Summertime is here, and the kids are out of school.
While the long days of freedom were initially met with joy and excitement, sooner or later parents across the county will inevitably hear the dreaded phrase, “I’m bored.”
There are a number of ways kids stay occupied over the summer — video games, family vacations, visiting with friends and reading books, for example.
Growing up, though, my favorite summertime activity was camp.
I went to all kinds of camps.
After watching the summer Olympics in 1996, I wanted to be a gymnast. So, my mom signed me up for a two-week gymnastics camp. That week I learned that an Olympic gold in gymnastics simply was not in my future.
Similarly, after Tara Lipinski took the gold for figure skating in the 1998 winter Olympics, I wanted to be a figure skater. Once again, my mom signed me up for two weeks of ice skating camp. Surprisingly, I was actually pretty good — and while there weren’t any Olympic medals in my future, I ended up placing first and second in several competitions over the next few years.
I also went to various music, fine arts and drama camps, where I did everything from running a sound board to singing and acting, to sign language.
My favorite camps, however, were New Life Camp and Impact.
New Life Camp was awesome because it had grape slushies, a craft cabin and bonfires. What wasn’t so awesome were the mosquito bites and the lack of air conditioning, but all in all, I loved that camp.
When I got to middle school, however, I was able to go to my church’s youth camp called Impact where we had air conditioned cabins, themed party nights and boats and tubing.
So, whatever kind of summer camp your child is thinking about going to, it’s bound to be a fun one.
If you’re looking for camp ideas for this summer, check these local options. For more ideas, check out the Salisbury Post’s Summer Fun tab that was published in early May.
• Many churches in the area offer Vacation Bible School throughout the summer.
• Catawba College has a wide variety of camps and activities, from athletics to music to sciences.
• Salisbury Academy is offering several camps this summer, and is still accepting registration for a few of them.
• The J.F. Hurley Family, J. Fred Corriher Jr. and The Saleeby-Fisher YMCAs offer day camps throughout the summer for first- through eighth-graders.

Contact education reporter Jeanie Groh at jeanie.groh@salisburypost.com or 704-797-4222.