Experience of online summer camp in lockdown.
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Summer camps too take the online route
Every year as soon as the exams are over, kids can be seen making a beeline for summer camps. The month of May turns into a fun time.
KOCHI: Every year as soon as the exams are over, kids can be seen making a beeline for summer camps. The month of May turns into a fun time. However, Covid-19 has played a spoilsport this year. But, worry not, for the summer camps have taken the online route. According to Anju Minesh, a consultant psychologist, Rithu Centre for Psychological Wellness, during the lockdown period, the centre has been conducting online counselling sessions for adults and received many requests from parents exploring the possibility of proper guidance for kids.
“We know due to the restrictions, the kids have to stay at home all the time and they become addicted to mobile and TV. So we thought of a plan to reach out to the kids via online and help the parents get systematic support. The camp will be a rejuvenation for kids before their schools reopen,” she said.
Anju said, “Since this is an online programme, we will be able to adhere to the social distancing rule.” According to her, the programme is individual-based. “The programmes are a mix of creative, fun and brain-teasing activities. At the end of the programme, the parents too are provided guidance,” said Anju.
According to Priya Narayanan, GetSetGo Summer Camp, there are many differences between offline and online summer camps.
“In the case of an offline summer camp, the interaction happens face to face. But only the kids could participate. However, in the case of the online camp, even parents can participate. They also get to learn and develop their skills. In fact, in the first camp, few families participated as a whole,” she said. According to Priya, they were worried whether the children might find two-hour-long sessions tiring. “We were in for a surprise. As the workshop progressed, we realised the kids were very much involved despite technical issues. The kids remained connected. Even the parents thoroughly enjoyed it,” she said.
According to her, the feedback from parents and kids prompted them to organise more such camps. “The norms are the same. The steps include registration, individual analysis, audio or video interaction with kids and parents and progress evaluation,” said Priya.
As to the enjoyability of the online summer camp, the children who attended have given it a thumbs-up.
According to Soumya, a student, the sessions are enjoyable. “Of course, we don’t get to mingle with other students and develop friendships. But the activities provided by the organisers of online summer camps are interesting,” she said. What made Ayesha, a class V student, very happy about the online summer camp was the participation of her parents.
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