Local businesses put on summer camps

By Basil Gist

Staff Writer

        All over the area, businesses offer a myriad of options to keep kids active and learning during the summer months.

     From activities like tumbling, acting and exercising, to building skills in reading, writing and STEM, summer camps are a way to occupy and engage kids in an enjoyable way and help them continue growing even while school is out.

     “It’s great; they need to get out of the house,” James Hulse said as his daughters tumbled at Apex Tumbling and Cheer in Pilot Point.

     Other camps like those held at Starbright Music and Performing Arts and Kainos Functional Fitness give kids an opportunity not only to work out some energy but also pick up skills directed at interests they may not have a chance to explore in class.

     Flour Power in Denton gives students the opportunity to learn practical kitchen skills, prepare their own snacks and lunches during camp, and encourages them to feel comfortable in the kitchen with adult supervision.

     Other camps, like the Blossoming Bookworms Mini Camps offered by Caitlin Gorman in Pilot Point, the PYE engineering clubs offered by Stojan Bacev in Providence Village, and the Write On! summer camps in Frisco help kids continue to grow classroom or extra scholastic skills.

     “People may be familiar with the phrase summer slide,” Write On! founder Dawn Rice said. “Summer comes and I think brains shut off and then they start back up in the fall, and it’s like they forget everything. This gives them the opportunity to stay engaged in an academic program that is enjoyable.”

     In many cases the skills being taught are likely even beyond those covered in traditional classes.

     “In recent years, there has been a trend where students don’t pursue careers in STEM fields as much anymore,” Bacev said on his website. “I created PYE to address this very problem. Here kids learn real coding, math, problem solving and work with real hardware. … We use Arduino type development, which gives them fun, hands-on experience.”

     With regard to scholastic camps, ensuring the instructors are qualified, as with Rice and Bacev, is important.

     “My staff members all have either college degrees or are doing college degrees in education or creative writing and have that passion and love for it,” Rice said. “We like to say we fill their writing toolbox, so no matter what the writing situation is, they will have the tool they need to feel successful and confident.”

     Each of the camps, even those with a more academic bend, put focus on introducing students to their given topic in a way that is fun and difference than how they may be presented in school.

     “I don’t always have that much to do during summer except go on vacations and stuff,” Starbright MPA student Charlotte Baker said. “I like coming to learn and have fun.”