Activities & Days Out / 12 July, 2021 / My Baba

Reasons To Send Your Child To Camp Bonas This Summer

If there was ever a year to give yourself a break and allow your child to reimagine their childhood, away from their phones and tablets, this is it. Camp Bonas has designed an outdoor, screen-free, adventure-led week to allow your child to rewild their minds; joining in on creative workshops, participating in outdoor team-based activities, set against the backdrop of the UK’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Reconnecting with Nature – rewilding the mind

According to new research by the RSPB, only 1 in 5 children have a ‘connection to nature’. It is a sad fact that time spent playing outdoors has halved in just one generation. Even when children do have the time and the desire to be active, parents may not feel comfortable letting them roam freely within towns and cities. All of which limits their opportunities to lead fully active lifestyles.

The brilliant thing about Camp Bonas is that it allows children to reconnect, and develop an interest in the great outdoors. Whilst the idea of using nature to improve mental and emotional wellbeing has existed for millennia, growing levels of research have confirmed how beneficial a natural environment is for the mind. Being in the outdoors has been proven to reduce anger, fear, and stress, as well as boosting physical fitness, emotional wellbeing and academic performance.

At Camp Bonas, the children will stay in log cabins set into a hillside surrounded by organic pasture and forest. The cosy wooden bunks make sure all campers get the rest they need to be able to enjoy the week-long outdoor adventure.

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A boost for secondary school applications

For some campers, this will be the first time they have had an extended stay away from home, allowing them a perfect opportunity to test out boarding and develop independence vital for success at senior school. With like-minded peers, also set on attending the UK’s leading schools, everyone feels more confident about the prospect of the senior school entrance.

Children will enjoy an ideal balance between having fun and developing their character, giving them the perfect chance at interview to highlight their leadership skills and learning to live away from home. Housemasters are always looking for children who are gregarious and resilient, which Camp Bonas aims to instill.

Getting your kids outdoors

Whatever you do, don’t waste the summer in London! According to a recent study, 75% of UK children have less time outdoors than prison inmates.

It can be a challenge for children to engage in enough daily activity. This can be due to demands at school, a feeling among some kids that they aren’t good at sports, a lack of active role models, and busy working families – all of which has been amplified by a year of lockdown.

Camp Bonas has a long list of outdoor activities, from raft building to high ropes, bushcraft to orienteering – the campers will be outdoors until bedtime.

A screen-free social network!

Swap Facebook for face-to-face. With over half of all 10-year olds owning a smartphone, parents are finding screen time battles more and more of an issue, especially in the school holidays.

Camp Bonas is a completely tech-free experience. This fantastic rural escape in Somerset will give children valuable time-out from phones, tablets and screens, allowing children to rewild their minds whilst they learn through new hands-on experiences.

Camp Bonas is also a time for discovery and making special childhood memories. Your child will make new lifelong friendships and form close bonds while completing tasks, undertaking activities and working as a team. The social skills learned and friends made at camp will help your child navigate their way through their teens and set them up for the years ahead. Like the American summer camp model, Camp Bonas is for life.

Stargazing

In London and other urban areas, our views of the stars are obscured by artificial light, and believe it or not, some London children have never seen our own galaxy. Camp Bonas is set inside a dark-sky reserve, where the views of the milky-way are awe-inspiring. Stargazing while eating toasted marshmallows around the campfire sounds like the perfect summer evening.

What to do with that enormous independent school holiday

Independent school holidays are long, but Camp Bonas provides the perfect mix of using holidays for fun and play whilst still working towards clear outcomes.

Camp Bonas aims to harness the power of experiential learning (the process of learning through reflection on doing) in a way that no other camp does. Not only does their programme offer a huge range of new and hands-on activities, sports and adventures, but built into the week are chances of creative reflection, journaling and story writing based upon the experience of the camp. This allows their campers to enjoy their holidays whilst still progressing in themselves.

How to book Camp Bonas

To book your child’s place at Camp Bonas, click here to complete the Camp Bonas Enrolment Form 2021.

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