Thought I'd chime in with our experience, for whatever it's worth. My DD (now 10) did CTD's residential Spark program last summer. Spark is a one week program for students who have completed 4th grade. DD is fiercely independent, likes to have a lot going on and always has lots of friends. She was very excited about going. We let her choose her own class, even though I felt at the time that the robotics type course would have been a better fit for her. Her strengths are in math and science - getting her to write has always been horribly difficult.
Everything was fine when we dropped DD off and for the first night, but there was a lot of writing on the first morning of class and homesickness hit. No one was expecting it and we were hours away. The staff at CTD, especially the program director, did an excellent job of helping DD through that day and the next (as well as saying just the right things to keep me from jumping in my car to go rescue DD!). DD ended up having a fabulous week.
In retrospect, I wish I had listened to my instincts and encouraged DD to take a class that aligned with her strengths. Being away from home for the first time combined with the writing in the course was just too much. She ended up having a great time, but she's not ready to go back this summer because the class she wanted to take was a 3 week course and she's just not sure she's ready to be away from home that long.
There were many residential kids in DD's program and they kept them very busy! I hope DD goes back in a few years
