@Coldsummer123 Thank you. A lot of people have been suggesting to look into computer programming / coding, anything computer / technology based first, before having him dive into a purely math program. I guess that makes sense for someone who isn’t quite sure yet.
@SouthOCGal I went to CTY and it was an incredible experience. I have a lot of good things to say about the program. The atmosphere is very much collaborative, a “learning for the sake of learning” environment. The classes are small, and people bond very quickly. You learn a lot, but the emphasis is on building your skills and understanding new concepts, not coping with an overwhelming workload. There is no homework, so there’s a lot of time to socialize.
That being said, most of the kids at CTY (at least, at the site I went to) were a year or three older than your son. There were definitely a handful of kids going into seventh grade, but they were the absolute youngest. People there will make an active effort to include everyone, but the age difference may be a little overwhelming for an incoming seventh grader.
I’d be happy to answer any more questions you have about CTY and maybe give a student’s perspective on it. The program is close to my heart, and I’m always excited to share it with people.
When my kids were in elementary school we had an evening program called Family Math. We did a lot of fun activities that used your math brain, but it wasn’t sitting around doing math problems. This is the sort of activities we’d do: http://www.proteacher.org/c/875_Family_Math_Night.html I’d imagine a math camp would be more like this than going to Kumon and practicing you multiplication tables. At least I hope it would be!
@merething Thank you. Is CTY based on a specific subject? Is it STEM focused? @mathmom Thank you. I don’t know if we have something like that in my area. Kumon is definitely out. I think it’s just more on exercises and not really teaching the kids.
@SouthOCGal It’s not subject-based or STEM-oriented. Course offerings vary by site and session. Actually, CTY has an intensive studies and an academic explorations program; the former requires a higher SAT score to get into. You can find the course offerings for each program on the website.
Just from looking at the course list, I think it’d be hard to find a non-economics-focused math course unless your son has already taken algebra/is taking algebra this year. I’ve only been looking at it for a few seconds. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful; I’ve always been more of a humanities/social sciences student. 
The two mathy things my kid did at CTY were Cryptography and a Game Theory course. In Game Theory they did not just the math of it, but also learned about the Cuban missile crisis and some economic applications. I’ve known kids who happily took philosophy there. I don’t think their sleepaway programs are for 6th graders and they are intended for kids who have been identified as gifted.
@merething thank you. That is very helpful! It is a lot of information to take in. It looks like there are a lot of options available. @mathmom hhmm very interesting. Especially since it seems like the program specifically identifies gifted. I’ll definitely check on that too! Thank you for all the feedback.
This may seem like odd advice, coming from me, a math professor. Many of the math camps I have seen are geared toward math contest prepping and/or accelerating / remediating in school topics, or geared for gifted kids. I have yet to see a math camp which teaches fun problem solving in a collaborative environment for the regular kid. Maybe they exist, but not here in New Jersey.
Computer camps, Lego mind storms etc are probably better alternatives, as suggested here already. You can also check out the free online Alcumus program on art of problem solving website. That can give you an idea of the type of problems usually found in many math camps.
Try out different interests in the summer to see what clicks. Don’t just limit to STEM topics.
@mathprof63 I have researched more about these Math Camps. You are right though. It is more towards competitions. My son is probably not ready for competitions. I want him to improve his skills. I have also started looking into computer / technology related programs as well. I will check out that Alcumus program. Hopefully it gives me an idea in terms of the level of difficulty that’s being taken up in these Math Camps I came across. Yes, I’ve been told not to limit it on Math. I just feel though that it’s a very important subject and I am looking to actually have him gain more interest in it. Am I making sense?
I’d worry that if he’s not really into math, most math camps would turn him off to math. I’d only send a kid to a math camp if they were asking to go or if I found one that really looked fun to my kid.
LEGO Mindstorms, rockets, game programming, and things like that are more reliably “fun” for a wider range of kids.
Since you are in Orange County, is this a good list of your local camps: http://www.orangecounty.net/html/edu_camps.htm? If so, and not knowing local reputations and costs, I’d look into the Explore Ocean camp, UCI Gifted Mammoth Math & Physical Science (if he qualifies), iD Tech camps (if you have money you don’t need), PlanetBravo, IncrediFlix, and Brain Builders (LEGO). But, I’d mix some of those in with about an equal number of outdoor activity camps.
Also, are 6th graders going into 7th eligible to be CITs (counselors in training) in your area? If so, see if he can CIT for something like the Discovery Cube or Camp Invention camps.
I understand that many of us have memories of hanging around in the summer, swimming, etc. but what does it mean to say that going to math camp is not part of “letting them be a kid”?..are math and childhood not compatible? what if there was a fun math camp? why not try it? is “being a kid” synonymous with non academic activities? it just feels that way sometimes to me…i remember longing for something indoors…when you’re not coordinated and your parents work, summer can be a long boring slog…math might have been fun. I was sent to all kinds of activities that were not things I really loved…but I still learned something from it (I’m thinking of you, ballet class)
@thingamajig I feel where you are coming from. You are able to express what I am feeling. It seems as though when people say, Math camp, we always have this connotation that it’s intensive, it’s rigorous, it’s hard and NOT fun. I appreciate the feedback from the other parents though to try out other things as well, aside from Math.
@ynotgo Thank you for the suggestion.
You can look at camps on mysummeradvisor.com for some ideas. There are lots of math camps, but not so many that are residential for 6th graders. Look local or broaden your criterion. ID Tech camps have lots of fun camps and many are residential. They offer a wide range of technology focused programs.
@BelleofAmherst Thank you! Yes, a lot mentioned about ID Tech. Been doing a lot of research lately. Never crossed my mind to put him in something technology/computer related. So many options apparently.