Time has come to enjoy a Greek Summer after two years of lockdowns and closed borders.
And it’s finally time for children to go back to normal and reclaim the social life that was taken from them.
This summer is an opportunity to register your kids in a Greek-language summer camp.
Greek kids from all over the world will travel to the Greek Camp to make friends and attain great skills. Below are some of the tremendous benefits of participating in this language school’s summer camp.
Friendships & Social Skills
Children who participated in the 2019 Greek Online School Summer Camp talk about horse riding and all the Camp activities that they grew to love. Yet all of them talk of the Greek friends they made, and the bonds they created.
“I can’t wait to see Alexandro from the Cayman Islands again,” says nine-year-old Konstantinos from Greece. The two boys developed a strong friendship. Konstantinos is fluent in Greek while Alexandros was a total beginner.
“For us it felt like Konstantinos was a buddy and a teacher to Alexandros, helping Alexandro with writing and with his language tasks — it was amazing,” says Stella Bompotsiari, the founder of Greek Online School Summer Camp.
Kids develop important social skills and make new friends. This can feel a bit uncomfortable in the start, however they soon become independent, take risks and get a real boost in self-esteem. They also get to share this whole experience with each other and create memories which bond them for life.
Maria Gkeme, the Camp Coordinator, says that one of the most popular questions they get from parents in the process of enrolling their children is if they can bring their phones at the Camp.
“Some parents ask this because they feel insecure thinking that their children will not have a phone with them and others because they don’t want them to,” Gkeme says.
No matter what, the answer is that children at the Camp completely ignore and forget about their phones.
“They have so little time to think about their phones and so many things to do with their friends that time there is not enough for them to worry about that,” Gkeme says. “Which is definitely a nice break from screen time for all those little Greeks.”
Fitness & Health
We love technology and the perks that come with it, however, kids now spend much of their time physically inactive.
The summer camp is the perfect way to awaken a child’s natural craving for activity.
Through activities like movie adventures, and treasure hunts, children who take part in the Greek Language Summer Camp use all their senses and muscles in nature and become fit and active.
Ektor, 15-year-old, from London spent his summer at the Greek Language Camp in 2019.
“I love horses, and it was awesome that we went horse riding almost every day. I even had private lessons included in my camp fee which is very expensive to take in London. Loved it!”
Connecting with nature
Summer camps provide opportunities to children to be closer to nature as well as become more physically active.
We do love our computer screens, however, a break is great. Especially when this break means learning Greek, while taking part in climbing, archery, swimming, dancing, and arts and crafts in between Greek classes.
Zsuzsi, who lives in New York with her Greek husband and their twins, Gabi and Alex, said “Living in a big city like New York means that spending time closer to nature is always a special occasion, so we loved the idea of our twins spending time in Greek nature, doing outdoor activities for 13 days!”
Authentic Language Learning Opportunities
The aim of any language summer camp is to provide students with the opportunity to produce and hear authentic language in an immersive setting. Attending Greek Summer Camp means that your children will speak and hear Greek all day, in class and outside.
They will hear authentic dialogue between native Greek speakers and will have to express themselves in Greek to ask for something. They will play in Greek with local children and by the end of their stay, they will be more confident with their language skills.
Kids really do need to have fun and enjoy themselves in the summer, so if this is combined with a fun learning experience, what else can you ask for?
The Greek Language Summer Camp will take place in two periods this year, from July 3-13 and August 4-14. The Camp takes place at the Ranch in Sofiko, Greece and runs under the auspices of the Greek Ministries of Foreign Affairs & Tourism.
For more information visit The Greek Language Summer Camp’s official website.
