Summer camp experience - from fun to fear

Little Kha Minh, a member of a firefighting summer camp, enjoys swinging from a high floor to the ground, while children at other camps are scared because of dirty toilets or being beaten.

A few days after returning from the firefighter summer camp in Hoa Binh, Vu Tran Kha Minh, a 4th grader at Nguyen Binh Khiem Primary School in Hanoi, still remembers and recounts in detail all the activities he did during his week there.

"I'm very happy. I'd love to stay another week," Minh said.

Minh's camp has more than 100 students, divided into groups in separate air-conditioned rooms. Each coach is in charge of 5-7 students. Minh and his friends have to do everything by themselves and are called home twice during the course.

Minh enjoyed the experience of escaping from a high floor the most. After tying the ropes, he was instructed to slowly descend from the second floor, while the older children descended from the fourth floor.

"The feeling of falling from a height is very exciting," said the 9-year-old boy, who also said he was taught how to tie number 4 and number 8 knots for rescue from high-rise buildings. The number 8 knot is used to connect the ropes together to make them longer, while the number 4 is used to tie them, helping him climb down.

In addition, Minh learned how to escape from the artificial smoke room. The thick smoke made it difficult for Minh to see clearly, so he crashed into the wall and got a nosebleed. He used a wet mask and lowered himself to find his way out. He was also excited when trekking in the forest or using a fire extinguisher for the first time and was proud of overcoming his fear and putting out a real fire with his own hands.

The boy said he adapted quickly to communal life, ate a lot, and slept well, although he was a bit homesick at first.

Ms. Giac Ly, Minh's mother, said her son attended this summer camp at a cost of 6.5 million VND.

Minh and his friends participate in a forest rescue training activity. Photo: Provided by the character

For Tran Linh Dan, two weeks of summer camp helped her learn about nature and basic skills such as cooking and cleaning. Hoang Linh, Linh Dan’s mother, said she wanted summer to be a time for her children to participate in extracurricular activities to recharge their batteries before starting the new school year.

Linh Dan's summer camp is a morning-and-evening style in Hanoi, with a cost of about 4 million VND. Each session has about 20 children participating, divided into groups, assigned to cook rice, make simple dishes and clean the house.

In addition, Linh Dan went swimming or learned about some animals such as bees, earthworms, frogs, and toads. She learned about the life cycle of a butterfly, starting from egg, larva, pupa, and butterfly; was curious when she saw the journey of silkworms spinning silk to weave fabric, or explained the color change of leaves.

"I also like to make crafts like beehives and paper frogs. These meticulous tasks train my hands to be more flexible and increase my creativity," Linh Dan shared.

Summer camps provide children with a fun and rewarding time away from the books. But there are also camps that are just daycare centers in townhouses, and can even scare children away due to poor infrastructure and services.

The 11-year-old son of Ms. Nguyen Giang Nhu, in Yen Xa village, Tan Trieu commune, Thanh Tri district, was scared when he was beaten by his friends at a retreat in Thanh Oai district. The boy said he was not allowed to bathe because of lack of water, dirty toilets that were often clogged, and had to sleep on the ground.

Previously, Ms. Nhu learned about this retreat through the images advertised on the Zalo group. Her child participated with about 400 children aged 9-12.

Trinh Thi Hoa’s 9-year-old daughter once had a stomachache at an English summer camp for students aged 8-12. Because she had to prepare her own lunch, but the center did not have a refrigerator, the food went bad without her knowing.

In addition, according to the advertisement, in the morning the children learn to draw, do crafts, read stories and converse in English; in the afternoon they go sightseeing in the city. In reality, Ms. Hoa's children mostly stay in their rooms, coloring and doing crafts.

"My child complained that the activities were boring, like kindergarten," said Ms. Hoa, adding that this center had just organized a summer camp for the first time, charging 500,000 VND per day. After nearly a week, Ms. Hoa let her child take a break.

Ms. Ly was emotional when she came to pick up her child after finishing the firefighter summer camp. Photo: Character provided

The summer camp model in Vietnam appeared about 10 years ago and has become popular in the past few years. There are no statistics on the number of students participating, but this has gradually become an annual activity for many children, especially in the city because parents are busy working and have no one to look after them. In the US, summer camps are a $4 billion business each year, with about 26 million children participating.

According to experts, before sending their children to summer camp, parents should carefully research information about the organizing unit. Mr. Nguyen Minh Khanh, Director of the Southern Youth Center, Central Youth Union, the first unit with the military semester model, reminds parents to choose places with experience to limit risks.

Ms. Ha Thu, a representative of a company specializing in organizing gender-based summer camps, said that if possible, parents should visit the site to survey the facilities before making a decision.

Some summer courses allow children to call home at a certain time. At that time, parents should ask their children about the day's activities and their feelings to immediately grasp any problems. Parents also need to regularly contact the organizers and request to send pictures of their children's activities, according to Ms. Ha Thu.

Many children return from summer courses with good skills. However, experts say it is not easy to maintain this because summer courses are short. When they return home, if parents do not remind or practice, children will forget the skills they have learned.

Children are instructed to put out fires with fire extinguishers. Photo: Provided by the character

Ms. Nhu regrets believing too much in the advertising information. When she could not call her child every day, she also did not go to the summer camp, even though it was only 3 km away from her home, to observe.

Ms. Hoa felt rushed when she transferred money to the center after a few minutes of consultation. "I thought sending my child there would help him learn English and have someone to look after him. I didn't expect that it was a place with inexperienced organization," she said.

Because her child had a good experience, Minh's mother, Ly, said she would let her child attend the summer camp again next year.

"I am happy that my child returned healthy, excited, loving everyone around him and appreciating life," said Ms. Ly.

Dawn

*Names of some characters have been changed

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/trai-nghiem-trai-he-tu-vui-thich-den-so-hai-4620186.html