Transitioning out of summer math camp

<p>My D is coming home Saturday from a 6-week math camp at a university. She has gone to the same camp the last three summers. She has such a wonderful exhiliarating time at the camp that she has a hard time coming back to a reality where you study things other than math and the people around her don't necessarily even like math. She will have two weeks free before school starts. Previous years she has had a slow start at school in August because she kept thinking about how great math camp was and how much she missed it. Any ideas on how to smooth the transition this time around? Thanks.</p>

<p>We had the same problem with S, but his camp went to mid-August. After just a few days home, he'd complain he was bored. We went on vacation mode almost immediately, for a total change of landscape and activities. But first, he would head off to a bookstore and buy some math books to take along.</p>

<p>I wonder if she misses the math, or the fellow campmates. If it is the math, she might enjoy taking one of the online Art of Problem Solving courses this fall-- my ds took the Number Theory one last winter and enjoyed it quite a bit. Just an idea!</p>

<p>Online</a> Math Classes</p>

<p>Oh, have we BTDT -- both when S1 returned from his math program the first time and the two reunions he's returned for since. </p>

<p>The best thing we found was to give S some time to adjust without asking too many questions. For a lot of kids, these experiences are the first time they have found "their people." S needed time to mourn the loss.</p>

<p>Math books are a good way to supportive and offer a transition. S had a lot to process and integrate into his life.</p>

<p>When we went to pick up S after his first math camp, there were girls sobbing in the lobby (just like at CTY). S has kept in touch with friends from math camp.</p>

<p>Thanks for the replies. I was thinking that only on CC would I be able to find other people with this problem. Our town is pretty math-devoid and everybody looks at me funny when I say my D is away at math camp. As my younger son said why would anyone want to do math in the summer. (he's playing football) </p>

<p>I think she misses the other campers more than the math itself. They all seem to have a similar "sleep is for the weak" mentality with a lot of intellectual curiousity and enthusiasm. They really seem to bond with each other. There even seemed to be some math camp romance drama. I have found it all very interesting. I think they are going to have a great time in college. </p>

<p>CountingDown - sorry but I'm not clicking on what BTDT is. </p>

<p>Math books sound good. Maybe I can do a welcome home gift bag with a bookstore gift certificate and chocolate. Once school starts she is taking Calc II and Physics II at a local university since her school didn't offer it. So I'm hoping that will keep her occupied on the math front. </p>

<p>Thanks again for the ideas.</p>

<p>btdt means Been There, Done That
:)</p>

<p>I know one thing that seems to help my S when he returns from CTY is participating in a message board for CTYers who miss CTY (Post-CTY</a> Depression). If such a message board doesn't exist, perhaps your daughter would like to start one to give the math camp community a place to (virtually) hang out while not at camp. She could go here to start her own message board for free: SMF</a> For Free Server Installer - Providing Free Simple Machines Forum Hosting</p>

<p>Thanks for the clarification on BTDT. </p>

<p>The message board idea sounds really good. I think the campers chat on Facebook but I don't know how organized it is. My D is interested in computers so she would probably enjoy checking that out. (another thing to occupy her when she comes back) </p>

<p>One unexpected benefit of the camp was that when we visited colleges last spring we found a math camp friend at almost every campus. So my D got to do a sleepover at Harvard, have dinner at a MIT frat and got a long personal tour of the UChicago campus. I think these were some of the highlights of the visits for her.</p>