THE VALUE OF FREE TIME AT ARTS CAMP

While Camp Ballibay campers are certainly welcome to fill their day with a variety of arts and summer camp activities, most prefer to balance their days out with some free time. We encourage campers to plan their days how they wish, whether they choose to spend a majority of the day in the theater, creating musical compositions, painting, or if they want to spend more time relaxing with friends or reading a book. Free time plays an important role in the lives of aspiring young artists, which is why it is one of the main aspects of our performing arts camp philosophy. We all remember going outside for recess during grade school...that free time to play with friends was one of the best parts of the day. Kids get to be kids and have the time to recharge and blow off steam after sitting in classrooms for most of the day. On top of providing a space for children to explore their creativity, we encourage our young artists to take the time to explore new interests, make their own decisions, and have as much fun as possible. Your child’s time at summer arts camp is meant to help them explore and grow, so we place no restrictions on how your child spends the day. Campers can go swimming, ride horses, play sports, write music, hang out with friends, read a book – the sky is the limit. We integrate free time into their learning experience at arts camp to foster imagination and creativity, among other developmental skills.  This free time not only provides a small respite, but can teach a child time management, i.e. learning how to balance free time with “work” time. Free time is important throughout a person’s life, and so it should be encouraged starting at a young age. Sometimes, it is during that free time, when our minds are at ease, that we come up with some of our best ideas because we have taken the time to step back.Whether at art camp, theater camp, rock camp, or dance camp, our campers can enjoy traditional day camp and sleepaway camp activities in addition to their arts camp programs. Camp Ballibay wants to help your children grow as artists and as people by offering a well-rounded summer camp experience where they get to experience a little of everything. Free time allows children the time to think, relax, dream up new ideas, and can make them happier and less stressed, which is all we want as parents. We want them to consider all options and come to decisions on their own. Free time allows for this. Each and every day our campers make decisions on how to spend their open, unstructured moments, taking into account their options, and choosing an activity that will make them happy. Here at Camp Ballibay arts camp, we value creativity, freedom, relaxation, and most of all, fun. We want our campers to make new friends, enjoy time with others on creative art projects and productions, pick up new skills, discover new passions, explore different activities & options, and create memories that will last a lifetime. By allowing them to create their own daily schedules and integrate free time into their days, Camp Ballibay campers learn valuable lessons in time management and finding balance, which is a lesson and skill we could all use and integrate into our daily lives.