Published On: Thu, Jun 17th, 2021

Masks and Sunscreen on: Summer Camps Returning After a Year of Lockdown

After a year of lockdown, school club retreat in florida and summer camp locations are back with new adapted policies for the pandemic. 

To some, the summer of 2020 will always be a long case of the quarantine blues. Some parents, however, will always remember the time as juggling with their children and their new remote jobs all within the walls of their home. 

Alyssa Salman, mother of two, found herself in that exact situation. 

While she said she was lucky to have a job with an understanding boss and a flexible schedule, she found herself taking turns with her husband between working and taking care of her children who are the ages of five and two. She found that her weekends merged with the weekdays and that Wednesdays were the same as Saturdays. 

When Beth El Early Learning Center announced that its academic summer camps were back on after being closed last summer, Salman was relieved. 

Beth El Learning Center reopens their summer camp after being closed last summer. Photo sourced from Temple Beth El of Boca Raton Facebook, 2018.

Being in constant contact with parents, Beth El was able to make the summer camp transition easier for them. 

With the school opening in August, the camp was able to open for the summer as well. Director of the Early Learning Center, Ronni Graf, said “We did not have summer camp last year at our school. And so this year it almost feels like, you know, in the past we took a lot of things for granted. And now we’ve learned, like just being open, like you can’t take that for granted anymore. So I think it made everything a little bit more exciting, as we’ve planned for this year, because we kind of missed it last year.”

This year they are introducing daily themes for the camp including superhero-themed day and pirate-themed week.” In addition the camp will also include special activities like a reptile show, a magician show, treasure hunt and bounce houses. 

Instead of having the children grouped together, Graf said that they will be separated into two to three units to ensure social distancing. While the children are still required to wear masks, they will have multiple breaks while they eat, nap and play outside. 

In addition to outdoor camps, indoor camps are also in the process of opening up again. The Youth Orchestra of Palm Beach County was not able to conduct in-person camps last year and followed the steps of people around the world in trying to make virtual camps fun. With almost reaching full capacity for their program, the camp is seeing an overwhelming response. 

Youth Orchestra of Palm Beach County will reopen its summer camps from July 12-16 and 19-23. Photo sourced from Youth Orchestra of Palm Beach County website.

According to the camp’s executive director Michael Fraley, receiving a grant from the Cultural Council assisted the camp in opening back for the summer and helped in purchasing supplies including five hand cleansing stations and temperature checkers. 

It is planned to continue social distancing and wear masks along with bell covers for instruments. With almost 130 kids, ranging from ages 6 to 18, joining the camp, the rooms are planned out to ensure social distancing and will use the Boynton Beach Cultural Center’s side patio when the weather allows for it. Activities in the two week camp, starting July 12, will include field trips, guest artists and a recital on fridays with an afterparty. 

“We’re just excited to get back to normal. And from the responses we’ve gotten it has been pretty overwhelming. So we feel like people feel the same way,” Fraley said. 

Under Blue Waters reopened their Boca Raton Ocean Adventure camp earlier this month. Photo sourced by Kristina Pinelli.

Although it was not completely closed last year, Under Blue Waters was not able to provide all their camps around South Florida. While the Surf Adventure camp, Inlet camp and Water Safety camp was open last summer, the Boca Raton Ocean Adventure camp was not.

Chief Operating Officer Kristina Pinelli said that last year they were not able to provide field trips, this year the camp is bringing those options back. 

Having the kids participate in smaller groups, she said that it is complicated to make the activities fun and interactive while also having the children work more independently. In addition, they are adding stricter rules when it comes to sharing. Children will not be permitted to share sunblock or lunches and will have to bring their own. They are also expected to carry their own masks. 

“The nice thing is that we had a year to prep for it,” Pinelli said. 

Excited to have the kids back interacting and getting their dose of vitamin D, she describes the camp as “healing for the soul and for the mind.”

In addition to camps reopening, the YMCA of the Palm Beaches received a $10,000 grant from the Children’s Foundation of Palm Beach County to allow local at-risk children to go to camp. 

YMCA of Palm Beaches recieves a $10,000 grant from the Children’s Foundation of Palm Beach County. Picture sourced by Eileen Alkabes.

“We are so grateful to the Children’s Foundation of Palm Beach County for their generous grant,” said Tim Coffield, CEO and President of the YMCA of the Palm Beaches.  “This funding will be especially instrumental in supporting single and dual working parents who struggle to find affordable childcare while school is out of session during the summer months.”

The summer day camp will allow these children to learn to swim, participate in fun daily activities, form friendships, and build up their confidence. Initiated in 2010, the foundation has donated over $13 million dollars to fund various programs and projects for more than 30 local charities. Every year serving more than 9,000 children, volunteers collectively give 45,000 hours each year. 

Salman can tell her children are excited to go back. While there continues to be many changes, she says that her children are handling them like champs.  

“I think kids are more resilient than people give them credit for, especially little kids,” Salman said. “So like some of the changes, like the teachers who are in masks and that sort of thing, even the kids wearing masks when they’re indoors, neither of my kids really bat an eye about that. They’re just thrilled to be with their friends.”

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