Children have been spending their mornings and early afternoons at Slatington Elementary for a newly formed summer camp for children between the ages of 7 to 13. Organized by Northern Lehigh Recreation, a partnership between Walnutport and Slatington boroughs with Washington Township, the camp aims to keep children's minds fresh over summer and to keep children active.

"There's so much the kids get out of this, especially in 2017 with video games and how popular computers and YouTube has become. It's important just to get them out," says Mike Kukitz, head of the summer camp.Kukitz has been planning the camp with interns for the past few weeks and has brought in 80 local children.Children in the program have a different experience every day at the camp."Every day there's structured games, whether it's an educational activity, a recreational activity, a field trip or a special presentation. The days are planned start to finish so that the kids are having fun, but also learning and making new friends throughout the summer."Kukitz is pursuing presentation opportunities to show to the participants, but he says he has already confirmed two field trips, as well as presentations from both the Lehigh Gap Nature Center and the Slatington Police Department.The camp also serves to teach children social skills as well as information. Games the children play are meant to encourage teamwork and communication."They don't realize it, but they're learning leadership skills and teamwork, they're learning sportsmanship," Kukitz said. "A simple Jeopardy game for lollipops may seem just like a simple game, but really we are working with them to keep their minds fresh."The camp employs six counselors, two who are college student interns, some of whom are graduates of Northern Lehigh High School. Kukitz says it is "huge" that the program is able to offer employment.Counselor Maria Martinez said that the children are great to work with."It's really great working with the kids," Martinez said. "Each day I make it a goal to give something back to the kids for them to take away from this program, whether it be that extra encouragement to have them try a new sport, a smile to last through the day, insight on their future decisions, absolutely any advice or encouragement I could possibly give them makes me feel good."