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Georgia College & State University’s Continuing & Professional Education department continues Kids’ University (Kids’ U) Summer Camp all throughout July.
Kids’ University hosts day camps throughout the summer through the School of Continuing & Professional Education. Summer camps began in June and are now open for registration for the July sessions. Each week of camp follows specific themes that guide the standards and curriculum taught through the week.
“Kids’ University camps are focused on learning through play. It’s a balance of physical activities, crafts, group interaction, down time, and more with lessons and games built around standards and curriculum provided by Georgia standards,” said Angie Woodham, director of Continuing and Professional Education.
There will be four sessions in July beginning July 5. The first week of camp takes place from July 5-7 following the theme of under the stars.
The second camp is July 10-14 and is themed as makers workshop. The third week of camp is July 17-21 and is based on the theme of time travel. The final camp of July takes place July 24-28 and is themed around Kid’ U Olympics.
“Kids withdraw from academics over the summer without any engagement to learn.
Kids’ U dribbles education with a mix of learning and play to ensure that summer is relaxing but educational for its campers,” said Woodham.
Kids’ University camps are coordinated by Nancy Finney with the assistance, this year, of Lead Counselor Diondra Franklin. Camps are structured for kindergarten through sixth graders. During camp, campers are broken into age groups to engage in activities with a few activities interacting with all age-groups.
“The lessons and activities are structured to fit the appropriate age group. So while all age groups are in the same location and camp, they are not necessarily engaging in the same schedule or standards,” said Woodham.
“For example, standards may be similar between age groups but younger grades may learn a broader range of skills and lessons while older age groups do a deep dive.”
Each camp has a different fee structure and the option to pay the Early Bird Rate or standard rate. Early bird pricing is available through July 9.
Fees include one snack per day, an hour of pool time (water play for K-1st), and structured activities appropriate to grade level.
According to the website, every camp also includes a guest speaker, and a Friday weekly showcase for families to join and see what their children have explored and discovered during the week.
“My son has been attending one of the camps and loving it,” said Woodham. “As a parent, it’s very important to me to see him engaging in fun but educational activities in a safe and proactive environment. Safety and enrichment are top priorities at Kids’ U, which means the world to all the parents who have enrolled their children into our camps.”
Parents are engaged in the camp as much as students are through the family showcase and the schedule given out on the first day of camp. The schedule will explain the standards and curriculum to be taught during the week and give parents an hourly breakdown of what their campers will be doing each day.
“We ensure that parents are informed about each day of camp and what their children are doing.
It helps parents to understand what our campers are learning and gives them more opportunities to engage with their children when they come home,” said Woodham.
“As a parent myself, I loved the schedule and constantly referred to it each day of camp while my son was there.”
Kids University also ensures that counselors interacting with campers are trained and have an educational background.
Many counselors are GCSU students, and all are over the age of 18. Each counselor is required to go through an application process and interviews before being accepted into the position. Each counselor is also CPR and first-aid certified. Each age group will have two to three counselors assigned to them, depending on the amount of kids in the group.
“Our counselors are typically from the College of Education or Nursing program but we have also had a range of counselors from other major programs within Georgia College,” said Woodham.
“Being a counselor is beneficial to them for the leadership skills and soft skills they learn during the week and it benefits our campers to have leaders who are assigned to their age groups and dedicated to their learning each week.”
Each summer camp takes place during the weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Drop-off is no earlier than 7:45 a.m., and pick-up is no later than 5:45 p.m. All age-groups are picked up and dropped off at the GCSU Wellness Center on West Campus located at 134 West Campus Drive in Milledgeville. To register for camps, view prices, or see more information, visit https://summercamps. gcsu.edu/kids-u.