In August my younger son attended Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp for which he won a scholarship during the school year. In 5th grade our school district requires kids play an instrument. Once they move to middle school, the following year, they can choose to continue or not. E started playing the alto sax when he was 10 and hasn’t stopped since! He’s become quite good and really enjoys it! He would love to major in music when he gets to college.

If you’ve never heard of Blue Lake, you really should check their website out. Located on a 1,600 acre campus in Michigan’s Manistee National Forest, they offer summer programs in the fine arts (band, orchestra, theater, dancing, singing, and art) for all ages. Middle and high schoolers camp at different times, so kids are placed with their peers. Sessions are all taught be professional level mentors/teachers in the various disciplines.

I was a bit nervous when we dropped him off for 10 days with no cell phone (camp rules) but I knew he would be well cared for and have a blast. Once there, campers audition for band placement and E was placed in the 2nd tier band out of 5. He was one of the younger kids in this band. At the end of the session, family is invited to attend performances. We were so happy to see him after the time; even his older brother kind of missed him 🙂 LOL