It is getting to be the time of year when parents start to think about summer camps or other programs and depending on where you live, you may have a lot of choices. When our son was at that age, fortunately we had the resources to send him to Space Camp, Audubon Camp, Astronaut Camp, Marine Mammal Camp – all with the idea that would help bolster his desire to lean toward the sciences. Of course, that was also in the days when we hadn’t a clue that there was a passion for dance that would override everything else. Had we known, and more importantly, had we accepted that fact, we could have sent him to dance camps and quite probably saved ourselves a great deal of grief later. The point to this story is that you need to think about why you are looking at certain activities for your child/children. If it is something they are genuinely interested in, that’s fine, but that doesn’t mean a specific activity will help solidify a future career choice. Outdoor camps can be a great option if there is an interest, but again, if a child is a novice at something, you’ll need to make certain that there is a true beginners level. And if your child doesn’t swim yet, I would strongly urge you to include swimming lessons in whatever other plans that you are considering. This really is a skill that everyone should have and the younger a child is when he or she learns, the easier it usually is.

Enrichment can come in many forms and in some programs, there can be a variety of topics offered to allow a child to participate in multiple activities. In other cases, an organized camp may not be the answer, but rather more trips to the library and day trips to interesting places if you have the ability to do so.

How about it readers? What summer camp/programs stories do you have?