Why Day Camp?

Helping Children Grow

Camp provides one of the very few opportunities for children to learn to feel productive, be connected, and feel a sense of contribution. Children as young as three have that chance – if they go to day camp! Why wait for sleep-away and lose those precious years for children to develop an appreciation of their place and their responsibility in a much larger universe than the one they know?

A preschooler – or even an older child who might be reluctant to go to overnight camp – can join a community that is created especially for him or her to practice growing up. Why wait until age 10 when the benefits of being able to navigate on one’s own at an earlier age can happen?

Under the supervision of inspiring guides, passionate coaches, and enthusiastic cheerleaders, children can feel successful and make new friends – all while having the time of their lives! They also will have a sense of consistency and predictability in times of turbulence and change.

Coleman Country “Pardners” get to experience camp and still return home each evening, when they are overflowing with stories of their day to share with their loved ones. It is the best of both worlds – the camp community that is built exclusively for kids and their own home which provides the security they need.

Sometimes children later move on, very comfortably, to sleep-away camp, because they have had such a rich, positive day camp experience. Other children prefer to stay at day camp, because they feel more comfortable in that setting that spans both worlds. Whether you are 3 and have the advantage of Coleman Country’s Pioneer Village (a village within a village just for little ones) or you are 12 and like the security of being home every night while still thriving from a camp experience, day camp is a perfect match.

Reminiscent of less complicated days, when people connected with nature, thrived on intergenerational relationships, and made new discoveries, everything is designed and scaled to ensure that children feel included, cared about, and capable. And, more important than ever, today’s youth need opportunities to learn how to “bounce back” when they run into adversity. The camp setting enables them to practice this vital life skill, along with others such as delaying gratification, waiting their turn, or making good choices.

The sooner children start practicing life skills, the better they can get at them! The more experiences they have in acquiring socialization skills, the more friends they can make. And, of course, the earlier in life they can have just loads of great fun, the happier they are.