We hear you!
Each year, we are very grateful to receive testimonials from parents and campers alike. We thought we would share a few with you so that you know what campers say about us. Click on the program name that interest you, to skip to that section.
Day Camp | Boute-en-train (Intro to French) | Intrépides-en-route (Short Overnight) | Out-of-Province
Testimonials for the Day camp programs:
> I was not sure what to expect as my daughter thought it was going to be like school. She was glad to see that the camp was indeed a fun filled camp environment. They just did it all in French!
> I really enjoy sending my children to Camp Tournesol. The counselors are friendly, fantastic and very French.
> Our daughter never wanted to leave at the end of the day. She loved the camp!
> Thank you for putting together such a good camp. Saumeh really enjoyed it and it helped to remind her of her French.
> Winning the prize for speaking French had a real impact on Ryan and I want to thank you. He couldn’t believe that he won. It made him very HAPPY! He no longer appears to be afraid to try to speak French. Prior to going to camp, he was very quiet and only spoke French when he absolutely had to. As a non-French speaking parents, we were not able to help him so this has been a real “win” in our minds.
> What a wonderful camp filled with a lots of fun activities and outings and all in French as a bonus to all studens in French immersion.
> We believe Camp Tournesol is a great way for our daughter to brush up on her French, in a fun environment, to get ready for another year of French immersion. We saw her confidence and ability improve markedly in 2 weeks.
> The best camp of the summer…I loved decorating the t-shirts!
> My son has been to Camp Tournesol for 3 years and he enjoys all the aspects of the camp. Great opportunity to use French Language outside the classroom and this summer it was a good tune up for vacation in Paris.
> Two weeks was not enough!!! My daughter completely enjoyed her time at Camp Tournesol this summer. I don’t think that there was one thing that she did not rave about each night. Thank you and we look forward to next summer at Camp Tournesol.
> A great way to support speaking the French language in a positive fun setting. One of the few developed French camps in the West end. A must for a French immersion child
> My daughter loved her three weeks at camp. She made some new friends and reconnected with some she had made the previous year.
> As a Counselor by profession, and more importantly a Mother, I pay particular attention to the way the staff interact with the children. I found the Counselors at Camp Tournesol top notch in every respect. When I dropped Ryan off in the morning, I did not experience the insecurity and uncertainty I have felt leaving him at some camps. Every Counselor I had communication with was friendly, professional, and openly interested in the well being of the children.
> Camp Tournesol opens up young minds to feel part of a community of French Speakers…I felt very safe since the program is very well structured and organized. Lots of French Fun!
> This camp was a summer favorite for my daughter, we are looking forward to next summer!
> Thank you for giving my child an excellent camp experience to introduce French Immersion at the 2008 camp for grade one Intro to French. My child enjoyed her camping experience enough to go back to the 2009 French day camp before grade two.
> As a parent I was really impressed with the organization of the camp and attention to camper safety ie. bus patrollers. My daughter loved the outings.
> I was very impressed with how you have grown from when my son Matthew attended your camp before starting Grade 1. He is now in Grade 5. Joshua was reluctant to go to camp this year since he did not speak French but Matthew recalled how much fun he had and told Joshua he would love it. And love it he did! Keep up the good work Martine!
> This Camp is Fantastic, Fun in French! I’d love to repeat it again for my kids.
> This was our first year at Camp and my daughter loved it. She found the counselor very friendly and the activities during the day tons of fun! She definitely enjoyed the “fun french” atmosphere.
> This is the second year that my children attended camp Tournesol. In the first year, they attended Camp Tournesol for 2 weeks and another local French camp for another 2 weeks. In the second year, they requested to do all 4 weeks at Camp Tournesol. They really enjoyed it. It was a memorable experience for them and they looked forward to going back!
> would say the best testament to your french camp would be when both my girls said to me as they were getting in the car on the last day of 2 weeks of camp was
“Oh, i wish we had camp tommorrow!”
> Cameron enjoyed seeing his school friends mid-summer … it was really the highlight of his week!
> I recommend this camp because you will learn and practice your french. The counselors are very nice. It is a great camp!
> My son loved your camp and adored his counsellor and by the second day requested that I send him again the following summer! I could also tell that his conversational French had definitely improved by the end of the week.
> This was our first experience with Camp Tournesol and we loved it so much that we plan to return. Thank you for a wonderful time!
> I enjoyed and had so much fun at the camp. I was inspired to speak all the time in French. The councillors are great and are friendly.
> This was a wonderful opportunity for my youngest daughter. She struggled during her first school year and was reluctant to attend the camp. Once she completed her first week at Camp Tournesol, she was talking up a storm in French. Most importantly, French was no longer boring – she could have fun and speak French in a non-scholastic atmosphere. I could not have been more pleased.
> Both my children having been attending the camp for many years and it has been a wonderful way to keep up their French during the summer as well as learn new experiences and make new friends.
> This was our daughter’s first year and she was concerned it would not be ‘fun’ but work. She had a fabulous time and loved her counselor by accident I think she brushed up and practiced her French!
Testimonials from the Boute-en-train program (Intro to French)
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> My daughter loved her camp and after two weeks can really understand instructions in French and many words, alphabet, days of the week, etc.
> Going to this camp has made my daughter very excited and confident to start french immersion in September.
> Excellent camp! This was Michael’s favourite camp this summer and I would highly recommend it to anyone, especially entering French Immersion for the first time.
We had a very tired boy every day that couldn’t wait to go the next day.
> Ava was nervous about not having any experience with French. By the end of her two weeks at Tournesol she was much more confident about going into grade 1 FI.
> This camp was fun and also great preparation for students entering grade one – french immersion. The councellors were tremendous; fun, great teachers and very responsible. Highly recommended – we will be coming back next year!
> We found it a very positive experience for Christopher as he was entering a French Immersion program for grade 1 and had limited exposure to French. This has helped make the transition much easier. Mme Helene was fantastic with the younger students thanks for a worthwhile experience.
> Camp Tournesol’s French Intro will take the anxiety away from Grade 1.
> Camp Tournesol’s French Intro will prepare you for Grade 1.
> It was a wonderful experience for Claire and she is still talking about it, or singing or counting in French!!
> The counselors were very warm and welcoming — my daughter really liked them. We were very impressed with the amount of French she picked up in 2 weeks, and she was proud of herself too. It definitely helped her transition to full-day school, and feel more confidant in a french environment. Thank You
> “I really love speaking French at the camp and I was so happy to get a tattoo for speaking the most French!”
> I think the exposure to a new language was a great experience for our daughter! I recommend the camp for any child who will start FI in the coming school year. We hope to participate again!
> I enrolled my daughter into the camp in preparation for grade 1 French Immersion. Until this point I did not speak any french to her at home. In the 2 weeks she was at the camp she is able to greet, count, recite songs and colours and feels comfortable learning more.
Testimonials for the Intrépides-en-route programs (short overnight)
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> This was our first year 1. in a French camp and 2. in a camp that includes an overnight trip. My son had a wonderful experience and learned a lot and made a lot of new friends. The location of the Brampton camp is great and the staff is wonderful. He is excited to go again next year… even the out of Province trip. Keep up the good work Camp Tournesol!!
> I felt like I was responsible for myself. It was fun because every night we would meet other friends from other cabins and the counselors would tell us a story. The food was really good and I loved the restaurant that we went to. Everyone was really friendly.
This was my son’s first overnight camp experience and he loved it!
> Karlene had a great time at Camp Tournesol. She met friends, played lots of fun games and spoke French. Couldn’t ask for nicer counselors!
> The trips and camps are awesome.
> Thanks for doing a great job and creating a fun French environment for the campers!
> Camp Tournesol is a great camp. My son improved his French conversation skills and had a lot of fun doing it.
> The counselors bonded really well with the kids! My son caught a tadpole with his fishing net on the trip, which was lots of fun! The goose feather and ink writing was interesting and he brought my ink paper and goose feather home!
Testimonials from the Out-of-Province programs
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> We feel that this was a great trip for Aidan – lots of learning and new experiences in a warm, respectful and non-competitive atmosphere.
> The trip gave me the experience of a lifetime, it felt great just to be alone and make decisions independently while at the same time I built relationships with kids I had no prior exposure to.
> Thank you so much for organizing such a super trip to Quebec. Blake had a wonderful time. We missed him a lot but your email updates made the process a lot easier.
> The boys really enjoyed the opportunity to meet new friends and have shared experiences with them. They appreciated the unique personality of each participant and had interesting anecdotes to tell.
> I think the organization of the whole trip was excellent. I definitely would send my son with Camp Tournesol to the next trip. Here is what he wrote on one of his emails: France is a lot of fun; everything here is really amazing. We went to a lot of fun and interesting places. All the castles were really big and cool. I am having lots of fun.
> The trip was meticulously planned and organized. Every detail was covered. From a parent’s prospective, they had a trip of a life time – educational and fun.
> Overall I could not be happier with the whole experience. The trip really enhanced Tyler’s overall confidence level.
> Martine, thank you so much for organizing another wonderful and memorable (exhausting) trip! Megan had a great time.
> The staff was very nice and very entertaining. They always made jokes and kept me laughing. All the activities were great and I would do it again.
> Thank you so much for all your very creative and careful planning that made this special trip such a great one!
> This was a really wonderful experience. Maryam has gained valuable experience in her skills in French as well as confidence in her ability to do things on her own. Thank you for the email updates, they were great. We were so pleased with everything.
> I have never been away from home and I was worried that I might get homesick. It never happened. My mom was disappointed that I never missed her. The email updates were excellent.
> It was obvious to me from the start that this trip was well organized. Your France updates and Eitan’s email proved even more. He expressed over and over how much fun he was having. He wants to do it all again and expressed that these were the best days of his life. Thank you very much for making this trip memorable. You did an amazing job.