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Well, that’s all folks! Young Americans Summer Camp 2016 has ended with tremendous success. This year, in addition to our many camps located at our brick and mortar locations, we completed a total of four additional camps in other locations with our On the Road Set up! This has given us the opportunity to reach even more students this summer, and we will start new potential opportunities or partnerships for our summer programs in the future.
During our Young Ameritowne camps, kiddos experience the essential lessons in our curriculum to successfully run Towne on Friday! It may seem like a lot of information; however, a rare thing happened this year. During every single YAT camp, YAT 2 included, all of our shops made a profit!
A citizen of International Towne poses for a photo with his passport.
In our International Towne camps, kids learn all about interdependence and how one region affects others around the world. During the day of Towne for one of our International Towne camps, the campers experienced a huge Currency Exchange Rate change! Just like the real world, when one currency is affected many others are too. There were some countries that would have had HUGE revenues, however, with the rate change; they did not even end with a positive balance.
One of the best parts of our entrepreneur camps is the mini marketplace held for 45 minutes on Friday. This year we had a great turnout of happy customers coming to see what kind of business ideas their campers invented in just four days, and then what kind of products they created during their limited time for product production! At the end of their day, campers report to a Board and share what made their businesses successful. They also decide which charity will receive half of their proceeds; campers are allowed to choose any charity, as long as their entire business group agrees. One of the biggest themes of Run Your Own Business camp is teamwork, and while it may be a long tough week, grasping the concept of teamwork is a big deal as they enter 4th or 5th grade.
One of the staff favorites is our Girls Can camp, where girls become empowered with knowledge of different government systems and future opportunities, and they leave knowing how to become successful in the free enterprise system.
One of the overlying themes for all of our summer camps is philanthropy and how even youth can give of their time, talent, and treasure. Going into fall, it is important for all of us to remember that we are all capable of giving, even if it’s just a little, because it will go a long way for those in need. Coming up soon we will have a new program that focuses on service learning and leadership and it allows students to make decisions on how they would like to give back to the community and make a difference in the world.
Teacher Tips:
We might be teachers, but we can still learn too! Starting a new school year, here are a few things to remember. Students love to talk, laugh, and move! When teaching a few of the information rich lessons (Investment?), remember to have them play to their strengths, role play investment bankers, or even have them track a real stock for one week, just to understand the ways that their investments can grow, or shrink over time. Notice those individuals who really shine (all of them, right?). Encourage them start thinking about their own futures! We have a ton of Entrepreneurship programs that will help kiddos with the next steps of creating and owning their own businesses!
