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Boardman Park Adventure Day Camp kicks off for the summer
BOARDMAN
Like many other campers, this isn’t Alivia Riley’s first time at Boardman Park’s Adventure Day Camp.
Alivia, 6, of Boardman, was here last year and likes coming to camp. Her favorite part, she says, is getting to spend time in the woods.
Alivia was in luck during the first day of camp Monday, as the day’s activities included a nature hike through some of the park trails, despite wet and muddy conditions.
The walk, during which campers gathered leaves to identify, was the day’s science activity. Campers also did creative arts, sports, arts and crafts and team-building activities as part of a schedule that mimics a typical school day.
“We have a schedule similar to what they have at school, so they have that continuity,” said Karen McCallum, park recreation director and education specialist.
Registration still is open for the nine-week camp, which is for children who have completed kindergarten up to 12 years old. The program runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Registration information is available at www.boardmanparkcamp.com. Parents can register their children for one or multiple weeks.
A typical day at the camp might include a hike, writing poems during creative-arts time and a game of volleyball. Campers also will tend to a garden throughout the summer and hear from guest speakers such as someone from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
The arts and crafts activity Monday was to decorate name tags.
Drawing a stick-figure in the middle of her flower-shaped tag, Camryn Lyda, 9, said her favorite activity is sports. It’s her first year at the camp, and she says that, so far, she likes it.
“I picked leaves; I learned that the leaves are different,” she said of the science program.
Another first-time camper, Anthony Frank, 6, says camp is “pretty fun.” His favorite part? “Lunch time.”
Parents send their kids to the camp, which is now in its 12th year, because of its focus on getting back to the basics of being a kid, McCallum said. She could be heard chastising one preteen camper for sitting on a bench and looking at her cellphone.
“They want to always be connected, and I encourage them to not even bring their electronics,” she said. “Because, go! Be kids!
“We try to keep their minds active – their bodies physically active, but also their minds,” she said. “It’s a good way to work as a whole unit to keep the kids active and involved.”