I created quite the summer camp spreadsheet over the past few weeks. I didn’t start quite as early this year as some years but I did want to organize vacation weeks and such. We specifically chose a June week for a vacation so my eldest could do an in-person summer school class which started June 27, and would mean he could not be gone any days until August 5 or so. The idea was to learn something and free up more space in his schedule for electives in future years.
Then…I got a call yesterday from the district letting me know that they’ve decided to cancel all the in-person summer school classes. (Not for Covid reasons — they are just undersubscribed.) He’s taking a virtual health class to fulfill that requirement but I wanted him to have some structure, so I don’t think doing two virtual classes is the answer. But this basically means, for the structured part of his summer, that we’re back to square one.
So…regrouping. I’m hoping he can do a CIT stint at one of the camps where another child is going for a bit. And he wants to do a creative writing camp if I can find that (I asked him to look too). And maybe tennis lessons twice per week. I guess that plus the virtual class should mostly fill the time but we shall see. I wish I had a better sense of the “good” creative writing camps but I honestly don’t. He is not bullish on going away to camp, which is interesting to me, since the summer after my 9th grade year I was thrilled to be going, for the third year, to a 3-week summer camp at Northwestern University (I studied Modern World Literature that summer…).
Plans do not always stay planned. That’s life of course but the more moving pieces there are, the more complicated changing one thing becomes. I guess the upside is theoretically we could switch the vacation week to the July 4 week (when no one else will be in camp) but sometimes it’s better to just stick with something once it’s decided.
How is your summer planning going?
Photo: Random summer shot
I don’t know how close you are to Penn, but there’s a writing project on campus that offers summer writing camps for students entering grades 9-12. Here’s the link: https://philwp.gse.upenn.edu/
I used to work for the chapter in Denver and it’s great!
That humor writing class looks like a lot of fun!
The summer between 9th and 10th grade is tricky, before kids are 16 and old enough for summer jobs. (And of course most teenagers can’t afford expensive sleep away camps.) When I was that age I volunteered at the local hospital and the local library. I was on the neighborhood swim team and I had a job babysitting every morning after swim practice. My oldest is ten now, but I definitely plan to have her volunteering and working in some capacity at that age. I know our swim club hires 14 and 15 year olds to work in the snack shop, for example. And we hire the teenage guy next door (also in 9th grade) to mow our lawn weekly and weed our flowerbeds as needed. Your church could be a good place to start if you need some leads for volunteering!
We’re still trying to make it to Tanzania after postponing our trip for the past two summers.
Our only snafu: My son moves up from U13 to U15 hockey, meaning the week of summer hockey camp with his club is different. I knew this, but neither my husband nor my son realized it. It doesn’t interfere with the Tanzania plans, but it doesn’t work as well with visiting extended family.
Not sure if he’s old enough but the summer after my daughter’s 9th grade year she did a 3 week EXPLO camp on the campus of Yale. She choose two courses to take – world religion and infectious diseases. Loved it, and is now a senior in college, chemistry major. For the Explo camp they stay in dorms and do fun weekend day trips to NYC, Boston, etc. My son went away to the same camp in NC for five summers, which was a better fit for him. Cabin living, cooking over a fire, swimming, and such. My youngest (11) has refused camps until now, but is doing an overnight soccer camp this summer and we will fill in with weekly private lessons in other areas of interest for her.
We just have one – nearly 5 – so are enjoying the last year of full-time daycare/travelling when school is still in session. So we start “summer” the first week of June, with the Queen’s jubilee weekend (2 extra days off!). We’re going to stay in an eco-bothy on a farm. Then at the end of June, kiddo and I decamp to Portugal for two weeks to visit my parents, we have a long weekend at the beach with distant cousins in early August, and then school starts on the 17th. I
I’m done with teaching already so I feel like it’s kind of summer as I won’t be back in the classroom until late September, now time for research and writing.
Our summer holidays are shorter (6 weeks, a bit like a US year-round system). But I’m trying to figure out what we do for the 9 days off in October, February, 2 weeks off in Easter and associated insert days. I think it’s pretty rare to have two fulltime working parents in our village, so options are a bit more limited, especially for younger kids? They have holiday clubs at the school, but rumour is that they are pretty lacklustre – I found a wildlife camp for October, maybe drop him with grandparents in February, Easter is easier as teaching is typically done by then and my university closes for a week.
At least in Texas, the community college system offers a dual enrollment option for high school students. Summer classes are typically pretty quick and he might be able to knock out a science or math credit (and potentially get transferable college credit as well ).
I’m assuming you’re another CTYer? ;).
@A – absolutely!