Summer Camp

What are our Math Summer Camps?

• The summer math camp classes meet for 55-minutes per day, four days per week, for three weeks (July 22 to August 8).
• These summer camps are designed to prepare students for the upcoming school year of math.  For example, the 7th grade Summer Camp is for rising 7th graders – to prepare them for the upcoming 7th grade year of math.
• While our summer camp is primarily designed for those students who need to work on their skills, there will also be a healthy dose of puzzles and mathematical discovery.
• Whether the student is homeschooled or attends a traditional school (public, private, Waldorf, or not)  – the summer camp will improve their skill level and get them “caught up” so that they can enter the school year with better math confidence.

Who are the Math Summer Camp Teachers?

Jamie York will teach the Summer Math Camps for Grades 6 and 7.

Sean Aronson will teach the Summer Math Camps for Grades 8-11.  Read more about his biography, here (but be sure to scroll down).

What Times do the classes take place?

The class meets 55 minutes per day via Zoom on Monday through Thursday.  These are the times:

• Grade 6 meets starting at 9:30am MT (which is 11:30am ET and 8:30am PT).
• Grade 7 meets starting at 10:30am MT (which is 12:30pm ET and 9:30am PT).
• Grade 8 meets starting at 11:30am MT (which is 1:30pm ET and 10:30am PT).
• “Algebra Prep” (Grade 9) meets starting at 10:30am MT (which is 12:30pm ET and 9:30am PT).
• “Algebra Review” Grade 10/11 meets starting at 9:30am MT (which is 11:30am ET and 8:30am PT).

What Topics will be Covered?

Grade 6:  The four processes, long division, fractions, decimals, factors, mental math, puzzles.

Grade 7:  Fractions, decimals, percents, measurement, prime factorization, square roots, mental math, puzzles.

Grade 8:  Percents, ratios, Pythagorean Theorem, fractions, measurement, unit conversions, puzzles.

Algebra Prep (Grade 9):  This course is designed to prepare students (mostly rising 9th graders) for their first full-year of algebra (often called “Algebra I”).  Topics will include: fractions, signed/negative numbers, basic algebraic equations, simplifying algebraic expressions, laws of exponents, unit conversions, puzzles.

Algebra Review (Grade 10/11):  This summer camp is for students (mostly entering grades 10 and 11 ), who have already taken an “Algebra I” course, or have taken our 9th Grade Math Academy.  For those who have just completed their first year of algebra, this will provide an opportunity to have the algebra skills and concepts really “sink in”.  For those who haven’t done much algebra in a while, this will provide for a much needed review of “Algebra I” before stepping into “Algebra II” or our 11th Grade Math Academy. Topics will include: evaluating expressions, solving equations, factoring trinomials, and simplifying rational expressions. 

Other Details

The cost for the summer math camp is $170 for the entire three-week program, which works out to about $14 per class.

There will be a separate “camp” (class) for each grade.

These classes are largely modeled after Jamie’s “live lectures”, which are very popular!  This is not small group tutoring.  The size of the classes could be twenty students, or more.

Everything will be live – no recordings.

Students will be assigned about 10 minutes of homework per day for grades 6-8, and 15-20 minutes per day for grades 9-11

No textbook or workbook is needed for the summer camp, as assignments will be made available electronically.

While much of each class will focus on skills work, we will also make use of Zoom breakout rooms for a portion of the class, where students will be put into (random) groups of 3 or 4 students to work together on problems and solve puzzles.  

It is essential for students to have their video cameras turned on.  We realize that many students today feel shy, or that turning on their camera may cause anxiety.  These students may wish to be invisible and silent.  As educators, we believe it is important to support students in finding the courage to face situations that make them feel uncomfortable, thereby helping them to find their voice and be seen in the world.  Furthermore, we build a stronger sense of community when we can see each other and communicate both verbally and non-verbally.