A PlayDay is a day designed to draw attention to a range of play activities, while providing an opportunity for children, families, members of the community, and teachers to share in physical and mental challenges without facing the pressure of winning or losing a game. PlayDays can range from massive park events for thousands of children and…

Summer camps provide opportunities for children to experience play, pleasurable activities, and social interaction with other children of similar ages and interests and are an integral part of the modern-day American cultural landscape. The authors discuss the emergence of summer camps for children with special needs, the types of play activities…

Developed as part of a study which attempted to integrate students with severe disabilities into regular recreational and leisure activities, this report focuses on integrating summer camps in the Greater Waltham (Massachusetts) area. It documents how a segregated camp for children and teens with disabilities can be closed down and the campers…

Camps have long addressed multiple components of young people's development, including spiritual development. In particular, transcendental communion with nature and the outdoors may provide one pathway for young people's spiritual development. The physical, mental, social, and spiritual growth of young people has been at the core of camps for…

Franki Lodge and her coworkers help run Toronto's Inner City Outtripping Centre (ICOC), an outdoor education program aimed at innercity youth. Started in 1995 to reduce conflict between rival gangs in Christie Pits Park, the organization has since grown to include the Paddle and Picnic program (day camps where kids, teens and even seniors canoe up…

EMPHASIS IS PLACED ON MENTAL HEALTH, PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT AND COORDINATION (BOTH MOTOR AND MUSCULAR), SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT, AND LANGUAGE AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT. SECTIONS ARE DEVOTED TO ORGANIZATION OF A DAY CAMPING PROGRAM, SELECTING THE STAFF AND THE CAMPERS, THE DAY CAMP IN OPERATION, DAY CAMPING AS A TRAINING PERIOD, CAMP RELATIONS WITH THE…

Every summer more than 10 million children attend day or resident (sleep-over) camps sponsored by churches, not-for-profit youth agencies, and independent operators. This study explored the outcomes of a 1-week or longer camp experience from the perspective of parents. A national sample of almost 2,300 parents responded to pre-, post-, and…

When choosing a summer camp program for a disabled child, parents should look for programs and activities that present the child with a maximum challenge that can be met successfully. After checking agencies with information on various camps, parents should consider the camp's facilities, philosophy, resources, and staff. (CB)

Summer Leisure in the Park is a cooperative outdoor day camp for senior citizens that enables nursing home residents to socialize and enjoy a variety of activities in a park environment. Components of this program are described. (DF)

In the past decade, human service professions such as recreation, public health, and education have been asked to increase their services and document their contribution to the people and communities they serve. The recreation profession specifically has been looked upon as a unique contributor to the positive development of youths, with emphasis…

An introduction to the need for day camp activities and recreational facilities for the retarded precedes a discussion of the problems involved: the recreational needs must be defined along with the nature of the programs; locations must be found; the costs of transportation and salaries must be assumed and budgeted; programs must be flexible and…

The purpose of this paper is to trace the development of camping and outdoor education in the United States. The early beginnings of camping are described along with the development of organized camps and the influences of urbanization on camping. The basic idea of education through camping is presented for each of the various types of organized…

The guide lists and describes physical education and recreation services available to handicapped people in the Detroit, Michigan, area. Agencies are arranged in five sections: those agencies providing services for most handicaps, including mental retardation, physical impairments, and learning disabilities; those providing services principally…

This text offers case studies, models, and specific techniques to assist children, teenagers, and adults with disabilities to participate more fully in local school and neighborhood social and leisure activities. Three basic themes are stressed: first, that of using a community leisure facilitator to support people with disabilities in community…

Recommends camping programs for older adults be based on exchange theory of aging, retirement role, and leisure concepts of state-of-mind/holism. Discusses aging, adjustment to retirement, leisure concepts, and aging stereotypes. Urges awareness of social change to provide diversity, leadership, and participant involvement in programs for the…