Summer camps are a community where children come together to have fun while learning lifelong lessons. They help children start developing a sense of independence while trying new adventures. Agastya’s summer camps are known for their safe environment and the fun activities for kids that they provide.
This month we kicked off summer camps in 103 centres in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka. More are going to start next month in North India, Tamil Nadu etc. So what do Agastya’s summer camps consist of?
As established in many previous articles, Agastya’s philosophy of education is centred on active, hands-on experimental learning. Aah! Aha! Ha-Ha! is the journey we take a child on, from curiosity about a subject to a complete understanding of it through a series of activities and games.
This philosophy of education continues to be a cornerstone even in Agastya’s summer camps. The duration of the centres ranges from 2 to 6 days, depending on the centres and the age of the children attending them.
Activities in the camp are focused on creative learning of the sciences, keeping the child’s desire to learn alive even during school holidays, for instance, in one of the centres in Gujarat, Stone painting, Craftwork, Leaf painting, Low-cost model making etc.
Many camps also celebrated World Earth Day on the 22nd of April this month. In Karnataka, 4th Std Student Neela Basarkod gave an excellent speech on the topic, citing the urgent need for everyone to take care of the environment and planet. In the Bagalkot centre, the festivities kicked off with the chief guest watering the plants at the centre. In Maharashtra, children made low-cost water feeders for birds.
Overall, the activities are designed to make a child curious to learn even out of the classroom. These activities include learning how plants and machines work, have games surrounding many different topics, and provide an overall sense of learning that does not restrict the child or make it feel like a task to them.
Needless to say, children love the camp and approach it with a sense of wonder. Many have stated it as a core memory as part of their time with Agastya and thoroughly enjoyed the plethora of fun they had with their friends.
