Summertime is finally here. And now that we've said goodbye to homeschooling and ended what's hopefully our last class on Zoom for a long time, parents are starting to wonder, "How am I going to keep the kids busy all summer?"
Enter Camp YouTube, a digital learning experience to help parents recreate the fun of summer camp at home. Camp YouTube has something for every kind of kid this summer. From arts and adventure to sports and STEM, Camp YouTube promises 1,200 videos programmed beginning June 22 for a two-week period with content refreshed every weekday through Sunday, July 5.
"Good Morning America" is in touch with some of Camp YouTube's content creators to get a deeper look into exactly what they're offering this summer. We're kicking it off with Cosmic Kids, an in-class and at-home favorite for yoga and meditation with superfun themes for kids.
In 2012, Jaime Amor started posting her yoga stories on YouTube, and today she has more than 400 to choose from.
"My goal is to create what my generation didn’t have when we were kids—a fun way of discovering yoga and mindfulness so we could grow up equipped to look after our mental health and develop a healthy relationship with our feelings from a young age. I grew up in the '80s and '90s and this was before social media," Amor said, "I think it’s even more important now."
She said when YouTube got in touch about Camp YouTube, Amor knew Cosmic Kids would be a great fit.
MORE: 22 online camps approved by Common Sense Media MORE: How to create the ultimate summer bucket list in 3 easy steps"Many of the life lessons that are built into the yoga adventures are about dealing with anxiety and difficult feelings, which in these uncertain times have been cropping up a lot," she said. "Also in the context of Black Lives Matter, we are hoping more than ever to reach and empower more kids with the content we’ve made that celebrates diversity and promotes inclusivity."
Amor said she's hopeful that kids will make yoga and mindfulness something they look forward to practicing each day of camp.
She's excited about some of the brand-new content that's particularly timely. One is on making hand-washing fun and is called "Superhero Scrubs."
"We have so, so many yoga adventures for the kids to choose from, and a really lovely way to get kids engaged is to give them the choice of which yoga adventure they want to do," she said. Options like Tommy the Bedtime Turtle focuses on a good night sleep. Babs the Beaver relays a lesson on working together. Frank the Frog teaches about supporting others. The episode guide can be downloaded here.
The best way to get started, Amor said, is to hand over control.
"Let them pick which video they’d like to try and if they want to have a go following along by themselves, let them," she said. "If they’d prefer to have you do it with them ask them and then do it together if they’d like that. When kids feel like they’ve got some control and agency in practicing, they ‘own’ it more and want to do it. When they feel the benefit of it, they love it too. It can also help if you have older kids for them to do it and enjoy it as this will inspire any of the younger ones to join in too."