Chem Camp aka "Lab School"

Cruise's obsession with chemistry and science has been wonderfully irritating lately. I say that because I love that he is so excited about science and wants to do it all the time. But I also say it because he wants to do it ALL. THE. TIME.  at the expense of my sleep, my kitchen (despite the fact that I set up a lab for him on the back porch), and my sanity. He literally wakes me up at 6am asking me to do science with him in his lab. When I get downstairs there is food coloring, water, lemon juice, and all sorts of utensils all over my floor and table. And even when I do science with him, he will talk about it non-stop throughout the rest of the day. He will literally follow me around the house talking about science. All I can think is that his passion for science is so great, that it is literally seeping from every pore.

We were lucky to find a Chemistry camp nearby in American Fork put on by Mad Science, so my parents decided to make it Cruise's birthday present and pay for him to go! The first day he almost peed his pants he was so excited! He packed a snack and his lab coat. He was the only kid with a lab coat. For the most part, he was in heaven! Lots of hands on stuff and an instructor who was just as excited about science as Cruise. There were also things that were hard for him, like group work, not always being called on, and the fact that the camp was 3 hours long every day. I think they could've left it to 2 personally, but he did really well. I was super grateful that Cruise's ABA tutors were able to get their hours in with him at the camp. It was so nice to be able to drop him off and know that one of his tutors would be there to help him out. Friday I went with him since he normally doesn't have ABA on those days. He did tell me later that he doesn't want to go to lab school anymore, but that he wants to just work in his lab. I totally understand that. It's more fun to just experiment than it is to listen to someone talk and tell you what to do. But overall, the camp was a hit and Cruise ended up with a lot more tools and containers for his lab.

Thank you Grandma & Papa Greer! Cruise has made it clear that he is now a "Genius scientist" and the "Smartest scientist in all of Utah!"