5 Tips to Choose The Right After School Care Program

While finding the right after school care program for your children, money is one of the foremost considerations but it must not be the sole determining factor. There are many other important things as well which must be taken into account before deciding on a particular care program for your kids. Almost all the providers provide discounts for siblings so money shouldn’t be concern whether you have one child or many.

Here are some of the important tips which must be followed while looking for the right after school care program as this will ensure that your child is at the right place:

Do Not Trust Word Of Mouth

Although word of mouth works as a very reliable source of information but one should not depend on it entirely. It is better to get a written recommendation instead and follow it up. This will serve as a very strong reference and one can easily count on its reliability as well.

Check Personal Requirements
All parents have different requirements depending on their parenting style or the nature of their job. One should always choose a school which successfully fulfills all of your requirements instead of the one which most of the parents are finding good. There are high chances that there might be a number of differences between their preferences and yours. Thus, always list down your requirements and make them your priority while doing the search.

The Meals Served

Before enrolling your child in any such program, have a detailed discussion about nutrition with any of the staff members. This will help you in inferring how much they care about the well-being and health of the child. Is their food prepared with organic materials? Do they consider the nutritional value of all the meals prepared by them? If so, enroll your child without any further hesitation.

Getting The Homework Done On Time

Is the homework done under the supervision of any of the teachers? There are certain care programs which do not pay enough attention to the education of the child and this results in poor performance of your child in school. Not only do they help in finishing the homework on time, they also help the children in learning a number of other new things.

The Kind Of Recreational Activities Offered

After the homework is completed, how is your child entertained? The kind of activities which your child indulges in will play an integral part in the development of his personality, therefore, it is very important that these programs must have enjoyable yet construction activities. They must help your child in exploring his other talents.

The priority of all the moms are hot meals and homework but other things should be considered as well. And after school care program should be more like a home away from home for your child so that they can enjoy there without their happiness, comfort, and safety being compromised.

Looking for Afterschool care program in MD Visit http://www.ecoadventures.org/eco-explorer-after-school-club/

5 Qualities of a Great Camp Counselor

It is very hard to narrow down the traits which make a camp counselor superior in his job. Each and every counselor is a talented individual who does his job according to his unique skills and personality. Quite often, people think that a counselor who is “fun”, “bubbly”, or “energetic” is apt for the position but seldom do they realize that there are many hidden qualities as well which account for an improved job performance.

Considering the most important qualities, here are the top 5 which truly guarantee a great camp counselor:

Initiative

Taking an initiative is the essence of leadership. Only if a camp counselor has the courage and confidence to do something before anyone else and is always ready to present himself to perform a certain task for the very first time, he’ll be able to run the camp effectively. It’s also about taking initiative in small tasks like being the first person to help someone out or picking up stray things from the way. This will encourage his subordinates and the camp children to follow the suit.

Selflessness

This is self-explanatory in itself and totally a worthy quality. It is the camp goers who must be the priority of the camp counselor in all situations. Along with taking time out to supervise and to provide the children with their needs, the counselors also need to sleep and rest properly. This will ensure that they keep on performing well and keep setting examples of helping others out on the camp.

Positivity

Positive role modeling can only be realized by parents who always need to maintain a certain decorum in order to ensure that their children learn the right manners. Similarly, the camp counselors are surrounded by many children on the summer camp who look up to him. Even his staff follows him, therefore, he needs to set himself as a positive role model who can control his anger and frustration while maintaining calm and composure in tense situations.

Creativity

Being creative doesn’t really imply that you need to be an artist. It only means that you must have the ability to “think outside the box.” Counselors who have the ability to approach an activity, a problem, or some free time differently are the creative ones. They can make things more interesting and captivating for the kids and can help the camp in being more popular.

Dedication

Life is unpredictable and can always surprise you with some setbacks. A talented counselor will be able to find a way out of every problem by staying persistent and facing the situation. They learn from their failures and do not turn around if something goes wrong. Rather, they face the dire consequences and come up with a new plan immediately.

Being a camp counselor is not an easy job and while being one, it is essential to keep learning new skills and polishing the existing ones to ensure your enhanced productivity in your job.

Visit http://www.ecoadventures.org/summer-camps/ and find best Summer Camps in Maryland

The Fun Activities at Summer Camps for Teens

The way teenagers spend their summer vacation plays a vital role in their lives because they carry the memories with them forever. It not only introduces them to different fun activities but also let them bond with other fellow teenagers outside their school. Sometimes, these bonds lead to lifelong friendships as they come together to enjoy a number of exciting activities. Here are the top outdoor activities which the teenagers enjoy at summer camps:

Crab Soccer

This is the perfect alternative to a regular game of soccer. Goals are set up at the opposite ends of the field and one person is designated to become the umpire. The participants are split into two teams and a specific number is given to each of the players. A soccer ball is placed in the middle of the field and the umpire calls a number and the person whose number is being called must crab walk to the soccer ball to and attempt to kick it to score a goal. Whoever manages to kick the ball manages to score a point for his team. One can make the game even more interesting by calling two numbers at the same time.

Drop the Lid

This one has a number of similarities with childhood games as it leads to a number of giggles. Everyone participating in the game sits in the circle while one of them stands in the middle holding a lid. The person on the inside of the circle is to start walking around the circle and grabs the hand of one of the person. That person, in turn, grabs the hand of someone else and this continues until the person holding the lid drops it. When the lid is dropped, everyone runs to a designated area and the one left without a seat must grab the lid and start over.

Dress Up

One can decide a theme and dress up accordingly or even go for a fancy dress party. Dressing up is not just for small children but teenagers can enjoy it too when they have to stay in a particular character throughout the party. 

Shave the Balloon

Shave the balloon is one of those activities which can be a bit messy but a lot of fun element is attached. A group of 3 to 4 people is needed in this game where they compete against each other and are given the task of shaving the balloon which has a shaving cream on it. Although this task may seem to be easy but in reality, the sharp razor can pop the balloon resulting in your disqualification. Stay safe by buying safety razors and some cheap pair of gloves.

Try out these activities in summer camps for teens and see how much they enjoy themselves and make their summer vacations so memorable. If you are looking for summer camps for teens in maryland give us a visit here http://www.ecoadventures.org/summer-camps/

Let Your Child Grow With Afterschool Care Programs

Do you think that your child wastes his time and energy after coming back from school and doesn’t even concentrates on his homework the way he should be? Instead of making these hours of him aimless and non-productive, it is better to enroll him in an after school care program so that he can concentrate on his academics and can improve his social skills as well.

These programs come with numerous benefits and tend to improve the overall personality of your child. Read below the wonderful things they can do to him:

Helping In Improving His Academics

There are some children who need special attention while doing homework and cannot be controlled by their parents. It is better to send such children in such programs instead of risking a friction between the parent and the child. The instructors can easily make it done during the session and the best part is that the child will enjoy completing it as well.

Improving Social Skills

A good program is all about encouraging the kids to socialize and to show respect, support, cooperation, and tolerance towards each other. They will feel more comfortable and secure while joining a game or having a conversation. The staffers will always be there to help them out if there is a slip.

Strengthening the Community

An afterschool program not only helps in improving the family equation but also focuses on bringing the community together. The children will be meeting children outside their school which means that their social circle will be enhanced. They will be in a different environment and meet children from distinct backgrounds which will increase the emotions of acceptability and understanding among the kids.

Confidence Building in Kids

There is no such strictness in an afterschool care program like there is in school which will help children in building their confidence. Making minute mistakes is acceptable and there are no severe punishments if you do not complete an assigned task. This helps in letting the personality of the children grow and making them more confident socially.

Safety and Supervision of Children

The kids become busy which reduces their chances of being involved in any kind of a risky activity. The evening hours are the time when kids can be involved in any illegal action like drinking or drugs so keeping them engaged somewhere else will prove to safeguard them from all these things.

Learning Is Fun

There are no tests or assignments in these programs which make them even more lovable by the children. The learning is fun and stress-free unlike the school class and there are options like music and drama which keep the children engaged.

An Afterschool Care Program MD can help your children’s personality develop in a very positive way, therefore it is better to keep them busy and secure with these programs.