On that first morning, and on every morning for the two week session, I loved seeing the enthusiasm and energy of the staff as they did their morning cheer to open camp. They blended silly and serious by pumping themselves up to do the best job possible - engaging the campers with fun, but also providing a valuable environment for learning. I wished I could stick around to experience the camp myself, but that had to wait until the last day when parents were allowed just a touch of Galileo goofiness courtesy of Earl the Chicken.

Every day my son regaled the day's activities. During the school year it is typically a pulling-teeth exercise to get any information about his experiences, but his pure joy at Galileo Summer Quest prompted him to gush about how much fun he was having. (This was also to encourage me to sign him up for camp again, as he unapologetically told me daily.) He also recounted plenty of educational portion of camp, explaining what stage he was in "Video Game Design," what assignment he completed in his "Cartooning" minor, and quizzing me on eco-conscious behaviors that he learned in his "Green Design" minor.

Thanks to my younger son's gymnastics schedule, it made sense to put my older son in the "extended care" provided by Galileo Summer Quest. At first I was nervous that he'd be burnt out by such a long day, but I need not have worried. He got a chance to shoot some hoops, or to try out some of the "Circus Arts" tricks. At the end of the day I'd find him spinning plates, playing solitaire, or playing soccer. He always had a smile on his face, but his face would fall when he saw me, "Already!? Can't I stay just a few minutes longer..."

Every day I had to show my I.D. to check out my son. While some may think this is overkill ("Aw, c'mon, my kid recognizes me and you've seen me every day!") I LOVED it. I felt comfortable knowing that the staffers were double-checking to make sure that I am who I say I am and that I'm authorized to pick up this particular child. I actually left my I.D. in the car on the last day of camp, but had to go get it to officially check out for the last time.

Oh, that last day of camp! It both warmed and broke my heart. The warming came from getting a chance to see the classrooms where my son spend the majority of his days these last two weeks. It was great to hear from the instructors, see the students' work, and learn more about how the Galileo Innovation Approach was used in each subject. But then as we were ready to say "goodbye," it broke my heart to see how my son tried not to cry as he told me softly, "I'm really going to miss Glenn and Phil," speaking of the camp director and his video game design instructor. He hugged them goodbye and then tried to whisk me away quickly before the tears flowed. "We gotta get out of here because it is way too sad to leave," he explained. As we walked down the driveway, several instructors smiled and bid him goodbye by name. I love that the staffers knew him by name! Their smiles were so friendly, and I wished I had been the one to get to know these fabulous folks.

My son is definitely sad that the Galileo Summer Quest is over for us for this particular summer, but I'm pretty certain we'll be back. Plus, he still has the "regular" Camp Galileo to attend alongside his younger brother towards the end of the summer. He's pretty lucky, since Camp Galileo goes from preK to rising 5th graders, so he was eligible for both Galileo Learning experiences this year!

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Disclaimer: I researched and paid for Galileo Summer Quest with my own money. Then by complete wonderful random chance, Galileo Learning contacted me to see if I'd be interested in reviewing their camps. As such, both my kids attended Camp Galileo for an additional week on Galileo's dime in exchange for my posts.

We're gonna miss you Camp G! Until next year...