Boom, Boom! Ain’t It Great to be Camping?
NEO Summer Camp Options Offer Something for Everyone

When I was a kid, going to summer camp meant just one thing. It was a week, maybe longer, to head out to the country, sleep under the stars and commune with fellow pre-pubescents and the outdoors. We’d wake each morning to a bugler playing reveille, drag our tired, sunburnt bodies out of our bunk beds and begin a day of horseback riding, archery, swimming and crafts. Meals consisting of bug juice, cold cuts and runny eggs were the fuel to get us through our days, which ended around the campfire listening to scary stories and singing “Boom, boom! Ain’t it great to be crazy?”

While summer camps like mine still exist, today they’re in the minority. In Northeast Ohio, as in other parts of the country, traditional outdoor summer camps are now just one option in broad palette of summer camp choices, ranging from sports and academic camps to performing arts and science camps.

“I think what’s happened is that organizations wanting to attract youths saw the name ‘camp’ as something parents trust and believe in, so they took on that label,” says Dennis Elliott, Ohio section executive with the American Camp Association, which provides accreditation and support to camps. “Now there’s almost an infinite variety of things called camp.”

Cuyahoga Community College is just one of those organizations that’s developed a camp program for kids, in part as an effort to attract future students. “It offers a showcase of the breadth of programs we offer,” said Janet Cannata, a Tri-C marketing communications manager. “We bring students in to see what we offer and when they decide to continue their education, they might take another look at us later on.”

Technology camps like Funutation Computer Camps take that approach one step further by teaching kids career-oriented skills like website design, computer game programming and robot construction. Founder Ted Jordan says his camps teach fundamentals of physics, electrical engineering, math and other sciences along the way.

But during those all-too-short summer months in Northeast Ohio, why would any kid want to be inside programming a website? “We get the child who would rather be at a computer learning something,” says Jordan. “They usually don’t have these kinds of peers in their schools, so this allows them to be around kids just like them.”

Whether they’re sitting at a computer or around a campfire, Elliott says the camp experience is still valuable to a child’s development. “It’s a step toward independence,” he says. “Kids learn to be responsible for their own needs, make their own decisions and stay on their own.”

With so many options, how should parents go about choosing a summer camp? “First, talk to your kids. Find out what they want to get out of camp,” says Elliott. “Next talk to the director, and find out what the camp does. Just because it uses the name ‘camp’ doesn’t mean it’s what you remember from your youth.” Elliott also recommends that parents make a stop at the ACA website (www.acacamps.org) to search for accredited camps, which have met each of ACA’s 300 standards for safety, training, background checks and other quality standards. My search of a 60-mile radius from downtown Cleveland found 33 ACA-accredited camps.

Regardless of your child’s interests, you’re sure to find the camp program for them. Here are just a few suggestions to get your hunt for summer camps started.

For The Junior Outdoorsman…
For kids who want the traditional camp experience complete with campfires, bunk beds and mess halls, there are a number of options available in the Northeast Ohio region. Here are just a few:

For the Sports Fanatic…
Any number of YMCAs, JCCs, schools or parks & recreation departments offer sports-oriented camps each summer, which may be the option closest to home. But here are a few other options for the die-hard sports fanatic:

For the Dedicated Student…
Kids who don’t want to give up on learning just because it’s summer can visit any number of local colleges, universities or organizations to fill that need. No matter your area of interest – from archaeology to web design – there’s an academic option for you, such as:

For the Artiste or Star Performer…
For kids who want to see their name in lights one day, what better time than now to bone up on their performing arts, musical or artistic skills? With Northeast Ohio’s rich cultural resources, you can bet there’s a camp for just about any artistic endeavor. Here’s just a few:

For Kids with Special Needs…
There are many agencies in Northeast Ohio that provide excellent services for kids with special needs year-round, but especially when camp-time rolls around. Some of the options include:

From Cool Cleveland contributor Jennifer Keirn jenniferkATwowway.com
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