Summer Camps for Young Gifted Teenagers

Being the parent of a gifted teen can be challenging, especially if they are highly gifted. A child or teenager who is gifted gets bored easily, and as all parents know, boredom can lead to getting in trouble. Kids will invent fun, whether approved or not. I do not believe in a child feeling superior, so we advise her that everyone has a gift, and hers is her ability to think quickly. With this gift also comes responsibilities of giving back to society and thinking of others.

So I researched camps that would fit what we were looking for. Listed are some camps for gifted children in the United States. Most are associated with some type of testing and on going yearly gifted support, via newsletters, and learning possibilities. Some of the camps are connected with colleges, and being a part of their gifted programs can lead to scholarship potentials. I investigated only those in the South, as they are of course closest to our home in Florida

1) Stetson University Hats Program. This program is ran from Deland, Florida. There are two parts to the program. One is the Hats program for gifted children. This involves weekend events and workshops, events for parents during these weekends, and a summer camp for the children in Deland , Florida. The second part is only in the second year. It is the Mark Twain Young Author's Workshop. 2007 was the inaugural year. Only twelve students were chosen nationwide , based on their writing ability via an application and writing process.

This year, the director, Phd Cindy Lovell, plans to expand the camp. This camp was held in Hannible, Missouri, which is of course the hometown of Mark Twain. A parent pays, minus a small stipend for the Hats program in Deland. However, the Mark Twain Young Author's Workshop is covered through grants and donations. The regular HATS summer camps are held in six locations throughout Florida. The only bad thing about the HATS program is that it is open only to children in grades four through nine. Nevertheless, our daughter enjoyed her one summer participating with HATS.(www.stetson.edu/hats/ )