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    Joined: May 2010
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    The schools for gifted children around here all offer day camps in the summer. I just looked this morning to sign my daughter up for a Hogwarts themed week.

    Are you looking for day camps or sleep away?

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    We have no experience with "gifted" camps, but we find it very easy to choose specialty camps that are at our kids' levels. This is because a lot of camps are mixed-age and activities are designed by level instead of by age. DS used to go to chess camps and players of similar levels would be grouped together. Same for music camps. DD was in a middle school theatre camp last summer when she just finished 3rd grade. All we did was to tell the camp coordinator about her theatre experience (which was very extensive). Academic camps such as CTY, CTD, TIP with eligibility requirements would also work well. So I suggest 1) carefully review camp descriptions and know how students are grouped; and 2) just ask the camp and see what they can arrange. I think the camps are usually much more flexible than schools.

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    Linking this thread to a discussion of First day of summer camp was a disaster, which contains important considerations when choosing a summer experience for a child. Also linking that thread here.

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    We have done the Northwestern CTD programs a few times and had mixed results. DD (7) likes the more open ended classes (e.g., planning a research station for Antarctica) because she can take the research as far as she wants and is not constrained by the curriculum.

    She has not liked the more structured classes like math...they did too much repetition and did not cover material fast enough. She was the youngest in the class, but caught on the quickest and they still will not let her take a class for a higher grade level (fwiw - she consistently tests just a hair under DYS criteria).

    I decided this summer to just get her a subscription to ixl...it was a lot cheaper and she is having more fun:)

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    We have had good luck so far this summer with DS4 and mixed age camps - he can run with the little guys and talk with the big guys.

    If there is a really good gifted day camp in a different city or state it may even be worth it to build a 1-2 week vacation around this (kid(s) could go to camp and parents can have a little break?).

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    Difficult to imagine, but the webpage for Innovation Institute summer camp July 12, 2015 - July 24, 2015 at Belin-Blank Center, University of Iowa mentions there are still openings. Great price, too.

    The Visual Arts Studio also seems to have a few spots available.

    The full list of summer classes is here.

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    Originally Posted by indigo
    Difficult to imagine, but the webpage for Innovation Institute summer camp July 12, 2015 - July 24, 2015 at Belin-Blank Center, University of Iowa mentions there are still openings. Great price, too.

    The Visual Arts Studio also seems to have a few spots available.

    The full list of summer classes is here.


    Wow. The Belin-Blank program sounds fantastic. Will have to look for it when the boys are old enough.

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    Here is another article on finding summer camps for gifted children: "Finding Great Summer Activities for Your Gifted Child" https://www.noodle.com/articles/finding-great-summer-activities-for-your-gifted-child



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    My DS7 is still on the younger end of this conversation. Sleep away camp would be a no-go for him for several reasons. So we are looking solely in our immediate area for camps that (a) are not too chaotic or loud, (b) do NOT try to do anything academic and (c) include lots of outside play time or biking.

    I think I'm in the minority, but I really don't want to sign him up for academics over the summer. At the end of the school year, the kids got a a folder full of flyers about academic-type camps, and a note requesting we attempt to get our kids to read at least 20 minutes a day. HAH! In our house that would be a bare minimum, and would cause angry outbursts because DS "needs" to read. And that's academic enough for me at this point. DS desperately needs this free exploration time.

    For us, then, a proxy for all the above was finding a camp that allows and even promotes playing Magic the Gathering (DS's current obsession), and also goes swimming or exploring once a day. The Magic angle at this age tends to draw in bright kids, and the "no academics" angle actually tends to keep the camp smaller/less chaotic because, well pushing academics at EVERY age is what our town is all about. Bonus - it's with the after care teachers that DS dearly loves during the school year. He's been there all summer, safe, happy, and having a real summer vacation.

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