Schools
Kids Camp Heats Up Winter Break
Some elementary school students are participating in an activities camp at the Pleasant Dale Park District while schools are closed over winter break.
With a balloon drop, pizza and brownies, a group of kids ushered in the new year a little early Friday at Pleasant Dale Park District's Camp Frosty.
The park district has been hosting a group of about 30 children, ages five- to 11-years-old during winter break. The camp, which ran from Dec. 23-31, provided an option for parents who work while their children are out of school. Park District staff and college-age counselors took the kids sledding, bowling, swimming and for a game of laser tag.
"They get to be kids, and that's the big thing," said Cindy Yelich, Pleasant Dale's recreation supervisor. "There's no homework or anything like that. They get to run around and be crazy, and do activities and play with each other."
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Mason Borzym, 11, said playing laser tag was his favorite part of the camp. This is the fourth year Borzym has participated in Camp Frosty.
And his resolution for the new year?
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"Brush my teeth more than once a day," he said, while sipping sparkling juice out of a plastic champagne flute.
Many of the children that participate in Camp Frosty also attend the park district's summer camps. Camp Frosty's six college counselors also lead summer camp, which creates continuity between the camps and allows the counselors more time to build relationships with the kids, said Yelich.
"We have the staff that has the energy to do it, to keep up with these kids and keep them busy all winter break," she said.
Geoff Waring, one of the counselors, said he enjoys working with the kids, and especially when it comes to sports. Waring, a Burr Ridge resident, is in his junior year at the University of Iowa and said the kids see the counselors as role models. He said he enjoys passing on the value of sportsmanship to the kids.
"It's fun to be able to counsel kids that have the same interests that I've had all through my life," Waring said.
Most of the children that participated in Camp Frosty attend La Grange Highlands Elementary School or Pleasantdale Middle School.
"It's been a good time," said Yelich.
