When the school bell rings for the last time — can you remember how that felt? The excitement of change, the freedom from structure, the sense of celebration and adventure…
As parents, we realize this period represents the most enjoyable time for them — but we know it’s also when they often need the most stimulation and motivation to stay active.
As experienced coaches and parent advocates, we know you want more than somewhere to send your children during the summer or school breaks. You’re seeking an environment that is active, imaginative, and will stimulate and inspire your child in new ways. That’s why we think our DDGNA Summer & School Break Camps are the most awesome. Read on for a few reasons why!
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Parental Dilemma | Staying Active and Engaged During Breaks
We want our children to enjoy the carefree time they get, of course. But as responsible parents we worry about them staying active and engaged away from the classroom. Left to their own devices, children often seek out sedentary activities, which is one reason childhood obesity is such a significant issue. With your child at home during breaks, it can be challenging to find engaging activities that keep them moving and growing — physically, emotionally and mentally.
Park visits are great, but they lack consistency and they’re weather-dependent. Sports leagues are wonderful, but they’re not all-day and typically not developmentally appropriate for young children (ages 2-7). Here’s where the value of a well-planned camp comes into play. The structure of a day camp alleviates the stress of ensuring your child is consistently active and engaged throughout their break.
Issue #1: Screen Time
Without supervision, your child may spend hours glued to a screen and be left unmotivated to explore and play. We’ve seen this happen to so many of our clients’ children. Once they turn on the TV, they lose interest in being physically active. They can get stuck in their seats.
Issue #2: Skills Regression
When children are not consistently moving and engaged, their physical skills regress, and they can become less focused on direction and group participation. We’ve experienced this in our programs and know how children struggle when they don’t have the right level of structure and guidance. We want our children to learn new skills but sometimes feel too distracted to focus.
Issue #3: Boredom and Restlessness
A child can become restless and lose interest in any structured activities when they don’t have enough stimulation. In our own homes, we see the results of boredom: They get restless, argue with siblings, and there is a significant increase in tension throughout the home.
Issue #4: Social Development
We’ve all been there, in between soccer, baseball, and other sports, during the summer and other breaks, there are no other children to play with or spend time with. This is a significant factor that our camp helps mitigate. Our students can learn valuable lessons in interacting with others in group situations, problem-solving — and having fun!
🌟 Build Skills. 🌟 Make Friends. 🌟 Gain Confidence.
Because Their Break Should Be More Than Screen Time
Let your child grow, play, and thrive in a safe, enriching environment. You’ll love who they become.
Summer Fun at DDGNA
At Dominique Dawes Gymnastics and Ninja Academy, we offer a wide variety of camps uniquely structured to get your child moving and active in new ways. We believe in building children’s confidence in the world and preparing them for future success, and taking care of the whole child.
1. Expert-Led, Age-Appropriate Instruction
We want to be clear, one of the essential ingredients in our camps is the caliber of instruction. We’ve always believed in employing experienced coaches who have a background in child development, gymnastics, and ninja disciplines. Children ages 2-7 are learning so many different things every second they’re awake, and all can be at different developmental stages. Our coaches understand this — we focus on appropriate curriculum, making sure it’s challenging and achievable.
There’s a special magic to be seen when a hesitant child finds a coach to guide them gently through their skills. Our coaches are expert at breaking down movements and building them step-by-step to get them to achieve. Our staff creates environments where kids aren’t just physically active but can achieve significant skills. They’ll learn the proper forward roll, finally master a handstand, and most of all: how to be proud of their achievements.
2. An Enriching Blend of Gymnastics and Ninja Fun
Our camps offer exciting and developmentally appropriate activities for engaging children of all ages in invigorating learning experiences. These activities — games, drills and teamwork, which is an essential component of developing skills — comprise a diverse array of games and challenges that will entertain and excite your kid. They’ll want to join in.
It’s an approach that offers a wide range of movements and challenges that will captivate and stimulate your child. It’s an effective way to build a wide variety of physical literacy skills that will serve them in any activity.
3. Fostering Holistic Development
While the main focus of these camps is physical activity, we want to create an environment that will help your child develop in all areas. As educators and parents ourselves, we know real growth includes cognitive, social, and emotional well-being. All of these areas can be developed through our program as we strive to help your child grow, holistically.
- Benefits to Cognition
Following instructions, memorizing routines, and making plans to accomplish an activity all help with cognitive development. Our staff members use fun, imaginative stories and dialogue to help your child learn in a fun and entertaining way. We’ve seen distractible children gain focus and a higher attention span through participating in these activities.
- Social-Emotional Growth
These are the perfect incubators for social skills. We’ve found that kids share equipment, learn to take turns, communicate, and be kind to their peers. They experience the joy of teamwork and the pride of supporting a friend. Our positive culture ensures that your child understands how to treat others with respect, learn empathy, and understand the role of teaming up with others. We’ve witnessed a shy child become more outgoing and gain confidence when they are in this environment.
- Building Confidence and Self-Esteem
Each time your child achieves even small success, it impacts them in ways they may never understand consciously. We can help them guide themselves through the process of learning. Support from other campers also has a profound effect on self-esteem. We want to be sure every child feels a sense of accomplishment and knows how well they’re doing! This can even help motivate your child to continue with other unfamiliar activities.
4. Creative Themes and Games
It’s important to keep it interesting, and we do that by using themes for the summer and school breaks. The activities, games, and even crafts change every week, which keeps the environment fresh and innovative. Your child will learn new themes and get excited and motivated to learn something new.
5. A Safe and Supportive Environment
Safety is our top priority, and our facilities are up to date and equipped with age-appropriate and state-of-the-art equipment. Our coaches are trained in safety, first aid, and positive behavior management techniques. However, we also create an emotionally safe and supportive environment.
Children learn best when they feel safe and supported, and our staff can ensure that. We will identify your child’s needs and encourage them toward confidence and success. Our staff is trained to read the cues that say a child needs a breather, or feels overwhelmed. They know when to intervene to help your child learn, stay motivated, and feel good about their accomplishments.
Our staff can help children overcome any challenges or setbacks, as they can try again without the pressure. They are an integral part of a child’s success and our community, as they can motivate, support, and build your child’s confidence.
Real Benefits of DDGNA Camps
While we can provide a full description of the benefits of our camps, we’d like to focus on the benefits for your child. Here’s why our camps are worth it:
- Peace of Mind
When your child attends a camp, you want them to be in a safe environment where they are being supervised by experienced staff. You will feel good knowing that your child is not home on the screen all day, bored and alone. We’ll keep your child active, moving, and engaged in fun activities that will allow them to have fun, learn, and get some much-needed physical activity.
- Other Benefits for Parents
We have witnessed the best part of our camp program, your child will arrive home happy, and we are not the only ones to benefit from it. We’ve seen children arrive home happy and tired. They’ll feel physically tired from all the exercise and still have time to have fun and play. We have noticed that after a day of our camp, children sleep well and return home ready to rest and have a good night.
- Skills Development
Your child will learn new skills, from handstands to hand grips, or maybe just be able to complete a course without stopping. We want to make sure your child’s experience is exciting and challenging, which will keep them wanting to come back.
- Academic Readiness
We know that being physically active has significant benefits for your child’s development. From improved coordination to increased focus and higher reading levels, we believe your child will be ready to learn when school begins again. We’ve seen children who were never engaged in physical activity develop skills that they can build on and will have a successful start to their school year.
- Lasting Friendships
Camp can be a fantastic way for your child to make friends outside of their usual group. We believe this can have significant benefits for your child as they will have another set of friends to lean on. This can help them feel better about themselves, build their confidence, and be a great environment for them.
Make This Summer the Most Epic Yet!
If you are interested in learning more about the camps we offer, we would love to help. Our camps are designed to change the way your child views the summer and other breaks. Our coaches are experts at making your child feel excited about coming and improving every day. They will grow physically, cognitively, and socially and feel better about themselves. Let’s make your child’s break epic. Let’s make it the best time of their life.
Contact Information
Have Questions or Concerns? Call Our Office at (240)-690-4138
Our Clarksburg Location
22530 Gateway Center Drive
Clarksburg, MD 20871
Recreational Gym – Suite 500
Preschool and Ninja Gyms – Suite 700
Our Rockville Location
5626 Randolph Road
Rockville, MD 20852
