Category Archives: Camps

5 Summer Camp Ideas For Highly Motivated Teens

Summer camps are a great opportunity for kids to learn new skills, grow as individuals and immerse themselves in a specific field. Many interest-basedsummer camps are created around career paths, college majors or hobbies that teens can enjoy. If you have a teenager who is highly motivated or passionate, a summer camp could help them excel in the field. As a parent, it might be difficult to let your teen go away for 2-8 weeks, but the level of growth that your child will experience is worth it. In this post, we will highlight some of the top summer camp ideas for highly motivated teens.

Engineering Summer Programs

Many colleges offer summer camps and programs to expose students to a specific major like engineering. This is a great way for the colleges to recruit students. Likewise, it can give your teen a sense of living away at college. If your college expresses an interest in engineering, a collegiate summer program or camp would give them the opportunity to learn about the different aspects of engineering. Since there are so many areas to explore within the field, your teen would gain experience with electrical, mechanical, materials, automotive and other engineering disciplines. At a young age, they would learn what they like and dislike. Additionally, they might find out what subjects appeal to them most. Surely, for a STEM talented teen, engineering summer camps are a good option.

Athletic Summer Camps

There are many athletic summer camps that become the primary location for developing professional talent. If your teen dreams of pursuing athletics as a career path, you may want to consider sending them to an athletic summer camp. For example, the Minnesota hockey camps are known for training teens at a very high level. When applying to colleges, these camps can be a mark of approval. Similarly, nearly every sport from baseball to football and basketball have elite summer training camps for kids. If your child wants to take their game to the next level, send them to a summer camp where they can train with the very best talent.

Film Academy Summer Camp

Your teen can train at some of the most prestigious film academies in the world. These summer camps offer the kids hands on learning for various parts of the film industry. The campers receive training on HD videography, shooting techniques and editing software. Moreover, you can sign them up for a camp that incorporates elements of dance, theatrical performance and visual effects. For students who want to get into the film industry, it can be tough. An experience at a world-renowned film academy could give them the basic skill set needed to succeed in a highly competitive field.

Fashion Industry Summer Camps

Additionally, summer camps are offered within the fashion industry. Known as educational tours, teens interested in fashion can travel to one of the most popular fashion destination, LA or NYC. In Project Fashion summer programs, teens receive hands on training to develop their own products and design their own fashion line. These types of fashion summer camps would expose your teen to industry professionals through workshops, demos and on site tours. For any teen who has a passion for style, branding and fashion, a fashion summer program would be an excellent fit.

Pre-College Leadership Camps

Teens about to enter college have the option to attend pre-college summer camps. These programs are suitable for graduated seniors who are preparing for college and want to make an impact at their new school. At a pre-college camp, your teen can take classes for college credit or courses to improve their academics skills. With the right mindset, your teen could prepare themselves for the first semester of college, giving them confidence when they get started. On top of that, these programs offer leadership training and activities that will guide your teen through the upcoming four years of college.

Summer camps present the opportunity to enrich your teen’s knowledge, skills and passion in a short period of time. It can set them up for success in a specific major, career or industry. If you have a STEM driven student, check out the engineering, math and other related programs available. For athletes, there are special development camps that are worth traveling for. At film academies, your child can learn first-hand about visual and performing arts. More so, fashion forward teens may travel to cities like LA for direct industry experience. Finally, you can develop your teen’s leadership skills at a pre-college summer camp. All of these summer camp ideas would work for a highly motivated teen who is passionate about their interests.

 

 

 

 

Summer Camps Help Kids Affected By Cancer

Summer is just around the corner and while both kids and parents anxiously await a much-needed vacation, there are a few others who need something more…a break from the heart-wrenching challenges they face every day as a result of a family member who is battling, or who may have lost the battle, with cancer.

Being a mom, there are things I constantly worry about. I worry about something happening to my kids daily, I worry about something happening to me or Alex all the time and hate to ever imagine my kids living a life without me or their dad or ever having to know cancer on a personal level. Unfortunately, there are children, every day, who learn about cancer at a very personal level, and at those times, I am happy to know there are places like Angel on My Shoulder available for them to enjoy to help ease that burden.

Angel On My Shoulder is a registered 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that has established a number of cost-free camps, both summer and year-round, that were designed to address the needs of young people whose lives have been affected by cancer through the illness or passing of a close family member (parent, sibling, or grandparent).

New Campers get ready for a weekend of fun at Camp Angel

Angel On My Shoulder weekend camps are funded through donations, so that everyone who wants to attend may do so. They provide kids with an opportunity to meet others like themselves in a well-supervised atmosphere of understanding.

“When a family is affected by cancer, the focus has to be on the patient. Too often though there are children who are also experiencing loss or confusion,” said Lolly Rose, founder of Angel On My Shoulder. “That’s where Angel On My Shoulder comes in. We’re helping these kids feel good and have fun with others they can relate to; to see their faces light up again is an amazing feeling.”

Angel On My Shoulder offers five different weekend camps for kids who have a close family member who is battling cancer.

  • Camp Angel is for kids ages 7-12
  • Camp Teen Angel is for teens ages 13-15
  • Camp Angel Adventures is for older teens ages 16-18
  • Camp Angel Adventures Extreme is for 16-18 year olds who want to experience more extreme activities
  • Camp Hozhoni, is a family camp for families with a child 18 or younger who has cancer.
Darci Sullivan (far right) enjoys a wet and wild ride at Angel Adventures

The purpose of the camps is to give kids the chance to meet other kids who are in the same situation and give them the opportunity to participate in activities tailored to their age group that will provide many happy memories.

Summer camps include swimming, kayaking, canoeing and fishing. Winter camps feature snowshoeing, ice fishing, dog-sledding and sleigh rides.

Angel On My Shoulder also sponsors two retreats for adults: Angel Care and Healing Angels. Angel Care is for Cancer Caregivers, and was created with the express purpose of giving cancer caregivers a respite from the often times grueling work of caring for a loved one with cancer. The retreats are held several times a year and provide activities such as yoga and discussion sessions to help these selfless individuals give back to themselves.

Sharing sessions provide comfort to caregivers at Angel Care retreats

Healing Angels is for cancer survivors who are in remission. The intent is to provide them with a weekend of mental, physical and spiritual healing that will contribute to their growing sense of well-being.

“I am constantly inspired by the people I meet through Angel On My Shoulder from donors and volunteers to those families whose lives we touch,” added Rose. “This community is quick to lend a hand and help one another and our organization is very thankful for that.”
 

Learn More

You can learn more about Angel on My Shoulder by watching the video below.

Volunteer

If you would like to learn more about Angel on My Shoulder and the volunteer opportunities available, please check out their website.