With the current times, summer camps are struggling to figure out opening while keeping kids safe. However, there are new options coming up too. Today I’m here to tell you all about a new virtual summer camp that gives your kids a fun and unique experience while actually benefiting them.
Minecraft Virtual Summer Camps
The Camp
This unique virtual camp idea is hosted by Connected Camps, where they have a Kids Club Minecraft server and a Connected Craft Minecraft server for teens. These spaces give a place for kids and teens to play games and interact. Connected Camps also offers virtual camps that use games like Minecraft and Roblox to allow kids and teens to learn, something important when it comes to summertime and summer slide.
Free Servers
Kid Club is a free Minecraft server open to kids ages 8-13 years old. All interactions are moderated and monitored to maintain healthy and safe interactions online, but kids get the freedom to play the game and have fun. ConnectedCraft is another server open to ages 14-17, with the same monitoring and experience. These are just open servers that allow kids to have fun in the game as well as have some interaction with others their age (with monitoring).
Summer Camps / Clubs
There are also online camps and club offerings through Connected Camps where kids can interact with others, along with a trained counselor, and learn new things. Online camps and clubs are available for ages 8-17 years old, running for five days each at 90 minutes a day during the period of time between June 1st and August 14th. There are dozens of options that all have different focuses using Minecraft and Roblox gaming. Some examples include History explorations, Animation Camp, Esports, game focused clubs, Coding, Engineering, Game Design, and much more.
Are Kids In Safe Hands?
Through these online interactions, kids will be able to talk to and interact with similar age groups as well as have adult monitoring and interactions. All of the counselors and coaches have degrees in the area that the camps teach, and have specific training in positive interactions with children as well as teaching and maintaining safe practices for online usage. There are also teens allowed to volunteer to help the camps, which gives them valuable experience and helps kids feel among peers more. In the open servers there’s monitoring of interactions and chat usage to ensure safety.
Pricing and Sign Ups
So many of these camps and clubs are open for sign ups now, and Connected Camps is continuously expanding on their options and openings. For clubs, the pricing is $12 per session. Camps differ in prices depending on length and content, with the week long running ones ranging from $65-100 and longer ones ranging from $60-140. To learn more about prices for camps or clubs and sign ups, visit www.connectedcamps.com.
The Benefits of Virtual Camps
Summer camps and interactions with others their age through the summer can be a really great experience for children to expand their friendships and mental well being. Using video games to facilitate learning and positive interactions makes kids feel encouraged and good about playing.
All of these options focus on expression and creativity in games, while teaching kids fun topics too. In participating in a club or camp that focuses on learning topics, kids can continue learning through the summer and avoid the loss of education that tends to occur over the summer (which is predicted to be even worse this summer due to the switch out of in person schooling due to safety).
Overall, this experience can give your children a positive experience to have fun, be creative, and learn something new while making new friends.
Connected Camps is a great way to give your children the idea of summer camps without worrying about safety or them leaving home. It’s especially nice for kids that experience separation anxiety or difficulty in new situations. There are so many ways these could be useful to your kids, and it gives them important education as well as positive online interactions that strengthen their ability to communicate. If you want to learn more about these options, visit Connected Camps’ website.
The above content has been written by Jax, my content writing partner.
{oldest kiddo, my 2020 HS graduate}
Please subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get updates when I extend upon this topic. You can also like & follow Parent Influence on Facebook for instant news & updates.