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PITTSBURG —
Kids attend summer camps to learn a variety of different things, from sports to canoeing, fitness to fishing.
The kids attending the Pittsburg Parks & Rec Boredom Busters camp this summer are learning about geography and foreign lands. Now in its third week, the camp on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays takes the kids on a tour of different countries, states and cities. Two weeks ago they visited Hawaii, and last week went to Mexico. This week they’re visiting Africa, and on Wednesday they took a tour of the jungle, a.k.a. Wilderness Park.
Stephanie Withrow, camp director and designer of the program, said the kids get to play games and do crafts that help them learn about the cultures of the people whose homelands they’re visiting, such as making piñatas and playing soccer games to learn about Mexico. They also have passports that they gradually fill in, and they learn how to say “Hello” in each of the languages. Next week they will visit Australia, the week afterward they’ll go to Washington, D.C. for the Fourth of July, and they’ll finish in London for the Summer Olympics.
The hardest part of keeping 12 to 16 seven- to 11-year-olds busy?
“There are so many boys,” Withrow said, laughing. “There are only three girls. Working with all those different kids with their different abilities, some of them are just always going.”
Event worker Sydney Barber agreed.
“Their energy level is through the roof,” she said, walking with a group of stragglers.
The department also offers a Tot Lot camp for four- to six-year-olds that follows a preschool curriculum. Event worker Brandon Emerson said the chance to work with the kids makes the job worthwhile.
“They’re pretty imaginative and creative,” Emerson said.
Frontenac Middle School student Nick Siebuhr he couldn’t think of anything he didn’t like about the camp.
“We played spaghetti and meatballs, and they have crafts to do, and they’re a lot of fun,” Siebuhr said.
Kids attend summer camps to learn a variety of different things, from sports to canoeing, fitness to fishing.
The kids attending the Pittsburg Parks & Rec Boredom Busters camp this summer are learning about geography and foreign lands. Now in its third week, the camp on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays takes the kids on a tour of different countries, states and cities. Two weeks ago they visited Hawaii, and last week went to Mexico. This week they’re visiting Africa, and on Wednesday they took a tour of the jungle, a.k.a. Wilderness Park.
Stephanie Withrow, camp director and designer of the program, said the kids get to play games and do crafts that help them learn about the cultures of the people whose homelands they’re visiting, such as making piñatas and playing soccer games to learn about Mexico. They also have passports that they gradually fill in, and they learn how to say “Hello” in each of the languages. Next week they will visit Australia, the week afterward they’ll go to Washington, D.C. for the Fourth of July, and they’ll finish in London for the Summer Olympics.
The hardest part of keeping 12 to 16 seven- to 11-year-olds busy?
“There are so many boys,” Withrow said, laughing. “There are only three girls. Working with all those different kids with their different abilities, some of them are just always going.”
Event worker Sydney Barber agreed.
“Their energy level is through the roof,” she said, walking with a group of stragglers.
The department also offers a Tot Lot camp for four- to six-year-olds that follows a preschool curriculum. Event worker Brandon Emerson said the chance to work with the kids makes the job worthwhile.
“They’re pretty imaginative and creative,” Emerson said.
Frontenac Middle School student Nick Siebuhr he couldn’t think of anything he didn’t like about the camp.
“We played spaghetti and meatballs, and they have crafts to do, and they’re a lot of fun,” Siebuhr said.
