Kids Summer Camp 2010 at BGSU is not just another “Day Care” camp. Things are changing in a big way and we want you to be a part of it! This is a look inside at what your campers are really getting out of this experience. BGSU Summer Kids Camp had its start in 2008 and has been a staple program every summer since then. It has always been a good camp alternative to the traditional baby-sitters or day care facilities. But this year it’s going to be different. Micha Seither, Camp Director, talks about turning a camp that was good in its previous years into something great this year!

It takes a lot more than just wanting to make the camp better. Restructuring, planning and bringing in the best people in their fields were some of the steps taken to get this camp up and running. A host of people from various departments have helped in the transformation of this year’s Kids Camp. Changes in the areas of fitness and exercise, health and wellness, snacking choices, preparation and communication and overall marketing of the camp are what this year’s successes are based on.

“We have components in this year’s camp that were not present in the previous years. These are critical areas that we are so glad to be able to implement every other day in camp.” Laurie Westbeld speaks about the newly added fitness and wellness sessions. The session will alternate days and will be done twice a week each. The fitness session will be coordinated and lead by Liz and will last about an hour. Liz will be focusing her efforts on getting the campers to understand fitness and why it is so important to their daily routines. Latisha is a wellness intern at the SRC and she will be conducting the health and wellness sessions. Latisha’s aim is for the campers to practice good health, such as hygiene. Other elements like community safety and bicycle riding will be discussed throughout the eight weeks of camp. It is truly going to be great to have both Liz and Latisha on board for this year’s Kids Camp.

Included in the price (which has been lowered for this year) for camp, each child will receive two snacks a day. It is really simple to order some snacks that are prepackaged and processed and hand them out to the campers. There’s little thought involved and little mess to clean up afterwards. However, with the new focus of camp being a well rounded experience, we wanted to make sure we followed through in this area as well. This year we have revamped the snack menu with fruits, vegetables and healthier alternatives for ice cream. It has been a task to restructure the snack menu because for the most part, budget doesn’t allow for the kids to have fruits and vegetables for every snack, every day. We have done what we can though and are putting the finishing touches on the snack menu next week. Look for the Weekly Newsletter that will get sent home with your campers for the snack list for that week.

The Weekly Newsletters mentioned above are our way of communicating to the parents or guardians about the activities and events that their campers are involved in. Laurie Westbeld spoke about how camp this year is going to be more informative. “We want the parents to know what snacks their kids are eating and what field trip they are going on this week. We want to communicate this information to the parents to show that we have it organized and planned out.” Laurie and countless others have been hard at work to make this camp the best it can be.

So don’t miss all the new and exciting changes to Kid’s Camp! Sign-ups are going on now! For more information about Kid’s Camp visit http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/sa/recwell/community/page57234.html or click on the picture below to download the guide and forms. We look forward to seeing you all there!