Terrific Tennessee Summer Camps

The Tennessee Smoky Mountains have long been places or gorgeous retreat for people from all over the south and they're the location for some pretty fine camps too.

If your kids are interested in either learning English or Spanish, then this is the camp for them. It's a wonderful way to give kids instruction in the languages with a fun setting for stimulation to learning.

http://smacamp.com/LanguageCamp.html Two hours of classroom teaching plus two more hours of more relaxed conversation and language application. A two-week course costs $1,595 and a four-week course is $2,395. The campers also experience some of the adventure activities of the main adventure camp, activities like hiking, swimming, ice-skating, horseback riding and rafting on the cold whitewater streams that rush all through these mountains. The kids have all sorts of fun ways to practice using their newfound language skills as they communicate with each other while having fun in any of these summer camp experiences. The language Camp is part of the entire Smokey Mountain Adventure Camp and kids partake of many of the adventures that the general camp offers. Call 1(866) 876-CAMP for more information. Each of the four sessions is for different age groups and involves different levels of challenge. Naturally, the kids need to be taught basic skills of canoeing, hiking and climbing, but the longer sessions are for more experienced kids who are older and who may have even been to SMAC in a previous summer. Take a look and see what's appropriate for your kid.

Doe River Gorge is an adventure camp set high in the East TN mountains. This is a Christian-based camp for those parents who want a nurturing summer experience for their kids, which brings them closer to God through a growing reverence for His creation here in the wilderness of the TN Smokies. http://doerivergorge.com/programs/ There are experiences for kids of all ages and adventure camps lasting from 6 to 27 days. They even have a Homeschool Adventure Quest for parents to take their home-schooled kids on if they want to reward the whole family after a winter of study! I click the Expedition link for their six-day schedule and found that it's jam packed with some really strenuous climbing, cliff-jumping, backpacking and caving. Every evening there's a campfire worship and teaching session under the stars. Be aware that Doe River is all about camping out and that campers will be making and breaking camp as they move from day to day, so it's really a chance to get out and commune with nature and discover new skills, and self-confidence in a rugged setting. If payment is received by April 15, the cost is just $555. Every session has its own activities and level of expertise advised, so the web site should be read thoroughly to see what's best of each individual kid! The administration of this camp can be contacted with the following information: Doe River Gorge Ministries, Inc. | PO Box 791 | Elizabethton, TN 37644 (423)725-4010 | drginfo@doerivergorge.com

While this camp isn't in the great Smokies, I couldn't resist reviewing it because it's such a novel idea. How about stimulating your kid's mind and curiosity by sending him or her to an urban camp where they teach the kids to build and work on computers? http://www.kidsntechnology.net/ It's called "the ultimate technology program for kids aged 8-18." There's a picture of an 8-yr. old girl who says, "I built my first laptop." I kid you not! They welcome donations to help share this program with as many kids as possible, some of whom may even go on to become major programmers or run their own computer stores or businesses. By creative play, fun instruction from ultra qualified instructors and lots of simple explanation, all the kids here not only build and take home their own computer, but they also learn how to troubleshoot and upgrade them. They become pretty proficient in knowing what games take up drive space and how to install applications. The camp is just made to order for kids because they're not afraid of computers in the first place, unlike adults. Registration before March 1, 2007 takes $100 off registration fees. The kidsntechnology group is a touring organization which is stopping in Memphis June 11-15 and in Nashville June 25-30. Both the Memphis and Nashville application for this program costs $1,425 for the week of lessons. Contact information for this wonderful group is the following: info@kidsntechnology.net
tel: 901-565-0670 or 866-513-3007
Kids-N-Technology
3725 Riverdale Rd. Ste. 6
Memphis, TN 38115