Im not sure I understand the issue about plane tickets - are you leaving to go somewhere or are they plane tickets for you to travel to visit the camp?
I have a ds that's the same age and a dd 2 years younger. My kids aren't homeschooled but dd just went to her first sleep-away camp this summer and the first week was absolutely miserable for her. Being away from home the first time can be challenging and a bit of a let-down after looking forward to all the things that are exciting about camp. My dd was sooo excited to be going with friends and about certain aspects of the camp itself that she didnt think ahead abt howshed feel, for instance, if she didn't like the food etc. She had something happen the first day that was a bit of an issue and another thing on the second day, and she was so homesick with the combinationof those two things and just general getting used to camp life that she begged us to let her come home for most of that first week. I almost went and got her! But the best thing I did was to first email the camp director to be sure she had help with the thgs she was upset about, and I sent her an overnight care pkg with treats, and I made sure I was thee to answerr my phone when's he called during call hours andI listened. It was hard to NOT let her come home but in the long run, e second week of camp went better because she learned a few survival tricks re how to cope when things are not all rosy and fun, she made some new friends and realized she wasn't the only homesick kid there, and she started to see the fun things that were there instead of only focusing on thethings she didnt like. In thelong run I believe shelewrned something equally as important as anything shecould have learned in her camp classes by sticking it out - she learned that she could stick with a dificuot situation, that it wasn't all bad, and she learned that she was able to make a not-fun situation better by how she approached it (attitude was a big part of it). She also learned how to rherein others (camp counselors) for help when she didn't have easy-direct-access to parents as a default. When camp was over she told us she was really glad she'd stuck it, and that she did not want to go back there next summer, but she was glad she went this one time.
The things I learned from her experience were:
1) It isn't easy to go away from home that first time. But it's also doable and your child will get through it. Knowing that they CAN get through it will give them confidence in future summers when other camps or opportunities come up that they would really like to participate in.
2) as the parent you are probably hearing all the worries, anxiety and negative experiences, but the might not be the full picture. Talking to the camp counselor or contact can be really helpful both infringing out what's really goingon(full details) plus chances are the camp counselors really want to do what they can to help your child have a good experience. If you have an idea of something that would help your child, chances are they will do it for you, as long as its reasonable.
Sorry if O have typos,and words squished together - I'm typing on my iPad and I'm not very efficient at it!
Best wishes sorting through what to do -
polarbear
