The Jaffrey Recreation Department is doing away with its Adventure in Movement (AIM) Day Camp and replacing it with two, more targeted, summer camp programs.
AIM has been part of the Parks and Recreation department as a summer day camp for at least 30 years, Recreation Director Renee Sangermano said Wednesday. The camp was highly structured, with each day planned by staff.
The programs replacing it will put more emphasis on activities chosen and planned by the child participants.
The first program, Camp Rec., will be designed for children entering the first grade through fourth grade. At the start of each week, the campers will help design what their camp week will involve.
“We want to give kids a voice in what their summer looks like,” Sangermano said. “Staff will brainstorm ideas and give suggestions, but we really want kids to be part of that process.”
Children will still have access to days at the Contoocook Lake Beach, a popular day camp activity, but Sangermano said they’ll also be given more time in other local resources, such as Jaffrey’s Children’s Woods.
The second available camp, and Outdoor Leadership Program, will be designed for children entering grades six through nine. The program will be limited to a total of 13 participants, to allow the use of the Recreation Department’s bus for transportation.
The Outdoor Leadership program will take weekly trips to New Hampshire State Parks, but also explore natural areas closer to home, Sangermano said.
“We have a number of youth in the community who have never gone hiking. We’re the home of Mount Monadnock, and we want to see the community really embrace that,” Sangermano said.
The Outdoor Leadership program will also be involved in volunteering at community programs or events. While again, the children will take the lead on where to spend their time, Sangermano said with the help of the Recreation Department’s Youth Advisory Committee, the department has prepared a list of potential volunteer opportunities.
“We’re trying to implement more choices for kids, and more opportunities for them to have a say in their day, so they’re engaging in something they want to do. It provides leadership opportunities for kids of all ages,” Sangermano said. “Giving youth a voice is important to build a meaningful relationship with them and making sure they have a part in our world.”
In addition to the full-day camps, the Recreation Department will also offer two part-time camps to supplement the Rindge Proficiency Enhancement Program (PEP) and the Jaffrey-Rindge Rotary Camp BEST (Best Ever Summer Time).
Those camps, which offer additional academic opportunities for students, run partial days. The Jaffrey camps would be complementary to those camps, to allow parents who require all-day care for their children to still access the PEP and BEST programs.
Registration for weekly camps is now open at jaffrey.recdesk.com.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.