at night can see your child up for hours past their bedtime.
  • Supervising your children: There’s content on the internet and app stores that’s not appropriate for children, which is why it’s always important to keep an eye on their search history. You should also set a password so your children can’t download every app they see.

Partaking in a few of these simple steps can significantly increase your child’s safety and well-being when it comes to screen time.

Turn Off the Screens at Frogbridge Day Camp

After an abnormal year filled with screen time as a result of remote learning, put the phones, laptops, and tablets away and sign your kids up for a summer at Frogbridge Day Camp! Across our 86 acres, campers can enjoy various outdoor activities like fishing, archery, and swimming.

If you’ve never experienced the wonders of our camp, we encourage you to book a private tour. We’re following all proper government guidelines, including social distancing and requiring face coverings when visiting our camp. Call (609) 795-7209 or complete a contact form to schedule your tour today!