Not every child loves the idea of going to summer camp especially if it’s an academic focused camp (a paper and pencil camp) during his/her summer break. He/she often thinks of academic camps as a continuation of the school year and this sometimes leads to frustration and lack of interest.
On the other hand, if children are introduced to specific camps or camps of interest such as cooking, swimming, science, boat building, music, arts and crafts and other hands-on camps…even outdoor or sleepover camps, they would be more interested, involved and they would surely learn a lot and have fun.
This summer, Teacher Itasha Webster decided to make a change from operating the traditional type summer camp (the catch up on your school work kind of camp) to operating an all inclusive, hands-on, life changing and unforgettable summer camp all in a fun and enriching environment – shared with individuals with different personalities but the same interest and passion for cooking. However, being a classroom teacher, Ms. Webster knew how important it was for her campers to revise concepts taught throughout the school year, and therefore she planned each day carefully while sneaking learning into fun cooking activities to reinforce concepts covered in different subject areas. She was able to pull this together by blending her two passions…Cooking and teaching!
The camp operated by Teacher Itasha, this summer, was a two-week cooking camp for young children ages 6-15 entitled “Young Chefs’ Summer Cooking Camp”. The campers were referred to as “Young Chefs in Training”. The camp was designed to help children grow in a variety of positive and healthy ways that can affect them throughout their lives. It also inspired campers’ culinary creativity. The campers had two weeks learning everything from food sanitation and kitchen safety, to etiquette and manners, to reading food labels and recipes, to meal planning and shopping, to the magic of the kitchen life, while covering a number of culinary topics.
Every day, campers were taught something new both through theory and hands-on activities. Whatever they cooked, they ate as a late afternoon lunch or a snack, and shared with family members. During the two weeks, campers made smoothies, chicken noodle soup, cookies, cupcakes, pizza, fried and baked Johnny cakes, conkies and carrot cake from scratch.
In addition to their new found cooking abilities, the skills and attitudes that they gained from this camp go much further than the kitchen. They also learned and demonstrated the importance of communicating, planning, problem-solving, time management, decision-making, organizing, motivating others, being positive, calm, passionate, helpful, friendly, having a good sense of humour, being a perfectionist and having good attention to detail.
Even though the campers gained valuable life lessons, they had an absolute blast. There was never a dull moment at the cooking camp. Campers left camp every day excited about what they learned and couldn’t wait to return each camp day full of energy and with a ready to learn attitude. Miss Webster has already started planning for her Back to School Cooking Weekend Camp.
Miss Webster would like to express sincere gratitude to Delta Petroleum for their generous contribution, and she looks forward to a prosperous future together.
– Contributed
