Sidebar:

Summer (camp) at home

• Encourage kids to research new cuisines and their countries of origin, then plan and present a week of dinners, with each meal hailing from a different country. Kids will learn cooking skills, interesting information about other cultures, and the basics of grocery shopping on a budget.
  
  
• Planting and nurturing a vegetable garden. Children learn horticulture and how to choose and raise healthy food items.
  
  
• Doing some volunteer work. Even the youngest tot can learn to help others. Whether it’s just visiting a senior citizens’ centre and playing games with the seniors, or helping serve at a food kitchen, volunteer work teaches children the importance of, and the satisfaction provided by, helping others.

• Sending kids away to summer camp might not be financially feasible for many families, at least for another year. But keeping them at home doesn’t mean they, or you, have to give up the benefits of a camp-like experience. With a little creativity and plenty of planning, you can recreate the best benefits of summer camp in your very own home.