We are now on the verge of summer and many homeschooling families are contemplating summer activities. The question of summer camp is on the forefront of many people’s minds. So should a homeschooling family send the children off to camp? I have already mentioned the reasons why you might want to send your homeschooler to summer camp. Here are some reasons you might not want to send them to summer camp.
Summer camp may open them up to public school problems. Summer camp is often just public school once removed. Many of the issues you hoped to avoid by homeschooling will be present at summer camp. There will be bullies, clicks, and the kind of socialization homeschoolers mock. Children will be teaching children how to behave in group situations.
Summer camps are not always safe. Child predators target summer camps as places to find victims. Some summer camps do not allow children to mention the camps name or location on their blogs to add an extra measure of safety, but it is still difficult to protect kids from outsiders. Every year children are hurt, and there are a few summer camp fatalities usually due to a lack of appropriate supervision. (At the age of 10, in a day camp, I almost drowned after being thrown into the pool by a counselor.) It is no wonder children return home from summer camp determined to never go back again. Chances are they did not feel protected from both insiders and outsiders.
Summer camps can be educational… Too educational. Some camps work hard to teach children that what they have learned at home is seriously flawed (especially if that child is Christian). Most kids have their first sexual experiences at summer camps, or at least have to fend off unwanted advances. Others experience their first major rejections.
My goal here was not to have parents lock their kids up over the summer to continue homeschooling as usual. But to make them aware of some of the things that go on in summer camps and to encourage them to choose a camp that meets their safety standards and also matches their values. Parents also have to make sure that if children decide they want to come home that parents can pick them up.
*Have a question about homeschooling? Just ask.
*Want to know more about homeschooling? Start with the 2006 homeschool blog in review!
* Have you seen the homeschooling curriculum glossary?