But it took a lot of convincing and research on our part. Not that we don't believe theater is a good thing. My wife, Nicholas and I have been participating in community theater for a few years now. But performing arts camp? All summer long? We weren't so sure at first.
There are more than 800 performing and creative arts camps in the United States. That's according to the American Camp Association. Many of them, like the one Nicholas attends, offer three and four week sessions and feature various musical and dramatic productions.
My kid is probably no aspiring actor (who knows?), but he's discovered that performing in plays is fun and challenging. And from a parent's perspective, it's also a good way for your child to develop self-awareness and self confidence.
Our biggest hesitation however, was how much physical activity would our child get during the day? Sure there's dance lessons and choreography, but would it be enough?
Well, Nicholas' first camp production is "Bye Bye Birdie", and it's involved a lot of singing and dancing - and so far Nicholas has come home exhausted. Still on weekends, we will plan to take him swimming and do other athletic activities. But for now, theater camp has been a good fit - and the right choice. Of course in a few weeks when we see him perform on stage in his first camp production, we'll know a lot better... but so far so good.
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