sweetTN Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 We don't need the days, just wondering if anyone counts summer camp as school time? It is a one week, overnight Christian camp with a very oganized daily schedule (Bible study, sports, art activities, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josie Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Public schools take kids to camps and they count as school days. They even take them to Disney World or DollyWood and count it as school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 We don't need the days, just wondering if anyone counts summer camp as school time? It is a one week, overnight Christian camp with a very oganized daily schedule (Bible study, sports, art activities, etc.) No. I would only even consider counting it as school if it were an intense academic camp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claire Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 I wouldn't. Public schools can't count days like that as school days, so I wouldn't do it for a homeschool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 No. I try to think in terms of "would I count this as school if my kids weren't home schooled". Enrichment? Sure! And probably a great thing and she'll learn lots. But I wouldn't count it as "school". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 But if DD goes to a science camp, I do count that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 We don't need the days, just wondering if anyone counts summer camp as school time? It is a one week, overnight Christian camp with a very organized daily schedule (Bible study, sports, art activities, etc.) Most definitely it counts! It's art, socializing, bible study, PE, etc. Yep, it counts. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DollyM Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 DS did an intensive fire-arms safety camp one year and we coupled that experience with some bookwork at home and counted it for his health & safety credit for 7th grade. DD did ballet summer intensives every summer for 5 weeks each, and I counted those hours into her "fitness" credit for ballet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maria from IN Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 We count science camp, motorsports camp, and art classes as school days. My son wants to have a career somewhere in the racing field, and he is getting an education from the drivers and professors at camp that I can't give him. If the public school sixth graders around here can all go on a field trip to see Because of Winn Dixie simply because it was a book first, then I can count these days.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plaid Dad Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 I would count it only if there were significant academic content, comparable to what I would be doing at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Dd attended horse camp last year and will attend again this year. I didn't count the whole day, but I did count the intensive 3/4 hours in the morning as P.E. If she took riding lessons, I would count that as P.E., so I see no difference in counting the camp hours. Angel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet in WA Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 We don't need the days, just wondering if anyone counts summer camp as school time? It is a one week, overnight Christian camp with a very oganized daily schedule (Bible study, sports, art activities, etc.)If you don't need the days, why bother counting it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 If it were an intense music, sport, academic or trade based camp...then I would count it if I really needed to. If it were just a fun summer camp then I would have to really, really need the hours before I would count it. I can see this in a situation where there has a been a difficult year to account for hours like when there is a family illness, or major move. I would speculate though that most camps that would be rigorous enough to count for true school hours would be because the child already has a passion for that particular activity. Because of this, I would suspect that the child's school calendar or log would already be grossly over in hours in that particular skill. If you live in an are where it is hard to get in PE (live in the arctic or in an apartment...) and they go to a sport camp, I would be more inclined to agree with hours being counted. I guess it also depends on the subject! Technology is another subject that I could see being a beneficial camp. It is a subject that requires special teachers and equipment that a lot of parents may not have at home. But to your original post.....church camp wouldn't (and doesn't) get counted here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 No, I wouldn't. I agree with the other posters - we count science camps, but not plain ol' camp. I don't compare our days to what the ps counts. I'm still not counting going to the movies as school! :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelli in TN Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Symphony camp? Yes. Boy Scout camp? No. Church camp? No. 4H Camp? No. If my 12 year old were able to attend the Lego Robotics camp I wanted to send him to, I would have counted it as school (blasted schedule conflicts). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne/Ankara Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Well, we count all days that have some educational activities going on, which are most days! So we count summer camp, too. Of course then we end up with almost double our required 180 days. So be it-- that's fine with me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testimony Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I wouldn't not for a regular camp. However, one summer for a week, my older son was in a science program at the science museum. He was taught by science teachers. He did a lab and learned a lot about the human body. I counted that as school days because he learned academics. My husband says that the Lego class that my sons are taking on Memorial day should not count. I think it should because my younger son will learn simple machines. I don't know what bot-to-bot communications will teach. So, I don't know yet. Blessings, Karen http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I count art/drama camps, but we have always met our 180 days by then, and I don't send in att sheets over the summer, so I guess It only matters to us. If it was during the traditional "school" year, I would if I felt the kids were learning skills that they would not otherwise learn on their own. But then that's learning too.....urgh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey in TX Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 My kids attend an amazing summer camp, but I would not even consider using it for school days. DS attended same camp w/ ps and had issues with it counting as academic time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I wouldn't. Public schools can't count days like that as school days, so I wouldn't do it for a homeschool. Our public school did count a camp like this. In third they took us to a camp and to the same camp again in sixth. Anyone who was not allowed to go stayed behind to do book work. It was free and not really academic. We did nature hike and similar camp type things, which you could definitely argue as science, but no "academics" per say. That said, I probably would not count them as school days unless I needed extra days. Then, I wouldn't bat an eye and would just record it. My oldest dd did a summer camp one year that included art. I kept some of her artwork in her portfolio for the year. We didn't count the days, because we were over the required amount anyway. I had no problem counting the work as done that year, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. H. Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 If I lived in a state that required PE, I would count camp because we don't do formal PE, just like I would count ds's summer baseball as PE, but we don't live in such a state. But, to count it just to count it? Or take days off of my school year? Not unless it was academic and comparable to what I would do at home with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I would take a look at what normally happens in our home and see if a week at camp provides balance or tips the scales towards too much time spent on non-academics. Frankly, I don't spend nearly as much time on art and PE as my kids would get if they were in school because we have a strong academic focus that tends to take most of our time together. So, sending the kids to a camp that provided a lot of art, group work, maybe some drama, singing, and PE would be ensuring our education was a little more balanced. I don't need to count school days, but I definitely consider our VBS as "school time". I don't think we "need" more Bible, but it certainly doesn't hurt and the kids definitely do not have enough arts and crafts, music (as in singing), and group work. VBS helps to round out their year and provides some balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetTN Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 It seems that everyone has a very definate opinion on this issue. Thank all of you for your take on this. It is always good to get a different perspective. Although I truley believe that this camp would help "round out" dd's education with art, sports, Bible and group activities I probably won't count it since we don't need the days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.