Keep Children Smiling with Child Care and Summer Camp Programs

Gone are the days when learning is confined within the walls of classrooms and the pages of a textbook. Many parents are now seeing education in a broader perspective to include sports, creative activities and socialization. Today, thanks to holistic child care programs, children no longer have to dread learning and actually find joy in it.

If you’re a parent and you want your child to have fun while acquiring valuable knowledge and skills, here are two of the most popular child care programs you can take advantage of.

“Let’s Learn Something New Before Mommy Picks Me Up”

According to a recent survey, close to 100% of moms are now active members of the workforce. Typically, the time an adult spends doing a fulltime job is longer than school hours. This brings up the concern of who takes care of the kids after school. Instead of hiring a baby sitter, why don’t you enroll your child in after school programs?

After school activities provide children with a safe, fun and productive environment after the school bell rings. Unlike the cookie-cutter curriculum your child gets in a normal classroom setting, after school child care provides tailor fit activities depending on your child’s age and interest. Budding fitness enthusiast can enroll in sports activities while aspiring artists can engage in creative endeavors. After school summer programs have been found to benefit children in more ways than one including better academic standing and good social skills. Research also shows that after school activities protect children from destructive behaviors such as alcohol and drug abuse.

Summer Camp: Turning Up the Heat of Fun while Learning

Did you know that children become lazier over the summer months due to a decline in academic proficiency? As clear as the cloudless summer sky, it is obvious that this season is not just about fun and games.

 However, this does not mean locking up children in their rooms and forcing them to do advance reading. Sending a child to summer camp has been and still is the perfect way to strike a balance between staying productive and having tons of fun.

The trick is to send your child to a summer camp that caters to his or her interest. It would be torture to send a child without any inclination to music to a band camp, right? There are many summer programs out there such as arts and crafts, sports and outdoors and science. Summer camp will teach your child resourcefulness, boost his or her self-esteem and instill responsibility. He or she will be able to create meaningful friendships with likeminded others and be inspired by camp counselors who are excellent role models.

A Well Rounded Child is a Happy Child

Learning and fun can definitely be one with exciting and informative child care programs. Parents who are considering enrolling their children in one should do their research to ensure that their child will be in good hands.

A basic criterion you should consider is the number of years a center has been in the business. For example, The Work-Family Connection in New Jersey has been providing child care services since 1989 and has grown ever since. It’s after school programs are supervised by extensively trained staff featuring a number of age suitable activities from which children can choose depending on their interest. As for its summer camp, The Work-Family Connection presently offers 25 summer programs, all equally fun and educational.