Sixth Grade Camp - required?

[taximomfor4]

Another thread got me thinking. My dd's school district has 6th grade camp in October. It's for one school week, about an hour away (overnight camp). Her school had to divide the kids in half, and assign them to either Team 1 or Team 2. My dd is Team 1, all her friends are Team 2 (Figures, right)? Anyway, they go to camp on different weeks.

Either way, I don't have the expendable income to pay for this camp. Her best friend isn't attending her camp, either, her parents believe it's too much $ for what it is. The school told them she will have to go to school that week and watch movies, and take notes on them.

I want to ask the school if I can "homeschool" her that week, take her places around here. Daytrips, you know? I think it's more educational than watching movies for a week.

Anyone have their kids skip 6th grade camp? What did they do instead (if it was during the school year).

 

[PatsGirl]

No, I sent DD last year because I felt it was a rite of passage into middle school and a great way to form relationships with new friends and teachers. If $$ was an issue there were scholarships available. There was one girl from DD's elementary school whose Mom insisted on going with her because she had never spent a night away from home. The camp was four hours away and lasted M-F. I felt so bad for the kids whose parents insisted on going and the ones whose parents refused to let them go. The kids had a blast and social maturing was a big part of the trip.

 

[Jennasis]

What kinds of movies are they watching? Are they educational in nature? DO they pertain to some kind of lesson?

 

[lillygator]

I have never heard of such a thing...is this the norm??

 

[kacaju]

our school does it in 5th grade. I would never keep my kids home from that camp. They have so much fun.

 

[krcit]

My kids school is trying to start this this upcoming school year. It is just for 2 nights at a place about 3 hours away. No parents go-just staff. I hope it happens as I have a 6th grader and think it will be a good experience for her. I know of a few kids who are not allowed to attend b/c the parents aren't comfotable with it. They are keeping their kids home as far as I know. I can understand parents misgivings but I feel bad for the kids that will miss it. I think it is one of those 'memories for life' kind of things.

OP, to answer your original question-I would not send my kids into school to for a week to sit and watch movies. I hope the school will work with you-I'm sure your dd will learn a lot more doing some educational things with you ie. museums, art galleries etc.Good luck. I hope they don't give you a hard time.

 

[disny_luvr]

Can you contact the school and explain to them that you don't have the extra money right now to send your DD to camp? I'm sure if money is an issue, they may be able to help you out.

In the school district where I once taught (and will be again next week ) the seventh grade teams go to a one-week camp each year. It is a favorite of many students and they look forward to it each year. As a matter of fact, many students often comment that their favorite school memory is Outdoor Ed. (what we call our seventh grade camp). If you can swing it, I would definitely send DD. It is okay that she won't be attending camp with her friends. It will be a great way for her to form new friendships. If you don't send her I think she will be missing out on a great experience that almost all of the other sixth graders will have.

I love our Outdoor Ed. program and can't wait to send my boys when they are in seventh grade. I think it is is a great experience.

In my district, for those students that don't attend the camp - usually those with really bad behavior problems - they attend school that week, but have to go to classes on the other seventh grade team (the team that isn't at camp).

I'd really try to send her. You won't regret it.

 

[Chuck S]

What is this camp, exactly? I've never heard of a school having a camp like this.

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

I would see if the school has scholarships for those students who can't afford the camp as well. Retreats and other things like that were what bonded my class closest together (both my High School class and my K-8 class....friends that I had lost through the years but have recently found again as an adult - thanks to Facebook.)

 

[disny_luvr]

What is this camp, exactly? I've never heard of a school having a camp like this.

I can't comment on the OP's camp, but I can tell you about my school district's camp. In seventh grade each team goes to camp (about 45 mins. from school) for one week, M-F. No parents go along. Only the teachers on that team, high school senior counselors (that have gone through a strict application and interview process), and other staff from within the district. The day is filled, starting early with a run (optional) around 6:30, followed by breakfast, three classes, lunch, structured time (volleyball, frisbee golf, hike, etc.), three more classes, dinner, evening structured time, bed. Classes consist of stream study, geology, bird study, ropes course, etc. Students' schedules rotate each day so they have different classes on different days.

I think it is a great experience for the students. Many new friendships form throughout the week. I can't wait to send my kids when they are older.

 

[Dancemom03]

Can you speak to someone and have your DD's group changed to the one where her friends are perhaps, or is it done by class? If it's done by class, the school year hasn't started yet and she's sure to make new friends in her class that will also go in that group. She may be okay with not going right now, but when everyone else is excited and preparing for the trip - or returning and talking about all the fun they had/things they learned, it could be hard on her.

Could you drive her back & forth for the day sessions perhaps but just not spend the nights?

We have "outdoor school" for a week in sixth grade at a nature center. Every school in the county has a time period and it's a part of the curriculim that they build on throughout the middle school years. It's also a huge rite of passage. When you sit thru high school graduation speeches or look thru senior yearbooks, it's one of the things mentioned most often as a favorite part of their total school memories.

I think the cost was either $65 or $125 for the week (maybe both - my kids are each twelve yrs apart) but for families that can't afford it, the PTA will cover it confidentially so all kids can participate.

Our classes are divided into two teams also b/c of size/cabin restrictions. There's always a couple kids who are not allowed to go b/c of discipline issues and I always feel so sorry for them. Usually parents who feel strongly for one reason or another about their child not going just keep them home from school, accepting the unexcused absence, rather than have them sit in another classroom or library with the few bad kids while the entire grade is out of the building having fun. There are aslo a few whose parents choose to drive them back & forth for the daytime program only but, all combined, I doubt there'd be more than ten kids out of 200 or so in sixth grade. We live in a rural area and my DS31 still sees the kids he went to kindergarten with. Anything against the norm is, sadly, often remembered for a lifetime. It sets them apart from the other kids and, besides feeling left out, they have to explain to the other kids why they aren't allowed to be a part of it.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I assume the kids must go to school taht week becuase the hours are part of the manadated insturctional hours. I can copletely understand not sending her and doing other things--but I think it is not okay to say you are "homeschooling" for just a week. Hoemschooling is an educatinal descicion that one makes for a variety of reasons--but it is not a temporary week long thing just. Just say you are not sending her because you feel the "insturction" she will be getting thst week is not up to par.. If it ends up as an unexcused abscence so be it.

That said--these camps are VERY common and I encourage you to send her. 25 years ago when I went to school in Colorado we had 6th grade camp. 3 years later my younger cousin in Texas had the same thing. The school distrcit we lived in in Michigan did it; the area we lived in in New Hampshire most recently also had it (5th grade there). It is VERY common across the U.S. I think it is a great experience for the kids and you should send her if at all possilbe (how much more will it cost than the museum admissions you are thinking of?). Often the teachers TRY to break up friendship groups so the kids make new friends and form more bonds as a class. I have also rarely seen parents be allowed to attend.
Here in Germany just about every grade takes a class trip every year (2-3 nights for the younger kids and all week for the older--some are two weeks in the oldest grades). DD's was expensive (to me) this year at 350 Euro (about $500) but we scraped up the money (and we really did not have it--we had just moved and are still paying a mortgage on a home that has not sold in the U.S. and had a ton of "moving in" expenses here).

The few kids who did not go from DDs school (small school--all of the upper grades went places the same week) had to go and be with the fifth grade all week--they were miserable; movies would have been a vast improvement.

 

[jme829]

Dis the school not do any fundraisers to help defray the costs? My dd16 went in 6th grade and it ended up only costing $60 for the week. They sold fall flowers, ha hot lunch days (she went to small private school that didn't have a lunch program), sold candy bars, etc..They started the fundraising the year before .

Her camp was an hour and half away and she had never been anywhere longer than 1 night, so she was really nervous. But she had a blast, and now 5 yrs later still talks about how much fun she had.


We're in a different state now, and dd10 will be going to camp in Oct. This one is a local camp that all the school is our area go to (we just happen to live in the town that has it). I'm not sure how much it will be as they haven't given any info yet. But I will pay whatever the fee is, it's a great experiece for them to make new friends before heading to middle school next year!

 

[3boymthr]

Our school does the overnight camp thing too. I have to say I thought it was expensive, but really it cost the same as DS' boyscout camp though for two days less. We paid $300 for a week. Our school goes to a local camp down on Cape Cod and the program the kids receive is the same as the one offered by the camp in the summertime - the summertime program costs almost $600 so the school sponsored program is a bargain. One

Our school does offer "Camperships" for those that can't afford it. There are usually 4 or 5 families that take advantage of the offer. To my knowledge none of the kids have ever not gone (of course our entire school goes the same week so it might make a difference if the kids were split up). I would talk to your principal to see if there is anyway they can get you a scholarship and if they can switch the week your daughter goes if they can so she at least knows the kids she is with. Having at least one friend can make the experience more enjoyable.

I have to say that there is a secondary "educational" aspect to the program aside from the educational curriculum. The program also stretches the kids' independence and emotional growth by having them be away from mom and dad. My DS came home and was much more self-directed in his work habits, homework, etc.

 

[dennis99ss]

Last year when DS was in 5th grade, they had a week long camp. DS attends a catholic parochial school, and had teachers and parents attending with them. I was not happy with the arrangements, from a safety side, nor from a contact side, as our school, and our parents, would not be the only ones in the camp, and housing was random. Plus, the catholic virtus program (child protection) has numerous holes in it. DS stayed home on the day the class left and the day they came back. There were a couple of kids who did not go as well. In school, they did busy work. DS does go to boy scout campouts though, as I feel the protection scheme is much better.

 

[taximomfor4]

OP here. Answering a few questions...

I know they will set up a payment plan if you need financial help. There were no fundaisers.

No, we really can't scrape together the extra $. My kids have exactly one activitiy left (dance, at 1 dance school so we get the multi-child discount, and they go once per week). Even that activity, if I don't get a job in the next couple of weeks, will have to stop.

DH's job just waaaaaay cut how much they pay on insurance, so his gross pay will just barely put us over reduced lunch plan/school fee waiver but his take home is going to be several hundred $ less each month. We'll have to figure out how to pay the required fees, before worrying about extras.

My dd has a host of special needs/ issues. I worry a little bit about kids at school finding out, but it's not why I'd keep her home. She has done camp-ins with her Girl Scout troop (the members are, of course, on the OTHER team for 6th grade camp) but has always chosen dance over the camp-outs. She has already said that she'd prefer to dance a little longer than go to 6th grade camp, although she may get to do neither.

I am going to Ebay lots of kids stuff in a week or 2, but will need that $ to make up our monthly shortcomings until I get a job and first paycheck.

I would not be paying admission to museums. I can take dd to the Chagrin River nearby, and do fieldwork, for free. We can also go to the zoo for free on Monday. The farmers market is free. There is a nature place nearby that treats & releases injured/orphaned wildlife and it's free to go there too.

Trust me, I'm not decided. Not at all. We just have to carefully weigh every $ we spend for the foreseeable future.

Sorry, I wrote a longgggg reply. Just wanted to answer some good points that were raised.

 

[golfgal]

I would check with the school again, even a payment plan won't help those that just can't afford to go. I would guess that they have a scholarship option but you have to ask, they don't often advertise that because they want them to go to those that really need it. I would try to do everything possible to get her to go. It is really a wonderful experience and the kids will be talking about it for the rest of the year and she will be left out of that.

 

[Pigeon]

If this is a public school, I think it's ridiculous. If people want to send their kids to camp, they can do so. They don't need to spend school time on it.

I think you should be able to approach the administration and explain your situation. There's no good reason why they shouldn't let you have her at home.

I don't let my kids do the DARE program. The school always hopes that I'll come get them for the time the other kids are doing that. I won't, but they certainly would like it if I did. I would imagine that the school ought to be able to understand that they are essentially warehousing your kid during this time.

There are a million things that are good for kids--where they can learn all sorts of new things. That doesn't mean that they are all something that should happen in school.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Our district does outdoor education in 6th grade, too. Our school goes to overnight camp, other schools do day camp. There are grants available, so OP, I would ask about that. I've heard nothing but good about the program. They learn about outdoor activities -- being prepared, mapping a trail, etc, and they also see a side to their science work they can't see in the classroom.

The kids have a blast. They talk about it for the rest of the year and they all seem to bond during the week they're there. I understand your daughter feeling like she wouldn't want to go without her friends, but it may be a good opportunity to make some new ones. If it were me, I would try to get some financial aid from the school and encourage my dd to do it.

As far as watching movies if she doesn't go, is that what everyone on the other team would be doing, too? You did say they go on different weeks, right? Why couldn't she just attend regular class time with the team that's not at camp? If they insist that she watch movies instead of educating her, I would keep her home, too.

 

[golfgal]

If this is a public school, I think it's ridiculous. If people want to send their kids to camp, they can do so. They don't need to spend school time on it.

I think you should be able to approach the administration and explain your situation. There's no good reason why they shouldn't let you have her at home.

I don't let my kids do the DARE program. The school always hopes that I'll come get them for the time the other kids are doing that. I won't, but they certainly would like it if I did. I would imagine that the school ought to be able to understand that they are essentially warehousing your kid during this time.

There are a million things that are good for kids--where they can learn all sorts of new things. That doesn't mean that they are all something that should happen in school.

Why on earth not????

As for camp, we went to camp back in the dark ages when I was in 6th grade. We did a lot of fun, educational programs like orienteering, water safety, etc. There are things that I learned at that camp that I still use on a regular basis today. There is a lot of VALUABLE learning that doesn't come out of a book. What a waste to not let your children be apart of these experiences.