Sunday, January 11, 2009

Academic Summer Camps Increase Student Achievement

By Courtney Pollock

As a parent you have endless options when it comes to choosing a summer camp for your son or daughter. You can base your choice on a number of variables including date, location, price, or activities available, but why not take an opportunity to enable your kids to have fun and learn at the same time this summer? An academic summer camp is a great place for kids and teens to have fun while improving their learning and life skills in preparation for the school year ahead, whether it be middle school, high school, or even college. Some camps teach specific courses, such as science or math, while others provide broad-based learning skills for improvement in any subject.

If you want to see improved grades and increased student achievement in your son or daughter, one of the best things you can do is enroll them in a learning skills summer camp, which can benefit a student by:

- Increasing their reading speed and comprehension

- Helping them add creativity, power and meaning to their writing

- Learning memory techniques that will help them memorize dates for history and vocabulary

- Preparing for the SAT, ACT or PSAT

- Showing them study techniques to help them prepare more effectively for tests

Academic summer camps also help students learn how to think critically, solve problems and set goals in ways that work for their natural style. They can also learn how to take this style and make it more effective in the classroom. Most academic summer camps are geared towards specific age groups and grades, with the focus on middle school and high school.

There are several different summer camps that offer academic and life skills programs and its important to choose the one that most benefits your teen. The best way to do this is to discover the skills in which he or she has trouble with, research online the various academic summer camps available, and then enroll him or her in the summer camp that best fits those needs. For example, if your student is getting below average grades in English class, look at camps that improve reading and writing skills. If your high school student is preparing to take the ACT or SAT, it would benefit them to attend a summer camp that offers college test preparation.

Attending an academic summer camp is a great way to get your teen excited about learning as well as help them to explore new interests. Because of the safe and fun environment, it will not feel like summer school, which will increase their desire to participate and gain new learning and life skills.

Your student does not have to be failing in school in order to attend an academic summer camp. Even if your son or daughter is a straight-A student, an academic summer camp can teach them important life skills such as leadership and communication. One academic summer camp, SuperCamp, teaches life skills as well as learning skills, integrating them into fun activities that engage students and help them break out of their comfort zone. Many students with a 4.0 GPA get a lot out of SuperCamp because they gain social skills, confidence, and new friends, in addition to polishing their already solid learning skills.

No matter what level your student is at when he or she enters an academic summer camp, they will come out better prepared to take on the challenges of school and life. When you want to send your child to summer camp as well as positively impact their student achievement over the summer, then consider enrolling him or her in an academic summer camp to get the best of both worlds.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment

ShareThis