“Not sure math is for me”
For kids who have decided math is a list of rules to memorize. Here it works more like detective work, and being slow is not the same as being bad at it.
Math that’s
worth getting
stuck on
A week-long residential winter camp for ages 10–14. Three levels, taught by experienced math teachers, at Nature's Classroom in Massachusetts.
School math and real math are different subjects
School math is mostly about getting the right answer quickly. Real mathematics is about finding a good question and staying with it: trying small cases, looking for an invariant, arguing with someone who disagrees, and finally writing down something that has to be true.
For a week, campers work on problems that take an afternoon rather than a minute. There are no grades and no tests, and getting stuck is part of the method rather than a failure of it.
Two kinds of kids, one camp
“Already hooked”
For kids who finish the textbook early and are bored in class. Olympiad problems, proofs, and topics school reaches years later, if at all.
What we teach
Three levels, formed by the entrance problems rather than by age or school grade. Campers can move between them during the week.
Level 1
Getting unstuck
Nothing here needs algebra.
- Parity: why some puzzles are impossible
- The pigeonhole principle
- Counting without listing
- Graphs: bridges, routes, handshakes
- Fair and unfair games
- Symmetry by folding paper
Level 2
Writing proofs
For kids who have never been asked to prove anything.
- Invariants and monovariants
- Divisibility and remainders
- Induction
- Euler's formula and planar graphs
- Winning strategies: Nim and friends
- Pick's theorem for lattice polygons
Level 3
Olympiad problems
For kids already solving competition problems.
- Modular arithmetic and Fermat's little theorem
- Bijections and double counting
- The extremal principle
- Colouring arguments
- Angle chasing and the power of a point
- Ramsey-style problems on six people
Afternoon master-classes
Cryptography
Caesar shifts, frequency analysis, and why multiplying two large primes is easy to do and hard to undo.
Topology
Möbius strips cut in halves and thirds, and Euler's V − E + F = 2 tested on everything the group builds.
Probability
Expected value by playing, non-transitive dice, and Monty Hall argued out until the room agrees.
Geometry outdoors
Tree heights from shadows, and Eratosthenes' measurement of the Earth repeated at camp scale.
Origami
Trisecting an angle by folding: what straightedge and compass cannot do, paper can.
Competition track
Optional. Past AMC 8 and MATHCOUNTS problems, worked through together, with a plan for the spring.
The week ends with a team math battle: teams present proofs at the board and cross-examine each other's, with teachers as the jury.
A day at camp
Breakfast
Everyone eats together.
Math classes
In level groups: circles, problems, proofs.
Lunch
And time outdoors.
Master-classes
Ciphers, topology, games, outdoor math.
Dinner and games
Tournaments, films, free time, and the daily phone hour.
Sunday is arrival and placement into groups. Friday is the math battle and the closing party. Saturday, everyone goes home after breakfast.
The entrance problems
Every applicant solves three problems at home, with no time limit and no calculator, and sends us what they wrote, including the attempts that failed. We read for how a child thinks, not for correct answers. Solving none of them is not a rejection: it places a camper in Level 1.
A chocolate bar is a 4 × 6 grid of squares. Each snap breaks one piece into two along a line. How many snaps to reduce it to 24 single squares? Does the order change the answer?
Cut two opposite corners off a chessboard. Can the remaining 62 squares be covered by 31 dominoes, each covering two neighbouring squares? Explain why, or why not.
Who's teaching
Experienced math teachers, and camp people who have run residential sessions for years. You need both: one group knows how to explain a proof, the other knows how to get eleven-year-olds to bed.
Name Surname
Level 3 and competition track[Where they teach, years of teaching, competition coaching.]
Name Surname
Level 2, cryptography[Where they teach, years of teaching, what they run outside class.]
Name Surname
Level 1, outdoor math[Where they teach, years of teaching, camp experience.]
Name Surname
Camp directorRuns the week: staff, schedule, safety, and the part where everyone actually sleeps.
Name Surname
Topology and origami[Where they teach, years of teaching.]
Counselors
[Number][Who they are.] They live in the same buildings as the campers.
One adult for every three campers, around the clock.
$2,100 for the week
February 7–13, 2027. One price, paid once. Nothing else to buy during the week.
Apply for a spotOne adult for every three campers. Supervision 24 hours a day, a registered paramedic on site all week, and phones for one hour a day.
Included
- Six nights on campus
- All meals and snacks
- Classes, master-classes, activities
- All materials
- Supervision around the clock
Not included
- Travel to and from camp
- Spending money
What they say afterwards
“[Camper quote — paste a real one]”
Camper, age 12
“[Parent quote — paste a real one]”
Parent, Marabou camp 2026
“[Teacher quote — paste a real one]”
Math teacher
Photo: Nature's Classroom campus in winter, wide shot
Nature's Classroom, Charlton, MA
Classrooms, dining hall, dorms, and trails in the woods of central Massachusetts.
An hour and a half from Boston by car.
Questions, terms,
and the small print
My child hates math. Won't a week of it make things worse?
Kids who hate math usually hate one version of it: timed drills with one right method. Here there are no grades, no tests, and no speed. Level 1 exists for exactly these campers.
My child is well ahead of school. Won't they be bored?
Level 3 explores Olympiad problems, proofs, and topics beyond the school curriculum. Groups are formed by the entrance problems, and campers can move between levels during the week.
Phones, supervision, and what happens if someone is ill
There is one adult for every three campers, supervision around the clock, and a registered paramedic on site all week. Campers have their phones for one hour a day.
Food, allergies, and dietary needs
All meals and snacks are included. Please discuss allergies and dietary needs with the camp team before making a booking.
Getting there and back
The camp takes place at Nature's Classroom in Charlton, Massachusetts, around an hour and a half from Boston by car. Travel to and from camp is not included.
Payment: deposit, instalments, and what the fee covers
The $2,100 fee covers six nights, all meals and snacks, classes, activities, materials, and supervision. Ask the camp team for deposit and instalment details before booking.
Cancellation and refunds
Please request the full cancellation and refund terms from the camp team before paying.
Financial aid and sibling discounts
Please ask the camp team about availability and eligibility before applying.
Photo and media consent
Please discuss your family's photo and media preferences with the camp team before arrival.
Places are limited by group size,
not by marketing
February 7–13, 2027. $2,100 for the week. Apply and we'll send the entrance problems.