Wonderful camp experience and so much more! Our son started going to Fantastic Magic Camp when he was 9. (I only wish we'd found it sooner.) He always had a wonderful time and came away with so much. (He loved it so much, it was hard to get him to leave at the end of the day.).
The camp's attitude has always been that every child is a special camper. While the camp's theme is magic and related arts (juggling and puppetry), the real things the kids learn here are life skills. And the best part is, they are learning while having fun, so they don't notice education is involved.
The "more" part of "wonderful camp experience and more" is the Camp's Intern Program. Those who have a successful year as a12-year-old camper are invited (depending on anticipated staffing needs, of course) to join the Camp's four-year Intern Program, as my son was. This means that, in order to work there, you must first have been a camper at Fantastic Magic Camp
The program involves over 35 hours of training (one Saturday per month starting in January) each year covering all aspects of caring for the campers. It also gives the Interns a chance to bond and become a real team. This is even more true,since most of them come back for all four years of the Program. This ensures a continuity for returning kids that most camps can't even dream about.
Each year, after completing the training, they are given more responsibility in accordance with their age and previous experience. If they don't complete the required hours of training, they don't get to work at the camp. At 17, my son is now a senior counselor. .
The general rule for the camp has always been that, while there is always at least one person on site old enough to rent a car (a fun way to say that there's always a "mature adult " there, just in case), the bulk of the work at the camp is done by the staff of junior and senior high school students.
While my son was still a camper, I would sometimes show up early to watch the daily magic show (still a daily fixture of the camp). Periodically, I'd see some typical "kid behavior," which could have gotten out of hand if not checked. As soon as a counselor noticed (which was always pretty quickly), the situation was handled very appropriately.
The camp has been in existence for over 20 years. From what I understand, the reason kids (former campers themselves) were first given responsibility back then was that the founder didn't know not to. These kids lived up to his expectations. (Something I've learned over the years - kids really will live up to - or down to - whatever expectations are put on them.)
Why should you, as the parent of a potential camper, care about this? Because these interns will be caring for your kids. And they are some of the most well-trained, mature teens you will find.
If your child stays with the Camp and is invited to be an Intern, do whatever it takes to get him or her to those trainings. There are so many reasons for this. First, and most practically, it means they have something to do for at least part of the summer, at an age where most kids are to old to continue on at another camp and too young to get even a summer job. Also, It's incredible how much they learn about so many different things. (Believe it or not, one of the favorite jobs of the CITs -- Counselors-in-Training -- is cleaning the bathroom. No, I don't understand it myself, but I've heard it myself from multiple interns. And, if nothing else, that's a really important life skill to have.).
The more years your child remains in the Intern Program, the more useful life and leadership skills s/he will learn. It's more than worth it. read more