Unlike traditional camps, the activities at adventure camps are edgier. White water rafting or canoeing, mountaineering, desert hiking mountain biking, sailing, wind surfing and other challenging activities are offered. Some camps are open year round. The following three summer adventure camps offer programs nationwide and have excellent reputations for safety. They are either co-ed or offer programs for boys and girls.

Adventure Treks offers a variety of locations and activities. Their summer adventure camp programs are co-ed with approximately a 50-50 ratio of boys to girls and 6 counselors for every group of 24 students. Their safety record is excellent. The activities available vary from location to location, but include sailing, wind surfing, mountaineering, mountain biking, white water rafting and kayaking, sea kayaking, climbing and backpacking.

National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) is a not for profit organization. They not only offer summer adventure camps, but also are open year round for winter adventures as well. Activities vary depending on location, but can include backpacking, canyoneering, desert hiking, lake kayaking, rock climbing, white water rafting and canoeing, and sea kayaking.

Outward Bound is a well known year round non profit wilderness school. Their summer adventure camps are about 2 weeks, but children can stay at Outward Bound for up to 1 year and earn college credits for their experience. Outward Bound also has multiple locations with a variety of wilderness activities.

Teenagers are adventurous no matter where they are. Summer adventure camps can satisfy their need to assert some independence in a safe and structured environment.

Today’s summer camps are quite different from the one our grandparents attended. Some academic camps explore the depths of a subject as a preparation for college. Other help students learn the skills that will lead to improved academic performance. Academic summer camps are serious about learning but radically different from a typical classroom. 

Some of the widely known academic summer camps to date are organized by SuperCamp and Education Unlimited. Both hold their programs at some of the best colleges in the country.

SuperCamp has created variety of academic summer camps programs while striking a balance between school and play. The activities are guaranteed to provide a consistent schedule of learning and development through academic classes and outdoor tests. SuperCamp has a number of experts that aid in providing constant training to the educational success of children and teenagers while staying in camp and interacting with different people of their age.

Enrichment programs tackling enhancement of self-esteem and didactic challenges have been reported to be very efficient in catering the improvement of many SuperCamp participants in levels of academic and personal success.

One SuperCamp innovation worth mentioning is the Parent Weekend. These three day sessions coincides with the final days of their child’s program. During these session the parents learn about what the child has been learning so they continue to support them after the camp session is over.

Education Unlimited, on the other hand, is already known as a leading provider when it comes to summer academic enrichment programs. Its academic curriculum offers specific programs of study tailored to the needs of the child. From College Admission Prep Camp to Speech and Debate Camps, Education Unlimited has continued to achieve helping more than a thousand campers on a yearly basis. The organization continues to commit to quality learning in the comforts of experienced and highly-trained camp instructors.

Most summer language camps are rather expensive and oftentimes require some traveling in order to immerse participants to a new language. The most expensive camps are month long residential camps that also offer college credit. Many summer language camps offer sessions for kids and teens that are quite reasonably priced especially for commuters.

There are weekend and one to four week camps that are geared to specific age groups. There are even language camps for adults (18+). Language camps usually offer one-week exploratory sessions that will give participants the chance to practice and apply the accent as well as understand the background of each dialect.

Concordia Language Villages provide a unique experience in learning different languages from Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Swedish and many more. Their flagship program for summer language camp started in 1961 which has continued to grow since then. As of today, the organization offers more than 150 different sessions specializing in different languages and cultures.

The immersion span differs by age group. If you have children from ages 7-15, they may choose to participate in the one-week exploration that will allow them to interact with different social groups and partake in sports and crafts related to their chosen language.

The camp’s main village is in Moorhead, Minnesota but also has branches outside the country in places like Brazil, Mexico and China. French and Spanish programs have also been made available in their camp in Savannah, Georgia.

If you want to travel, AAVE or All About Visiting Earth provides a 21-day itinerary for a Summer Language Camp specializing in the Spanish language. The program is also supported by Centro Panamericano de Idiomas (CPI) and guarantees a memorable summer experience as you explore the wild lands of Costa Rica.

Children can win prize money to use for Concordia Language Villages camps by entering “why I want to learn _” contests. Most of the contests end in May so it’s best to start working on an entry as early as possible.

Like many summer camps, Concordia Language Villages also offers need-based scholarships but the deadline is in February.

Those of us in Minnesota are fortunate because there a number of Concordia Language Villages camps offered in the Twin Cities and other locations throughout the state.

Some schools are not really equipped to provide kids with full hands-on experience of using the computer. Summer camps may be able to fix this and let these kids learn the creative and practical ways to make use of technology.

There’s also a social aspect to computer camp. Instead of sitting alone before a screen, kids work together planning, designing, and implementing digital projects.

Those who have little or no knowledge can start by learn the fundamentals.The children who already have a foundation on computers can go ahead and learn the more advanced courses in programming or digital editing.

Workshops in web design, game design, animation, and digital photography are some of the more advanced courses that kids may find really interesting. Parents are happy that their kids will be able to acquire skills that may help them excel in school and later in life.

A computer camp can give children a great head start whether or no they decide to pursue computer technology in college or their professional lives.