The Foreign Service Journal, March 2022

78 MARCH 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL or multiple weeks with a wide range of activities, providing opportunities to explore new or developing interests. • Sports Camps: specializing in just about every sport imaginable, plus skills such as horseback riding. • Religious Camps: religiously affili- ated or denomination-specific. • Camps affiliated with well-known organizations: scouting, YMCA, etc. • Arts Camps: drama, music, cooking, film, etc. • Education Camps: STEM, debate, reading, writing, math, poetry, computer skills, robotics and A/I, etc. • Special Needs Camps: kids with diabetes, the visually or hearing impaired and those with other disabilities, children who are mourning, etc. Positive Outcomes I briefly mentioned how my camp experience helped develop my own life skills, but here is a general list of the types of attributes camps can develop/ strengthen: • A sense of belonging to a community with lifelong friendships. • The importance of teamwork. • Positive competition. • Independence without rebellion. • Healthy resilience from setbacks. • A connection with nature and a sense of serenity and mindfulness. • Expanding comfort zones by learn- ing new skills in safe surroundings. • Increasing self-esteem through self- reliance. • Supporting a healthy lifestyle through activities, good nutrition and a “screen free” environment (except for science/computer camps). • Developing imaginations through a variety of organized and unstructured activities. Things to Consider Costs. In general, parents can expect to pay between $300 and $1,000 per week for a traditional overnight camp. Specialized camp costs may be higher, depending on staffing, needs, etc. When Are Kids Ready? With some camps, age 7 would be the youngest age, but 8 is more common. Frommy experi- ence as a counselor and staff member, the greatest determining factor is when kids want to go. Forced attendance usually