Summer Camp Rules!

Yes, I realize that the summer is almost over and it’s rather late to be posting about summer camps, but in education, we stress reflection so much that I thought it was time to reflect on this summer’s choice of summer camps.

I tend to over think some things and summer camps for my nine-year-old son is one of those things.

I begin planning/ signing up for camps in April, but I start hearing about them as soon as January (and someday I’m going to get Emery into Camp Half-Blood, based on the Percy Jackson series and offered in Texas but its registration starts in November!)

As an educator, it makes me crazy to think of the hours my son spends on the couch watching television and playing games while I’m at school and my husband is at home with him. Of course, many of my teacher/ professor friends actually spend time with their children during the summer (at the pool, the library, at home engaged in meaningful activities) so I shouldn’t complain. Camps, for me, are a way to ensure Emery is not “wasting time.”

The way I choose camps now has changed quite a bit, but a few rules remain in place:

1.    My husband sets the number of weeks Emery can spend in camps. Usually, it’s no more than 5 weeks.

2.    I no longer consider school readiness camps or anything that is set in a classroom (although those are very tempting and Emery did a first grade readiness course which he didn’t complain about).

3.    If he goes to a camp and doesn’t like it, he can quit (zoo camp and robotics camp were disasters).

4.    Camps that are focused on a topic or a skill rather than a hodge-podge of activities tend to be better (I hated the camps I went to as a kid—we did various activities, mainly watching television, until Friday when we would take a field trip. I know my parents’ choice were limited as they both worked full time jobs, but I don’t think I enjoyed them as much if they had been something I was interested in).

5.    Emery must be interested in the topic of the camp. And I get a little specific—he used to do an art camp downtown, which was really great. It was an art camp (the one he went to was focused on the 80s) and campers did all sorts of art throughout the day, visual, musical, performance, etc. On the last day, they did a show with 80s music and skits—Emery learned The Thriller dance. However, he hated the visual arts part and even the director remarked that he was more of a performer than a visual artist, so we now do a camp that focused just on performance.

6.    Finally, I have to remind myself he can’t do every camp. For some (like video game camp), he’s too young; others overlap with the ones I’ve already signed him up for. 

So, in the late spring, I print out blank calendars of the summer months and begin to fill in our options. This year Emery participated in these camps:

1. DFW WOW Suzuki Camp (see previous post written by my husband) https://www.dfwwow.com/

2. Playmakers Baton Rouge Character Development Camp http://playmakersbr.org/

Here’s the description; his cousin took this one with him. They loved it.This one week camp offers the young actors with a opportunity to learn the dynamics of stage makeup and character movement work. The actors will explore different styles of stage makeup and character movement to create their own individual character. This performance will culminate in a mini presentation of the week’s lesson.

3. Greater New Orleans Suzuki Camp http://www.gnosuzukiforum.com/     

This was our fourth year (maybe 5th) at this camp. It was Emery’s third year with musician Tim Brock with whom we took private flute lessons. By the end of the week, Emery and Mr. Brock were improvising. Like the Dallas camp, a week focusing on music took his flute playing to another level—it was amazing. 

4. Fencing camp http://redstickfencing.com/ Okay, I was a bit skeptical about fencing camp. A camp that ran from 9-4 in a studio? What would they do for 7 hours? Well, they did a lot and Emery had a marvelous time. They ran drills, learned and used the different weapons (even historical ones), had bouts, watched films with fencing scenes, and played some sort of “storm the castle” game. Coach Ryan is great and really did a fantastic job working with his students.

5. Live! Learn! Louisiana! My colleagues run some really wonderful programs, and my friend Dr. Jennifer Jolly has run a camp for five summers now at the Louisiana State Museum in downtown Baton Rouge. She’s invited Emery to participate in the camp for several years and he hasn’t been able to because of camp rules #2, #5, and #6. I finally realized that the camp does not violate rule #2 and this year it wouldn’t violate #6, so I signed him up.

I must add that my hesitation was also based on Emery’s unpredictability. I didn’t want something to happen that would jeopardize our friendship—I can’t be more specific since Emery will be reading this, but it might have involved a food fight.   

He had a great time. 

You can read more about it at the link below, but his teacher for the week helped him research and put together a video project on red beans and rice. She even set up an appointment for him at a local restaurant to interview a chef. Children rarely have the chance to pursue topics that interest them with the help of a well-qualified educator and I wish schools were like this all of the time. I might have to reconsider #2 after this experience.  

http://chse.lsu.edu/sponsored_programs/LiveLearnLouisiana.shtml

What did your kids do this summer? 

Emery's comment: i don't waste time!!!!! some of use have to educate/play video games for our not so lame nintendo future!!! besides that she showed she knows me well.