We were one of the original Family Campers and stayed on for 7 years till our son went to college. We still stay in touch with our fellow campmates as well as Deb and Eric, the camp directors. Akeela was one of the more important things we did for our son and ourselves.
The first years, we all moved pretty close together up there, and we had to gently pressure our boy to participate. But after a few years, he became more and more independent. Durning the last 2 or 3 years, we hardly saw him. He made friends there and began a life on his own without our constant participation.
The staff at Akeela is truly impressive. THEY GET IT! The directors are in this for the love of camp and the kids and that passion is manifest in everyone on the grounds.
The camp is safe and supervised allowing us some badly needed time for ourselves. There is a parent discussion group everyday that was my favorite part of the week. It was deeply moving to be in a circle of other parents who share our experience. There is no need to be concerned about what your qualifying camper does or doesn't do. Everyone understands and there is overwhelming support into which we could relax. And I LOVED not cooking, shopping, or cleaning for a week.
As you see, I have no hesitancy recommending Akeela. If you are thinking of sending your camper on their own, but want to check it out first, and give them a jump start, it's a no brainer. Many of the families did both. Most, I think. Their kids started going to the regular kid's session, and everyone came to the family camp. I can't speak directly to the regular sessions, except to say that the overwhelming response from the kids that did attend was that they loved it. read more
