So Much More Than Expected; The Importance of Summer Experiences for Gifted Learners

As I write, it is currently -2 degrees with a windchill factor that is easily in the negative double digits. Ah. Winter in Wisconsin!  Summer may feel like a long way off, but these early months of the new year are the perfect time to begin planning for summer experiences for your gifted child.  

For gifted kids especially, summer experiences such as camps, workshops, and specialized programs can be life-changing. Talented musicians can surround themselves with professional musicians and passionate peers at music camps.  Technology workshops can allow aspiring computer programmers to extend their knowledge through classes that they may not have access to during the school year.  Immersive experiences in just about every interest area can be found with a quick internet search. The intellectual stimulation that these experiences can provide talented young people is invaluable to their skill growth within their chosen area of study.

But summer experiences do so much more than provide academic rigor and skill development. Rarely do gifted students have the opportunity to surround themselves with true intellectual peers who think like they think, who “geek out” over the same things they do, and who share similar struggles related to their giftedness. Participating in a summer program gives gifted children this much needed time with true peers who will challenge them and inspire them.

A case in point is my daughter.  This past summer, my 14-year old received an invitation to participate in an intensive summer experience with a professional ballet company out of state. Being as young as she was, I traveled with her, and the two of us spent the month in the south where she spent 8 hours a day living and breathing ballet. Despite the blisters, sore muscles, bruises, and the sheer physical exhaustion of those four weeks, I have never seen my daughter so alive. Training with other passionate teens from around the country allowed her to test her skills in a bigger pond than what our small midwestern town can often offer her. This inspired her to set goals for her own development and her future training. The incredible talent pool that she found herself in also meant that she had to up her game, so to speak, and she quickly realized what it means to persevere when things are challenging. Her growth as a dancer was phenomenal.

But what I truly believe was the most valuable part of this experience was that in this environment, she finally felt comfortable in her own skin. My shy teenager felt safe enough to begin to break out of her shell. At home, she struggles to find people who feel as passionately about ballet as she does, but this summer she had others who ONLY wanted to talk about ballet 24/7, just like her. For the first time she could have heated debates about what is truly the most challenging pas de deux ever choreographed or who the best prima in history really is. The connections that she made through this program have provided her with a support system that has continued to sustain, challenge, and inspire her since we returned home.  

As you think about what the summer of 2023 will look like for your family, I hope that you will consider what a summer experience can do for your child both intellectually and emotionally.  If you need help finding a program that would be a good fit for your child, reach out to your school’s GT Coordinator or contact WATG (we are always happy to help!). Know that many programs offer scholarships to help with expenses; be sure to check these out. Here is a brief list of summer opportunities provided by our WATG partners:

Badger PreCollege 

UW-Stevens Point Camps 

Belin Blank Center Summer Programs

Center for Talent Development at Northwestern

Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth

Institute for Educational Advancement

S.O.A.R. Summer Camp 

And don’t forget, in addition to scholarship opportunities offered by individual programs, WATG offers financial assistance for summer experiences to help offset the tuition costs for families. Watch our website for scholarship application information being released soon!

Nicole Meier, WATG Board Member

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