Our final week of summer camp at The Villa is called, “When We Grow Up.” During the week of July 17, the children will have opportunities to explore different career choices. We will let them enjoy role-playing games and activities complete with outfits and props. On Monday they will try out some recipes as they become chefs and bakers. Then Tuesday they will take turns acting as a doctor, nurse, or patient. The children will head outdoors on Wednesday to make observations of bugs as like they are scientist. Will they call themselves entomologists or bug experts? On Thursday the children and teachers will act out being reporters and share a story they create as a class with the other classes. On our last day of the week and of summer camp, the children will dress up like what they want to be when they grow up. It will be interesting to see the variety of careers the children choose.
In early childhood settings, it is important that children are taught how to understand their own goals and learn the proper way to express their own needs and wants. When we expose youngsters to career-related materials and explore with them various scenarios that allow them to understand how a certain career works, they will have a better understanding of how a professional does his or her job. Through play the children will learn some basics about their dream careers and eventually learn about the steps they need to take to pursue a certain career. We hope our Villa students will enjoy this week's opportunities to explore a variety of careers.