Concordia Village Reviews?

[homeschoolin'mygirls]

I guess I'm really looking for reassurances as decision is already made and DD 15 is on way to 2 wk Japanese Immersion camp on Sunday.

 

She's excited. I'm excited for her but also nervous. Flying from Texas to Minn by self for first time (with plane change) . 2 week camp with no contact except letters.

 

Anyone else sent their kid/s to the village?

[MaryM]

I recall a gal on these forums last year, Cindy from St. Louis, I think, whose dd went last summer to a Concordia camp for French and she and her dd both gave it glowing reviews! Maybe she is still here under a different name and will add comments. I know how scary it is to send them "off" like this! Sometimes I think we Moms are more scared than they are! Sounds like a superb program though.

 

Mary

[NancyL]

On a side tangent --but somewhat related---

 

My dd (14) just returned from the inaugural Middlebury Program which are held in 3 different locations simultaneously. (she went to CA) They are for 4 weeks and there is only one session, so all languages go the same time. Ages tended to be upper middle school to about 16 I think. I have been waiting to see if there was any feedback on this board yet. There was some organizational growing pains this year, I think. One mother who visited on parents day (we didn't go) called me for a short report mid way. She thought the campus facilities were somewhat lacking due to poor maintainence and staffing issues. (Middlebury just rents it) She said some of the kids were alumni of the Concordia Program, their comment was that Middlebury is more academic and you learn more; Concordia is more about the fun, and the food is much better. (so that sounds positive) This one mother wanted her dd to have an academic experience, not a "fun summer camp" to make up for poor instruction at her dd's school. Her dd wasn't all that happy for the first half, but she stuck it out. They had some excursions at the end which the kids enjoyed, so the camp ended on a high note. Middlebury takes the language pledge fairly seriously as much as you can for the different levels. I think they made pretty good friends because these kids really had to be good sports about learning and homework (they helped each other) The kids wanted to interact with the different language camp groups but you need to stick with your language. (French was mostly girls, which was fine for the younger teenagers-but not fun for the 16 yo's.) My d. said the "chinese" program had the tennis players that she was looking for. Concordia looks really terrific.

[ChemMommy]

The LVs are an EXCELLENT program!!!! Hands down!

 

They are well-run and the glowing reviews are well deserved. The faculty at Concordia College have one really nice job benefit (and it ain't the salary, believe me!). We get to send our kids to the LVs for very little.

 

Most faculty send their kids for multiple summers because the experience is so good for the kids.

 

It is an immersion experience. They are met at the "border" and the "border guards" only seek the language of the camp. The kids are then directed to the "bank" to exchange their money into the local currency, all done, of course, in the language of the camp.

 

Everything is said in the language of the camp so the experience is just like you would have if you visited the country alone.

 

HOWEVER, I fully understand your concern about sending your dd off so far away and having no contact with her! I'd be growing gray hairs over that one! You are FAR braver than I am! She will be having a great time overall and I bet you'll be hit up to fund another trip up north.

 

BTW, the weather up here in summer is absolutely wonderful. You could drive the entire family up here next summer, drop dd off at camp, and stay and enjoy the weather!

 

Praying for you!

 

Pam

aka ChemMommy

[Carol in Cal.]

They are well-run and the glowing reviews are well deserved. The faculty at Concordia College have one really nice job benefit (and it ain't the salary, believe me!). We get to send our kids to the LVs for very little.

 

Most faculty send their kids for multiple summers because the experience is so good for the kids.

 

 

What do you teach at Concordia?

(I didn't actually know that there was a Concordia College in Minnesota. The closest one I knew of is in Mequon, WI.) (Yup, I'm LC-MS)

[Kimberleigh]

My son is at the Japanese village in Sandstone as we speak (flew to MN yesterday), and my daughter leaves for the Spanish village in Bemidji next Monday. This will be her second summer, and she can't wait to return.

 

I can't speak highly enough about this program. My daughter came home last summer having learned a ton of Spanish. She also came home more independent and responsible, motivated in her studies, and very goal-oriented. She's soared over this past year, and I think a lot of that is due to her camp experience. She also made fast friends with her cabin-mates, and they've stayed in touch all year. They've already made plans for how they're going to spend their time together at camp, as all of them are returning.

[homeschoolin'mygirls]

Thank you all. My dd is at camp and last I talked with her making fast friends.

The flight went smoothly and Concordia met her at the gate, as well called us to confirm she got there safely. (We had already talked with her via phone but it was nice to know the staff was thinking about our concerns as well)

 

Kimberleigh, My dd is also in Sandstone now (Japanese) . Sounds like they are in the same camp together.

 

Pam, we've already decided that we might travel as a family next year and vacation. My 12 yo has already decided she wants to further her French this way, and I'm almost absolutely certain my 15 yo will want to return. . I am not brave enough to send my 12 yo by herself. She is---I'm not!

 

Feeling much more assured now---

 

nandell

[Kimberleigh]

Nandell, it does indeed sound like they're at the same session. I last heard from my son last night. He said the dorm where they were staying overnight was extremely hot with poor ventilation, and after driving three hours to the airport in the middle of the night, flying to MN with a nasty flight attendant, spending five hours waiting at the airport for the camp bus, and then heading to the interim overnight facility, he was tired and a bit out-of-sorts. But he already knew the day would be on the awful side, so he was trying to take it in stride and looking forward to getting up to Sandstone today.

 

BTW, my twins are 12 years old. My daughter first attended CLV at age 11, and she loved it.

[homeschoolin'mygirls]

He said the dorm where they were staying overnight was extremely hot with poor ventilation, and after driving three hours to the airport in the middle of the night, flying to MN with a nasty flight attendant, spending five hours waiting at the airport for the camp bus, and then heading to the interim overnight facility, he was tired and a bit out-of-sorts.

 

Oh, my. DD didn't mention difficulties although this experience is new enough to her that the difficulties would have to be pretty bad to overcome her excitement. She's been studying Japanese over a year now, and is so excited about this.

 

BTW, my twins are 12 years old. My daughter first attended CLV at age 11, and she loved it.

I have no doubt my 12 yo dd would love it. I however, don't know if I could take the stress of her flying alone. Although at her age, I guess she would fly as an unaccompanied minor which would decrease my stress level.

[ChemMommy]

What do you teach at Concordia?

(I didn't actually know that there was a Concordia College in Minnesota. The closest one I knew of is in Mequon, WI.) (Yup, I'm LC-MS)

 

It's the only Concordia that isn't LCMS, although I am an LCMS Lutheran. I teach chemistry (general and organic) to budding scientists and pre-meds.

 

It's this Concordia College that runs the many language villages in Minnesota.

[Carol in Cal.]

I thought the LC-MS had trademarked that name and that no one else could use it (remember Concordia Seminary in Exile? I had heard that that was why they changed their name to Christ Seminary).

 

Anyway, sounds like a great job!

[Kimberleigh]

With the possible exception of the airflow in the dorm, none of Sunday's issues were the fault of the camp. We knew it was going to be a tough day because of the circumstances of his travel arrangements. There were no flights out of our local airport (15 minutes away) that would get him to MN in time to meet the bus, so he had to fly out of another airport that's 3 hours away. Even from that airport, his only option was to arrive five hours before the camp pick-up.

 

He knew it'd be a long, frustrating, boring day that would pay off with two weeks of fun at camp. And if the ordeal left him feeling out-of-sorts, I'm glad he got in one last phone call home to vent about it and get him back on track.

[homeschoolin'mygirls]

He knew it'd be a long, frustrating, boring day that would pay off with two weeks of fun at camp

 

Sounds like he's a seasoned (as well as mature) traveler. Another benefit to the village, or did he already have that experience? I'm not sure my dd would have handled those experiences as well as your son did.

 

We tried to go out of our way to make it as simple as possible because my dd is not a seasoned traveler. This was only her 2nd time to fly so she didn't really have much to compare with, in terms of experience.

 

How cool that you got to talk with him again before he entered camp. We spoke to our daughter yesterday morning briefly before they left for camp. Then she turned her phone off. Like-minded friends, Japanese activities and language--I'm sure that she won't be missing home much if at all, lol. It was good to hear you speak of your dd's independence and continued motivation during the year after she first attended CV. I'm hoping for that for my dd as well.

[ChemMommy]

I thought the LC-MS had trademarked that name and that no one else could use it (remember Concordia Seminary in Exile? I had heard that that was why they changed their name to Christ Seminary).

 

Anyway, sounds like a great job!

 

 

But we get confused with the other LCMS Concordia's all the time.

 

Yes, it is a great job! I work part-time with semi-adults (VBG) and teach my own kids! It's flexible so that works with the family. I can bring the kids to work if I need to and they just sit in the lectures. My poor youngest has been sitting in chemical talks since she was 2 years old. Poor thing!!

[Begonia]

Wow! Yes, I, too, would be worried about sending my dc off to camp so far away. Not so much the camp itself, but the traveling/switching flights, etc. Sounds as though she handled it beautifully.

 

On 18 Aug. my 14yo dd and I will be participating in the Concordia Langauge Villages family week of Swedish immersion. We've been told that the only other family to sign up for Swedish has a 4yo child, so we're expecting lots of personal attention from the teachers! ;) Hard to believe that they'll hold the camp with so few students, but I was told that it would, indeed, happen.

 

We're new to Swedish (dd and I have completed the first unit of Rosetta Stone Swedish. Dd's main foreign langs are Latin and Spanish) and have never been to Concordia, but the many reviews I've read lead us to believe that it's a top-notch place.

[Kimberleigh]

My son's a very experienced traveler -- he even spent his first birthday flying cross-country. This was his first time traveling alone, however, and it's the longest he's ever been away from us. It helps that his twin sister went to CLV last summer, so she was able to give him pointers and reassurance before he left. And she leaves for Bemidji on Monday, so I'll have an empty nest next week. I miss them just thinking about it!

 

Begonia, have a great time at Swedish camp! A good friend of mine attends the Spanish family camp every fall. It's the highlight of her family's year. Unfortunately, we haven't yet managed to get out there for a family week, but it's on our list of possibilities for next year. Aside from improving on our Spanish and having a great family experience, it'd be nice for my friend and I to get our families together. We usually only see each other at writing conferences, leaving the spouses and kids at home.

[Begonia]

Thanks, Kimberleigh! The Swedish village is in Bemidji (sp?). I don't know if that's the same location as the Spanish camps. If you like, you can pm me later in the month and I'll give you a quick review. :)