Ideal Summer Camp Term Length  

Perhaps the most common question parents have about summer camp concerns the length of the sessions. They often ask us, "What's a good length of time for summer camp programs?" Summer camp can be as short as one week or as long as eight weeks. Parents want to provide the best possible experiences for their children, so they wonder what the trade-offs are regarding the different session lengths.

Best Overnight Summer Camp Dallas 2014 Guide

Overnight camp is an extremely powerful growth experience for children. Overnight camp is is an opportunity for kids to make lifelong friends, learn about who they are as a person away from their normal surroundings and have a lot of fun. I don't want to rattle on about the advantages of summer camp and the critical skills it provides - you can read more about that later if you haven't already.

We have compiled a list of the best overnight Texas summer camps in the Dallas and East Texas area. At the bottom of the list you will also find a few of the top camps in Texas Hill Country as well. Texas Hill Country overnight camps have a long standing tradition of summer camping. Geographic location is just one facet to being looking at summer camps, and we hope this helps you as you begin your search for a summer camp in Texas.

East Texas: Dallas Overnight Summer Camps

Camp Huawni | East Texas | Timpson

Camp Huawni is located in East Texas, right outside the town of Timpson. Huawni focuses on connecting kids with the outdoors and promoting simple fun. Camp Huawni has a strong commitment to promoting meaningful relationships among campers and supporting personal growth. Campers come to Huawni for anywhere between one and two week summer camp terms and are aged Kindergarten through 11th grade.

Learn more - http://www.camphuawni.com/

How much should summer camp cost

The cost of a summer camp experience can vary substantially.  Overnight camps can range from around $300 – almost $2,000 per week.  Day camps can charge from $100-$1300 per week.

With variations this large and so many options to choose from, it leads to some obvious questions:

Summer Camp Reviews

The best source for camp reviews is the families that attend or have attended summer camp. That means talking to people. Reviews are people relating their experience. They are vouching for the summer camp's reputation, the experience their children have had there, and their relationship with the camp.

How to find a Summer Camp Scholarship

Families often find the price of summer camp shocking when they first start looking at camp. Few families are aware of summer camp scholarship option. You have probably heard of scholarships in the context of college, but summer camp scholarships exist in a very similar fashion. They essentially act as a summer camp tuition grant to offset the costs of camp. Let's dive in a little deeper.

How to Teach Kids Optimism

Positive Attitude and Optimism

Parents often ask us how they can foster positive attitudes in their children.  They understand that attitude is often the difference between surviving and thriving in any situation.

I agree. 

Before I make any suggestions that might help cultivate a positive attitude, allow me to suggest that we use a different term: optimism (as defined by psychologists).  To a psychologist, optimism is not “always seeing the positive”.  Instead, an optimist holds two important beliefs:

• Problems are temporary and
• My actions can mitigate my problems.

By contrast, a pessimist sees problems as systemic and does not believe that her actions can affect her situation.  Clearly, these are not equally useful ways to view the world.  Optimists see opportunities, pessimists see problems.  Optimists have a strong basis for contentment and happiness while pessimists are prone to depression.

I am framing “positive attitude” as optimism for two reasons.  First, it provides a clear definition so that we all know what our goal is.  Often we have goals that are hard to define, like success.  Different people can have very different concept of success.  Is success about impact or income?  It is helpful to have a clear idea of a goal before going after it.

Each fall, my wife and I get the same dreaded email from our parents:

“What do the Grandkids want for Christmas?”

Grandparents want our help finding the perfect holidy gift for the grandkids.  They want to give something that satisfies two criteria:

1. The gift should be something that the kids appreciate and enjoy.  In other words, they want a gift that makes an impact.
2. It should be something that is consistent with our parents’ values.

Do Grades Determine Success?

Home

Parents and kids share several concerns when it comes to the future (and particularly, future potential success). Every semester the ritual is the same when grades are reported. Some don't ever have to worry, the report cards are full of A's, and others hide them under the bed. The situation begs the following questions:

How important are grades for determining success? Are grades important in life?

Grades are often touted as the single most important factor when determining college admissions, job applications, and future success. The following is one of the single most asserted facts of life: 

Good grades grant entrance to an elite academic college. Academic success at a top university guarantees a well paying, highly respected job. Well paying jobs grant the necessary outcomes of success, including a big house, exotic vacations, societal status, large bank accounts, and many more luxuries of life.

Examining this assumption will elucidate the issue of "grades determining success".

This week, we are hoping to deliver stories that stress “Tenacity and Purpose”.

Last night after the counselor meeting, I was walking back to our house when I looked up and saw Scorpio.