When you are growing up – or indeed, at any time in your life – one of the worst things imaginable is the idea of being alone.

Summer camp is all about people: the staff, the campers, the parents, and more. So the best way to learn about various summer camps is to talk to people with experience at a given camp. If you know someone who’s attended camp, great! Chat with them and their kids about it. If not, try reaching out to camps via phone or email. Finally, you can also look up online, third-party reviews. Reviewers are people who vouch for the summer camp's reputation, and can give an honest account of their relationship with the camp and the experience that their children had there.

In this day and age, it seems like more than ever children need to be involved in every extracurricular and summer achievement program just to “get ahead” in academics or sports. Traditional overnight camp, however, provides the opportunity for kids to development truly valuable modern day skills: they can practice oral communication, reasonable risk-taking, problem solving, and more. All of that surrounded by friends and fun. If you haven't already, read more about the advantages of summer camp – there are many.

Overnight summer camp is not only a fun way for kids to get outside and play, but it’s also a powerful youth development experience. We know that finding the summer camp that best matches your family's needs is a time-consuming process that begins early and involves lots of research - in particular, talking to lots people with experience in sleepaway camp. After all, summer camp is a place that is all about people. 

There are many benefits of summer camp and the independent, character-building experience that children find when away from home. Campers learn make new friends, take reasonable risks in a new environment, and be a part of something bigger than themselves. Most summer campers will tell you that they treasure the friendships and memories made at camp. It’s not just a growth experience – it’s a blast, too!

One of our favorite things about resident camp is that it’s almost entirely tech free (for the campers). Instead of being distracted by the buzz and glare of a cell phone screen or TV, kids at camp engage in meaningful face-to-face interactions with everyone they meet. They are running, swimming, climbing, and enjoying the outdoors instead of sitting in front of a computer or Xbox. It’s free play at its finest: allowing kids to be kids and have fun without relying on technology.

This is a relevant re-post of a blog post by Steve Sir in 2013. As the holiday season approaches, all of us are wondering what the best gift for the important people in our lives might be. And to a grandparent, few people are more important than their grandchildren. Here's an idea that many families have found to be the perfect grandparent gift to their grandkids.

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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.

Educational Benefits of Summer Camp in China

How Long Should I Send My Child Away to Camp For

Summer Camp Session History

The Summer Camp industry has been around for 150 years, originally centered around major metropolitan areas in the northeast. With the longstanding camp tradition of children leaving the city every summer for rural camp settings, the question is often “Where is my child going to camp?” not “Will my child go to camp?” This decision determined your social circle, professional colleagues, and wedding party. These camps all ran 8 – 10 week seasons with kids spending the entire summer away at camp.

These trends are slowly fading and summer camps have expanded across the country with varying preferences for the ideal summer camp term length. And parents find themselves asking:

"How long should I send my child away to camp this summer?"

Summer camp term length options