Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Non-academic Summer Camps for Gifted Kids

Hello,

I wanted to pose a question to the group to see if anyone had suggestions for non-academic summer experiences (camp-like) for gifted kids. My 12 year old son is double grade skipped at school and taking multiple high school classes during the school year. He doesn't want to take more classes over the summer.

As I researched summer camp options, all I seem to be able to find for gifted kids are academic camps (university or other setting) that ultimately involve more academic classes (even if they are wrapped by some social/night activities).

My son enjoys being outdoors (boating, skiing, hiking, etc.) and would really like an "Outward Bound" kind of program, but all of these types of programs seem to be for troubled kids. It really seems like a mountaineering/wilderness program where gifted kids could do these kinds of outdoor activities with similar minded peers should exist.

The closest thing I could find are various "nature" camps. Not exactly what I or my son have in mind.

If anyone has some ideas, or knows of any options, I'd super-appreciate your thoughts!

have you considered that, for an experience like this, gifted might not be an important qualification? My DD is only 8, but ADORES her time at Girl Scout sleepaway camps. There are usually a variety of ages and interests, but it all takes place in that outdoor, relaxed setting...Our local YMCA has some regular sleepaway camps as well, so you might start there?

Now you have me thinking, since we LOVE summer camps so much...I'm going to start looking, heehee!

Oh, and who knows how many of those "troubled kids" are actually just not fitting in their environments? My DD has already been labeled as a "behavior problem" but we never have that at camp...some of those kids may be gifted too...

Yunasa and Yunasa West come to mind.

I am not sure what part of the country you are interested in but I live very close to Lake Tahoe and there are several summer camp programs near and around the Lake. Try googling Lake Tahoe Summer Camp. I know the Lake Tahoe School has some summer programs and I think some are overnight.

Not sure where you live, but my PG daughter really enjoyed a few summers at Camp Widjiwagen in Minnesota. The kids go on long canoe trips in the Boundary Waters canoe area (or backpacking, but canoeing is really a strength because of the huge national park right there by the camp). She gave it up a couple of years ago to go to Davidson THINK, but still is very fond of the camp and loved her wilderness trip experiences.

If you don't mind a Christian based camp experience, Camp C3, through Chick-fil-a's Camp Winshape program is a daycamp my gifted children have enjoyed in previous years. Winshape also has 1 and 2 week residential camps, that are held just north of Atlanta. Their residential programs give opportunity for activities such as archery, horseback riding and swimming.

Thank you for the replies. We actually have found quite a few camps that don't quite fit the bill (we live in New England), and my son has attended a non-academic one where he was adequately happy.

I am just looking for a camp that will push him in non-academic areas, but with other highly gifted kids to interact/team with. Thinking more along the lines of extreme rope/courses, survival/roughing adventures, but with other exceptional kids.

Perhaps you might check with your local Mensa group and see if there is a SIG for this sort of thing that might be willing to organize a group event open to gifted kids, or check with the children's coordinator to see if you can set up a field trip that would only be open to young Mensans.

You might want to look at Camp Broadstone in the mountains of North Carolina, put on by Appalacian State University. We don't have personal experience, but have a friend whose HG+ child has attended several years. It seems to be a mix of enrichment and things like high ropes courses.

I definitely second Yunasa and Yunasa West. My daughter loves the high ropes course at Yunasa.

Green River Preserve! For bright and curious kids buy focus is on nature and wildlife.

This camp has been discontinued, according to their website:

http://www.campbroadstone.com/

Given that they have one in my state now, we may look into Yunasa for my younger dd this summer. Do you think that a HG+ 2e kid (not one who stands out as odd or seriously disabled) would fit in well there?

My son attends Mountain Camp in the mountains in Northern California. Many of the kids are from the San Francisco area or Southern California. The camp doesn't target gifted children but my son found many kids with similar interests.

They have about 70 activities from fencing and movie making to fishing, waterskiing and hiking every day. Two week campers can take overnight hikes and do a huge ropes course. They also build forts with random wood and tools laying around that they have to work with. It was truly an experience of a lifetime- but he's going back again this year!

They have a setup to pick up kids from the airport that fly in from all over the country. Nearly all of their counselors are college students from foreign countries. My son was fascinated by his counselor from rural Wales!

Cricket2, I sent you a PM.

Are the counselors / campers ethnically diverse, or just geographically diverse?

The counselors all speak English as a first language and seemed to come from English speaking countries like UK, Australia, New Zealand and a few from South Africa I think. I didn't notice them being a particularly diverse group.

Although these threads are really great. It would be great to have a database, by regions, with reviews. Anyone know of something like that?

That camp in N Cali looks fabulous but holy prices! My son saw the pictures and was in-love, my wallet, not so much.

If you google "summer camp reviews" you'll get a ton of them.

Yep. It's something we save for all year and ask random relatives who usually send $10 gift cards for birthdays etc- to send camp "bucks" instead. Though when comparing prices of other camps, it's comparable to those in our area but has more permanent staff so we went with it. I was nervous for his first camp away at 8 yrs old, to send him somewhere where staff comes for a week or isn't totally vetted.

Just as an example, the idTech camp that my son really had his eye on was day-camp only from 9am-3pm and was $750 for the week. THAT seemed quite outrageous for me to swallow!