Cutting Edge: Summer Camp For Teens

Have you thought about what your teenager will be doing this summer? Will she be in summer school or working a part-time job? Will he be a counselor at a day camp while playing softball and helping out at home? While these options might sound attractive to you as a parent, you may also want to consider the benefits of a summer camp or program geared specifically to teenagers.

Your teens could experience two weeks kickboxing in Thailand, coupled with another two weeks of soccer in Costa Rica.They might get an early taste of college life with SAT prep, college tours and opportunities to earn advance credit hours.They could also tour any number of foreign countries and perform charitable work while learning about new cultures.They could even take part in a program allowing them to do all three!

Teen summer programs used to be strictly delineated between subjects such as language programs, community service, and adventure. But these days, many programs now pack “more bang for the buck” in a concentrated period of time.

That’s because today’s teens have so much going on – summer school, sports commitments, or family vacations. They need shorter summer programs, or programs that can be pieced together, and that can be difficult to coordinate. Internet searches for summer programs turn up so many choices that it can be overwhelming.

Where do you start?

You’ll want to research a full range of options, from close to home to far abroad, and from academic to adventure.Then, you can zero in on what is right for your child.

Specialty Camps

Though traditional camps are still the choice for many of us, specialty camps with unusual offerings are popping up all over the place. It is not unusual to find camps offering culinary arts, secret agent specialties, skateboarding, or robotics. Would it surprise you that your son or daughter (ages 9-16) could attend Rock Star Camp or Hollywood Stunt Camp? As a rock-star camper at PALI Overnight Adventures in California, your adolescent could work side-by-side with professional songwriters, producers and dancers in state-of-the art studios, honing skills in hip hop, funk, Latin or break-dancing.As a stunt camper, your child could learn how to accomplish exciting high falls, hand-to-hand combat or even how to choreograph his/her own fight scene. If you like the idea mentioned earlier about athletic adventures through Thailand and Costa Rica,Talk to Rustic Pathways (based in Ohio) about their trailblazing summer sports camp abroad.

High School Courses for Credit

At Orme Summer Camp in Arizona, your child can bone up on English or math, while still having all of the fun of summer.This camp offers mountain biking, horseback riding, technical rock climbing and archery.The academic programs here (whether remedial or advanced) can be for credit, depending on the length of the program and how your child’s school accepts credit courses taken outside the school.

Language Programs

Though learning a foreign language is not a new concept, combining it with other interests is a relatively new phenomenon. Perhaps your child wants to study painting, photography or cooking while learning Italian. Or, maybe your child wants to study architecture in Switzerland at The American School in Switzerland (offices based in Washington, D.C.) while learning French.

Houston Family March 2005 17 HoustonFamilyMagazine.com Many modern language programs also incorporate a home stay, where a student is matched with a family in order to reinforce the language they are studying, while enriching the student’s experience through cultural exchange and community service.

Travel Programs

While summer travel programs for teens used to be geared toward tourist attractions, some have morphed into mini think tanks, undertaking the study of global issues.The Putney Student Travel program in Vermont takes students and turns them into global awareness “action corps” groups.They might study health care and AIDS in Senegal, community development in El Salvador or biodiversity in Ecuador.While in those countries, they would participate alongside local friends and experts before returning to the U.S. to develop and present plans for continuing action.

Camp on a College Campus

College campus-based academic programs are also in demand. In addition to academic study, each program offers SAT Prep, college tours, a range of sports programs, visits to local attractions as well as weekend excursions to nearby cities.

There are also all-inclusive college prep workshops focusing on the college essay and preparing for college interviews, including individual sessions with advisors and college tours. Programs that offer this experience are Brighton, Summer Discovery and Academic Study Associates (ASA).These more focused programs are held on college campuses such as Berkley, UCLA, Emory and Oxford (most participating campuses are located on the East and West Coasts), and are from 10 days to 3 weeks in length.They are designed to give high school students a comprehensive approach to the college application process.

ASA, Summer Discovery, Exploration (based in Massachusettes) and Putney also have some unusual course offerings. Course studies range from Crime Scene Investigation (made popular by the reality-based CSI programs) to driver’s education. Or what about a spring break or summer program in leadership, intelligence and national security?

Internships

Do your teens have a specific interest in a career path? Do you want them to gain experience in that field? At Intern Exchange International (based in Boca Raton, Florida and Villanova, Pennsylvania), teens can work side by side with professionals in their area of interest – from archaeology to fashion design, from medical research to strategic studies. Interns can work in some of London’s leading companies, including Sotheby’s, Barclays Bank and Bloomsbury Publishing (home of the Harry Potter books).

Up till now, this type of internship experience has been organized mainly in England, but now these types of internships are being offered in large U.S. cities, like New York City through Career Explorations, and Philadelphia through Krinsky.After their daily “work,” the staff organizes evening activities and weekend excursions for the kids. They are housed on safe college campuses.

Whatever type of program you and your child choose, you want it to be a well-run, well-supervised, enriching experience. Talk to a trained program consultant or camp referral service for expert advice on the best fit for your child. Happy Camping!

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Jenny Wolkowitz is the Midwest consultant for Tips on Trips and Camps and can be reached at (314 ) 432-8642 or jenny@TipsonTripsandCamps.com .  Wolkowitz is married and the mother of 3 children.  In her earlier years, she was a day camper, an overnight camper, a counselor, a teen tour participant and a teen tour leader.  She studied abroad in college and has traveled extensively throughout the world.  She currently serves as Chairperson for a local day camp and on the boards of many community organizations.