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When we think of summer vacations from childhood, we are always overwhelmed by the set. They were endlessly long days filled with laughter, play and adventures.
The gatherings lasted until dusk, nature was our playground, and books were a window to distant worlds. Every moment was full of life. We didn’t need technology to have fun, just a little imagination and good company.
Today, children observe the world around them less and less. Their world fits into the phone screen, a glowing window through which they stare for hours. There is less and less running around yards, exploring hidden corners or imagining stories while lying on the grass and watching the clouds.
Their fingers move too quickly over the phone screen, but they have a hard time holding the pen. Games keep their attention for hours, but they quickly lose interest in books, drawing or playing outside. Boredom is their biggest problem because they haven’t been taught that creativity emerges from boredom.
“We gave children smartphones, and in return we took away their childhood.”
As owners of a music school, we watch children playing music every day. Children who don’t look at screens, but at notes, at their fingers, at each other. We watch them laugh as they create melodies together, learn to listen and express themselves without words. In those moments, technology is not even on their mind – they are immersed in something much bigger, deeper and more beautiful.
And then it dawned on us. If music can enrich them so much, why don’t we try to bring it closer to other children? To those who have not yet discovered that magic, who do not know what it is like to create something with their own hands and heart.
That’s how the idea of a summer camp was born, a place where children can explore art, music and creativity away from the screen. A place where they might find a love that will follow them all their lives.
If we take them away from the screen and give them real opportunity and value, maybe they can discover new interests away from the screen. That’s why we started a summer camp that introduces them to art, and especially to music. Because once they feel the excitement of creation, melody and rhythm, they will understand how rich that world is. Maybe they will find a love that will follow them for the rest of their lives. When your life is filled with music, there is no room for boredom!
One of the goals of our camp is exactly that – to separate children from the screen, but also to give them tools to design their time even when there is no screen.
The no-screen challenge: How do kids learn to enjoy themselves the way we once did?
We ourselves are parents who try to limit children’s access to screens, as well as to get them interested in the living world around them, in art, creation and healthy communication.
All these are contents and skills that improve the quality of life of modern man and bring meaning to it. We can also add that children inclined to art are structurally more sensitive, and that is why doing art is a key tool for them to get closer to themselves and the world around them.
Our Eva Art Camp has all these values.
The whole concept of the camp is aimed at each child individually, and consists of changing different arts, individual approach and a lot of socializing. We try to understand each child’s preferences and encourage them to express their needs.
Did you know that 30% of children return to Eva Art Camp? As if the camp was crucial for dozens of participants to decide to start playing an instrument?
We can’t decide which activity the children like the most, but at the end of the week, all the activities come together and become one wonderful event that will be remembered all summer long.
What we consider to be the greatest benefit is that during the five days we inspired the children and provided them with the knowledge and tools to continue exploring the living world around them that exists and welcomes them beyond the screen.
Why is a screen detox important for children’s development?
We are witnessing numerous problems caused by excessive exposure to screens.
Some of them are attention disorders, sleep disorders, anxiety, inability to persevere, as well as numerous other reasons that lead to problems with learning and communication.
Through games and exposure to social networks, children are locked into a parallel world that after a while causes them more problems than joy. Dependence on likes, passing levels, or watching consecutive short videos only disrupts children’s natural emotional balance, as well as long-term focus.
Children are less and less able to focus and understand the world around them. When they need to find their way in it, they withdraw, do not communicate clearly, “survive” and soon return to the safe blue light of the screen.
That is why it is important that the period when children do not look at their phones during the day is several times longer than the periods when they are exposed to content. The latest research says that it should be less than two hours a day, and we completely agree with that from experience.
Summer camp program for children
The camp program is carefully designed to be stimulating as well as relaxing.
Through the psychological workshop on the first day, we get to know each other, exchange basic information about ourselves, but also make an introduction for the performance that will be prepared during the week. Here, the children are adapting to the new environment, secretly looking at each other, and already at the first break we can find them playing together.
Part of the show is the scenography and costumes that the children make themselves, as well as the choreography to popular and valuable musical numbers. What is a real treat is that the play is written on the spot and that all participants get a role “to their liking”. Shy children sometimes prefer to express themselves through movement, and more mature ones through more text.
The most important thing is that everyone goes through the process of creation and can repeat it with their company in the park or with their housemates after the camp is over.
During the week, the Italian teacher taught the children to introduce themselves, to count, and to sing one of the classic Italian canzones. Through repetitive games, children easily remember all the tasks and usually stay in their minds long after the camp.
New since the last camp is the Writing Workshop where children learn to set up the main characters, develop the main theme and wrap up the story. This process is very valuable for all students because it helps them with all the elements of writing that await them in school. Plus, it gives them a foundation to explore their own writing talent and have extra fun over the summer.
At the end of the day, children play their chosen instruments – piano or guitar. This group playing workshop always brings great joy to the children. They impatiently take turns around the piano, waiting for their turn, while in the group of young guitarists, everyone has their own instrument in order to learn faster than each other.
This experience helps them to feel whether music is what they are interested in, and also to choose an instrument.
What awaits us at the end of the week is the final performance. Parents are often in disbelief how much content children can learn through play in five days. In addition, they are irreversibly changed – for the better and continue to grow with new ideas, inspiration and friendships.
Summer camp in Belgrade Eva Music School: An opportunity for children to be children again
There are no screens at Eva Art Camp, but there is a clear structure, so children have the opportunity to just be children. Kids play, create and have fun participating in the best content carefully designed just for them.
During breaks, they draw, talk, make new friends. Their spontaneity, jokes and laughter reverberate through our school during the five days of our art camp.
See for yourself:
Do you want to enroll your child in Eva camp! Hurry up, the number of places is limited!
The price of the camp is 199 euros per week. For a second child from the same family, the price is 179 euros per week.
The term is from June 30 to July 4.
From Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the premises of our music school in Dedinje, Belgrade, Dr. Vojislav Stojanovića 7.
It is possible to pay extra for one more hour of care at the end of the activity until 4:30 p.m., and this service is additionally charged for 20 euros per week.
Don’t miss the “early bird” for applications until April 1, the price for all children is 179 euros!
The group is limited to 20 participants, so hurry up and register your child as soon as possible!
You can fill out the application here: https://evamusic.rs/en/contact/
