Clad in Red Army uniforms, elementary school students get a glimpse of military life at a summer camp in Taiyuan.
(Photo: Stringer China/Reuters)
Photography Camp, Puerto Rico
A federally funded workshop in San Juan, Puerto Rico gives children the chance to practice their photography skills.
(Photo: Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images)
Volleyball Camp, India
Children in Hyderabad attend a volleyball training camp during vacation months.
(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
Soccer Camp, Gaza Strip
Every summer, the United Nations Relief & Work Agency sets up a camp in Gaza with an expected attendance of about 250,000 children. Typical activities include various sports, arts and crafts, acting, and mental health counseling.
However, this year, the camp was discontinued because the U.N. lacked the $12 million required to run it.
(Photo: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)
Hamas Children's Camp, Gaza
Since the U.N. camp is no longer in session, the Hamas government stepped up to create its own set of camps in Gaza. This year’s enrollment reached 70,000 boys and 50,000 girls, reports Foreign Policy. Children learn Islamic doctrine, but are separated by gender for other activities—sports for boys and domestic activities, such as baking, for girls. Some sites also teach military drills to boys as young as 14.
(Photo: Suhaib Salem/Reuters)
Lacrosse Camp, Arlington, VA
Most teenagers in need of extra cash find a summer job, but Virginia teen Paige Patterson sets up a lacrosse camp in her backyard instead. In the course of two weeks, girls between the ages of six and 11 receive training in the sport and also participate in arts and crafts activities.
(Photo: The Washington Post/Getty Images)
Vermont Kids Culinary Academy
Each summer, chef Kelly Dietrich welcomes students aged 10 to 17 into his rural farmhouse near the Canadian border, where he runs a residential cooking camp. Attendees learn kitchen techniques and whip up dishes for everyone to eat during daily meals. Beyond kitchen duties, children also maintain an organic garden and care for farm animals.
“By graduation day, they will have mastered over 50 topics, from making ‘the mother sauces’ to using a professional chef’s knife kit. The grand finale is a 30-dish buffet lunch the students cook for their parents,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
In response to growing childhood obesity rates in China—120 million overweight children as of 2009—weight-loss camps have been popping up across the country. At these camps, children exercise for about four to five hours a day and are also taught the importance of nutrition and good eating habits.
At a summer camp in Tatui, children play a game that combines table soccer and pinball. Inspired by the misdeeds of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, the game “teaches children to knock down dictators and fight for human rights,” according to designer Luis Leite.
(Photo: Reuters)
Circus Camp, Vermont
Circus Smirkus, an international troupe, hosts a summer program in Lyndon, Vermont for kids aged five to 18. Participants learn acrobatics, juggling, unicycling, and other skills. Students who have developed a proficiency in these activities are invited to audition for the traveling group.
