Spring is nearly here! This year is going by so fast. Things to think about are summer learning opportunities for your students of all ages. Here are just few…we don't always have personal experience with some of these camps so you'll need to send your questions to them!
Local Opportunities
*Grant Wood AEA's College for Kids is a summer program offering advanced level academic and fine arts courses in the college setting to eligible talented and gifted students who have completed 6th, 7th or 8th grade by summer 2018. Check out more about eligibility and registration, which begins March 1st. Check out their website: https://www.gwaea.org/parents/college-kids.
*If you are a parent of a third, fourth, or fifth grade student, and they have scored above 85%ile on ITBS, they are eligible to take the summer school classes in Cedar Rapids (located at Roosevelt Middle School) through Discover Summer School: http://crdiscoversummercamp.weebly.com/
*The Jacobson Entrepreneur Camp is a week-long day camp for Iowa students entering 5th or 6th grade in the fall and are interested in entrepreneurship and owning a business. It is held at the University of Iowa and it looks like there is session in Marion too! Registration opens February 1st! http://jacobsoninstitute.org/ecamp.html
*The Belin-Blank Center offers a variety of programs for all ages, and some courses may be available now or in the summer. Check out their site for different opportunities. https://www2.education.uiowa.edu/belinblank/ The BBC is a resource for student programs, assessment, parent support, and educator training.
*The goal of the OPPTAG program is to match students with appropriate learning experiences and emphasize an approach to teaching that underscores strengths and encourages high achievement. Additionally, all programs offer extracurricular enrichment experiences that broaden students’ knowledge of the world. http://www.opptag.iastate.edu/summer/index.php
*Summit Schools Summer offers a wide variety of enriching, challenging and fun day camps for Pre-K through 6th graders. http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/6e4ac0_353ae01551284f429ea038de9b4a7148.pdf
*If your child loves to play chess, there is always the Prairie Chess Camp located at Prairie Point Middle School. This is for students in grades K-12. For more information: http://www.chessiniowa.org/chesscamp
*Mount Mercy University is pleased to offer a summer program for young girls who are interested in having FUN while learning about computer science and math. There are separate programs are being offered for girls completing 6th, 7th and 8th grades. http://cslab.mtmercy.edu/summerschool/registration/reg.php
*Coe College opportunities for GT: http://www.coe.edu/admission/admissionforms/TAGSummerAcademy
*At Creek Camp, your child will be guided by naturalists and experienced interns as they explore the outdoors, learn about wildlife, enjoy unstructured play, practice outdoor skills, observe the wonder of nature and enjoy the beauty of the outdoors. Registration opens in March! http://indiancreeknaturecenter.org/public-programs/summer-camps/
*Kirkwood also has summer programming. You can register at http://www.kirkwood.edu/kick. These are not specifically for gifted learners, but have some topics that they will be very interested in. It looks like the ages range from 8-15 years.
*Simpson College Debate Camp - To help you hone your skills, this camp is help from June 24-29 on the Indianola campus. The camp is open to students in grades 9-12 in the fall of 2018. Experienced and new debaters welcome! http://simpson.edu/communication-and-media-studies/debate-and-speech/debate-camp/
National Opportunities:
*US Army Educational Outreach organization has internship and apprenticeship programs. Students do not need to be considering a military career to participate. http://www.usaeop.com/programs/
*Three great resources for national opportunities:
http://www.davidsongifted.org/Search-Database/entry/A10370
http://highlygiftedmagnet.org/summer-programs/
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/summer.htm
Also, gifted kids need to play too! Sometimes a pool pass or time with family and friends is just as great as the camps!
