The weather is warming up and summer is just around the corner. Soon your little scholar will be out of school and replacing their thinking caps with outdoor explorer caps! Before you let loose your little adventurer into the uncharted regions of the backyard, it’s a good idea to teach them some safety essentials and ensure that they are properly provisioned for their voyages and trail blazing romps through the neighborhood. Before they embark on adventure make sure:

They are protected from the Sun

Before the advent of liquid sunscreen, explorers would wear extra layers of clothing and large brimmed hats to protect themselves from the sun. So it’s important that your little explorer is protected too!  The dangers of overexposure to the sun have been well documented. Sun safety is one of the first elements of summer safety and its precautions are applicable to almost every environment.

Start of teaching your child about the danger of staying in the sun too long. While it is not necessary to scare them with the details of skin cancer and sun stroke, keeping them aware of the potential danger of both heat and sun is vital.

In addition to sunscreen, have your little one wear a hat,especially if the set off into unknown territory in the middle of the day. It’s important to make sun safety awareness fun for them. Before the summer months, get your child excited about buying a new hat and let them pick one out. This will make it more likely that they will wear it during the long summer days.

They have enough water for their trip

Dehydration can sneak up on anyone, especially children. When you are busy romping through the backyard chasing down adventure, sometimes you forget to drink enough. Make sure that your child is drinking enough water during the hot summer months. Most experts recommend that children from 5 to 8 years of age consume at least 5 cups of water a day to maintain hydration. And if they are active, they will need more.

It is also a good idea to watch out for the signs of dehydration. You can find some more info on dehydration and what to do about it here.

Are safe when exploring the open waters

Summer time is pool time! Or maybe where you live tis beach time! Either way, its important that you child understand the basics of water safety.

Make sure they understand the danger of diving into shallow water, running on wet surfaces and roughhousing in and around the pool.

Always make sure that there is adult supervision in any situation where there are children in the water.

Revisiting sun safety, make sure that you reapply sunscreen to your child. Even if the bottle says it is water proof, it is a good idea to add an extra layer every two hours or so.

Summer safety at Young Scholars Academy

No matter the time of year, Young Scholars Academy of Colorado Springs is dedicated to keeping all our children safe. As a childcare center devoted to advancing the rights and welfare of children and their parents, Young Scholars Academy provides children and families the quality childcare they deserve. Come check out our programs and contact us today! We look forward to hearing from you!

 

Summer is fast approaching. Soon, your child or children will be out of school and amped up to enjoy the warm summer weather and all the fun activities it can bring. However, from experience you may know that after a few weeks of summer fun the “I am bored” declarations start. On top of the boredom that can accompany the long, sweltering days, is your need of good childcare for your little ones while you are at work. Child care summer camp programs can solve both of these problems. Summer camp offers you a break from 24 hour care and gives your child fun and exciting things to do child in a social environment. Let’s take a look at some of the great benefits of summer camp!

Boredom Be Gone with Summer Camp

As the novelty of the summer weather wears off and kids get bored, they can often become affixed to their computer and video games and end up spending most of their summer indoors. For those of us who spent most of our summers outdoors exploring, playing and having fun, seeing children glued to the screen for hours on end makes us worry that they are missing out on all the adventure! Summer camp and other summer programs offer your children fun and engaging activities that will get their body moving, mind thinking and curiosity piqued.

Hands on Learning in Nature

Summer camp and summer programs are a great time to teach children that not all learning occurs in the classroom. At summer camp kids will soon find out that learning can mean dirty hands and exploring nature. Summer camp will teach your kids outdoor skills and allows them to experience mother natures classroom.

Unstructured Playtime

Along with structured activities designed to get your child’s mind thinking and curious, is time for free unstructured play and exploration. Summer camp allows kids to relax away from the classroom and explore their interests. Summer camp will give your child the ability to explore their inventiveness in play, problem solving and learning.

Social Skills

Summer camp not only brings kids to nature and great activities. It also brings kids to each other. Summer camp activities are designed around group learning and problem solving. They learn to cooperate with other children, share resources and participate in group learning that prepares them for both the classroom and the real world.

Independence

Summer camp gives kids the opportunity to make choices and decisions as individuals away from their parents. Whether it is a day camp or overnight camp, the time at summer camp is spent learning to be themselves.

Summer Camp at Young Scholars Academy

Young Scholars Academy sponsors several different summer camp programs for children ages 4-14. These programs are adjusted based on the age of the children. Our Camps will have a unique blend of fun and interesting learning experiences. Come check out our summer camp page and contact us today! We look forward to hearing from you!