Summer is an exciting time for children. The stress-free vacations are a well-earned reward for all the hard work children put into school all year. Many parents enroll their children in summer day camps to make the most of their summertime. Summer Day Camp programs offer the perfect opportunity for kids to have fun, make new friends and explore nature while learning essential life skills.

​R.A.D. Camps’ Summer Day Camps Programs emphasize free play, fun, camaraderie, and an appreciation for the natural world. The theme of our programs is to let children enjoy the natural surroundings and learn about the environment.

All children require opportunities for fun, recreation, and play. Playing games and other activities relaxes children and tremendously aids in their development. Through these recreational activities, children learn to explore, experiment, and discover different things. 

Play activities can be broadly classified into the following types:
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• Structured or adult-guided play
• Unstructured, child-directed, or free play

Free play is an unstructured and impromptu activity initiated and directed by a child that involves minimal adult guidance and supervision. Children determine the direction and rules of their play activities. During free play, children have the freedom and opportunity to choose their playmates, the kind of games they want to play, and how they want to play them.

​Our modern lifestyle means that our children spend more time indoors and on computers/phones and get very little exposure to the outdoors. This has resulted in children getting limited amounts of physical activity, and the rate of obesity in kids has doubled over the past 20 years. 

To make the outdoors more accessible for children, R.A.D. Camps has introduced summer day camp programs for children between the ages of 7 to 17. By enrolling in our well-structured programs, children will explore over 50 unique and pristine locations in the forests and mountains of Central Oregon. Our summer day camp programs focus on interaction with nature, camaraderie, free play, and fun. 

Let's look at some of the most desirable benefits of spending time in nature. 

​Technological advancements, global warming, and lack of public safety have led to unfortunate lifestyle changes. Children spend the majority of their time indoors. As a result, exposure to nature and getting outside has become limited. According to the Child Mind Institute, the average American child spends a meager four to seven minutes playing outdoors per day. Unfortunately, their screen time usually exceeds seven hours per day. 

This limited outdoor exposure affects children's mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Per the findings of a Danish study, children with the lowest exposure to green space have a 55% greater risk of developing psychiatric diseases as an adult.