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How to Choose a Summer Camp for Gifted Children

Updated on July 25, 2007

Almost every major university now offers some sort of summer program for gifted and talented children. There are many things to consider when choosing a program so spend some time thinking about the kind of experience you want your child to have. Do you want her to make new friends with similar interests, explore a new study area, or delve deeply into an academic favorite? Will the atmosphere be competitive or cooperative?

You also want to consider safety. Choosing a camp that is accredited by the ACA, American Camping Association can help you to know what you're getting.

What's the Focus?

Even brainy kids need a break once in a while. A good camp will provide a balanced mix of academic, social, and yes, athletic fun. Kids need some unstructured time as well, to integrate what they've been learning and interact with other kids.

A good camp has clearly defined goals and all the activities support those goals. You want challenging instruction, but not overwhelming expectations. It is summer after all! You certainly don't want to pay big money for information or ideas that are simply a duplication of what the child is already learning in school. Look for that something special that sparks so much interest in your child that she's begging to go.

Look for interactive instruction methods, hands-on experimenting, and the chance to work in small and large teams. Another big advantage to the summer camp experience is the lack of grading. This means your child can take risks she may not feel comfortable taking in school. The best camps encourage this type of fearless learning.

Other Kids

You'll want to know how kids are selected for acceptance into the program. It's one thing to have an interest in an academic area, but you want to make sure kids are somewhat well-matched with their classmates. If there will be a wide variety of skill levels in the camp, individual instruction should be available for more or less advanced students.

Sleep Away Science Camp?

Many programs are residential, which means your child will be away from home a week or more. You'll want to consider his maturity level as well as prior experiences away from home. If your child has his heart set on one of these camps, but you fear he's not ready you may want to try some ‘test runs' with friends or family closer to home. Residential camps offer the advantage of meeting a more diverse group of students as they usually come from a wider geographic ranger. Also, your child spends more time with the other kids on a social level. This can make for more bonding and longer lasting friendship, however, they may be difficult to maintain once camp is over.

The largest barrier to most families will be the cost of these programs. While scholarships are available to most, these are limited and price tags range in the thousands.

Independent Study

You may want to look into a mentorship or independent study program for your child. These courses of study require a high degree of responsibility and self-motivation. They also lack the social interaction with other kids. However, if your child is advanced in a certain field, spending one-on-one time and receiving individual guidance with an accomplished academic could be priceless.

Teachers and Other Resources

Make sure whatever camp you choose employs teachers who are highly capable and knowledgeable in their fields. They should also be experienced specifically with working with kids your child's age. And they need to be specially trained to work with gifted children. Inquire about their credentials, training, and supervision. Also, what is the ratio of teachers or counselors to students?

Make sure the camp has sufficient resources such as computers or scientific equipment to keep the children engaged.

A high quality camp will provide some sort of evaluation of how your child has performed as well as self-evaluation.

Look over all the printed materials of camps you are considering, do some research on the teachers, and talk to anyone you can. The best indicator of a great camp is the number of returning campers, and the camp administrators should be able to give you a number.

For more information on resources for gifted children check out www.nagc.org.

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