Math Summer Camp Near Me: Improve Math Skills While Having Fun!
Choosing a Math Summer Camp for your child
It’s that time of the year again. Summer’s approaching, and you need to figure out how to fill those school-free hours so your child doesn’t spend two months watching Netflix on the couch.
Math summer camps are a great answer to this problem - your kids get out of the house, interact with peers, learn new skills, and get ahead for the next school year.
You might begin by searching for “Math summer camps near me” and hope to be able to quickly choose one. But what seems like a simple choice, may not always be.
With the increasing number of summer camps currently available for elementary and middle-schoolers, there’s a lot to think about before you make a decision. You’ll need to consider the type of camp, whether to enroll in an online or in-person camp, the costs involved, and most importantly - how it will benefit your child.
What is the “Summer Slide?”
We’ve all heard about the ‘summer slide,’ which causes learning to decline due to the lack of regular school instruction. Studies suggest students lose as much as 25-30% of their school-year learning during summer.
But did you know student scores decline more for math than reading over the summer? A 2021 survey by McKinsey pointed out that students were ten points behind in math, while only nine behind in reading. On average, students lose approximately 2.6 months of math education over the course of a single summer. This is part of the general trend that has seen many students showing sharper declines in math vs. reading over the years.
Whether online or offline, summer learning is a great way to close this gap and prevent students from falling behind.
So let’s take a look at the top three reasons why you should start looking for a math summer camp near you!
#1: Math summer camps help your child develop a strong foundation in math
Building a strong foundation in math can not only help elementary and middle-schoolers succeed in school, but also develops logical and critical thinking skills they can use for the rest of their lives.
At the elementary level, math camps focus on a balance between learning basic math concepts and applying problem-solving skills. Students learn concepts and are encouraged to find patterns and make deductions. Middle-schoolers prepare to either excel at math in school or enter the world of competitive math tournaments.
The best math summer camps offer small group sizes, which allows more room for personal attention. Equally important is the composition of the group. Students in a group need to be at a similar point in their math learning journey. This allows for lessons to be customized as well as encourages more bonding between students as they work together.
RandomMath Upfront Math Assessment
This is why at Random Math, we require an upfront assessment of students before they enroll in any of our programs. The assessment allows us to place students in a set of classes that will help them get the most out of their math summer camp experience.
#2: Math summer camps give your child a competitive edge
One of the core benefits of a math summer program is that they give students with a keen interest in math the chance to get ahead of the curve, tackle complex problems they wouldn’t cover in school - and enter competitive math tournaments.
Math tournaments aren’t any different from sports tournaments and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Children participating in such competitions require the same dedication and training time as competitive athletes.
Think of it like this - when playing a sport for fun, you typically spend a few hours playing and may or may not bother to train at all. Competitive athletes however spend a majority of their time honing skills and practicing techniques. For someone who aspires to be part of the math olympiad, it’s no different.
Random Math summer programs offer students interested in competitive math a chance to cultivate a diverse mathematical skill set through personalized practice and discussion, develop competition fundamentals, and meet other young people with a passion for math. We place students based on their skill level to keep them motivated and learning together - and the results speak for themselves!
#3: Math summer camps improve problem-solving and critical thinking skills
Summer Math camps aren’t just about math. Research from Stanford University found that students with strong math skills perform better in a wide range of cognitive tasks from visual attention to decision-making.
Problem-solving allows students to understand and explain processes used to arrive at solutions, rather than memorizing a set of instructions. It is through problem-solving that students develop a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts and appreciate the usefulness of math. For example, knowledge of probability will help you solve questions that might seem unpredictable at first, or game theory might help you pick the most strategic move.
How to select the best math summer camp for your child
As a parent, it’s important to do some screening to ensure your child attends a camp that is both fun and productive. So if you’re sold on the benefits of sending your child to a math summer camp, here’s a few things you should ask before making your decision:
- Program objectives: What is the purpose of the math summer camp? Is it purely foundational or will it get my child to participate in competitive math tournaments?
- Returning students: How many students return to the camp from one year to the next? At Random Math, 80%+ of summer camp participants have already participated in our camp before.
- Fun environment: Does this seem enjoyable to your child? One of the most important parts of a great summer camp is to make sure they’re fun! Math camps should promote a lifelong love of math while ensuring kids enjoy their summer!
Measuring Results: How are results being measured to ensure every student benefits? For example, at Random Math, we track ‘result density,’ which looks at the number of students that meet their learning objective. For example, this year 86% of our students qualified for AIME.
The most successful math summer camps bring together children interested in math, teaches them life skills, cultivates a positive learning environment and triggers a life-long interest in mathematics.
Learn more about Random Math’s summer programs here.
