The summer vacation is the ideal time for students to participate in extracurricular activities, develop talents, and equip themselves with life skills.
Activities in summer camp often include: learning communication skills, working in groups, being independent in personal activities, cooking, managing time, problem solving, leadership skills, and many other practical experiences.
These summer camps can be organized in the form of boarding (children staying overnight) or semi-boarding (children coming home in the evening), depending on the age and needs of each family.
Sharing with Lao Dong reporter, Ms. Ngoc Mai (Dong Da, Hanoi) often registers short-term summer camp for her daughter (class 7) and son (class 5) to make children more confident, studying and playing during the summer vacation.
"For the past few years, I have sent my children to the summer camp every summer vacation. One year, I went to Hung Yen for 2 days and 1 night (VND2.8 million), went to Soc Son for 3 days (VND3.2 million), and sometimes went further in Hoa Binh for 4 days (VND5.8 million). Depending on the form of the summer camp, I can take my children alone or take a course together.
In the long run, I will send my child to an international summer camp so that he can be more bold, practice English and broaden his knowledge. My child once went to a summer camp in Singapore for 18 million VND per week. The children are paired by managers and coordinators all day, and are also affiliated with large universities, so I feel more secure. During the trip, the children visited universities, interacted with international students, and exchanged cultures and arts," said Ms. Mai.
Regarding the story of the summer camp in Lang Ha Hac that has caused a stir in public opinion in recent times, Ms. Ngoc Mai said she sympathized because her children had participated in short-term experience courses and lived in more deprived conditions at home.
Ms. Ngoc Mai's children have had a real experience in Co Loa, participating in activities such as buffalo riding, climbing, and living in a simple stilt house. However, she was worried that her child might not be able to adapt to the very different living environment, so she decided to let her go during the day.
"I think for adults, living in a comfortable house has changed to a stilt house, there is a shortage of electricity and water, and it is difficult to eat and drink. With young children, children will feel scared because they are both away from their parents and have to deal with many problems. Therefore, I often choose skills and knowledge courses, working in groups so that my child can participate enthusiastically and have a stable mentality," Ms. Ngoc Mai added.
In addition, experience courses such as military summer camp, fire fighting summer camp or life skills training have also become the choice of many parents.
Mr. Nguyen Long (Hoang Mai, Hanoi) chose a 1-week military summer camp course for his son in grade 3 so that he could develop more comprehensive life skills and practice many appropriate and necessary qualities such as discipline, patience, etc.
Long-term programs cost up to more than 10 million VND, but Mr. Nguyen Long believes that children can form personality and a positive outlook on life through diverse activities, learning skills such as fire prevention and fighting, prevention of child abuse and kidnapping, etc.
According to Ms. Nguyen Le Thuy - psychologist in Education and Life skills of the Tien Tien Tien and Nhien newspaper, "the children have different personalities, come from different regions, different customs and habits. Build a team, students get acquainted with rules and regulations, build positive habits.
From there, they have changes in perception and behavior. 7 days say no to technology equipment, instead cover the schedule with useful activities, must follow the general order. Maybe 7 days can not change a person, but it is possible to establish discipline and build goals, creating a scientific schedule for students to improve their health and spirit".
