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Use it or lose it. That's the name of the summer vacation game. The television may beckon weary students and the backyard pool may call day after day, but educators and parents say summer shouldn't be an excuse to slough off. Whether children are attending day camps, taking an hour each day to complete workbook pages, or heading out on educational day trips with parents and friends, they should be using the break to apply the knowledge they gained during the school year. It's a time to pack fun educational experiences into their brain. "The key component for parents is to make sure the neurons keep firing in the minds of their children during summer," says Pam Clute, executive director of the ALPHA Center at UC Riverside. "Everyone knows, and research seems to validate, that if you don't use the information you learn, it goes away and sometimes it has to be re-taught." Finding enrichment programs near you usually takes only a few minutes of research (the Summer Camp Guide in this issue provides several options, ranging from educational to general to a specific focus). Because of cuts to education funds, most local school districts are focusing on remediation during summer school. If your child is struggling in a subject, check with her teacher or counselor to find out what classes or tutoring programs are available during vacation time. Summer education doesn't have to take place in a classroom. Cheryl Ransone, a sixth-grade teacher in Anaheim, has long used summer vacation to help her two children get a leg up on the coming year and reinforce the concepts they learned the previous year. Now, as a teacher at a year-round school, she sends home review packets with her students to keep them sharp during off-track breaks. "The feedback I got from parents was they liked it," she says. "The kids had something to do and had something to reinforce their skills. I also give them a home reading record and they have to read 30 minutes a day. If they aren't reading as much as they should, I have found their level will fall back down." Ransone's focus with her own children is on previewing material they will cover in the next grade. She says that although her two children don't always look forward to working through three pages a day, four days a week in their summer workbooks, they notice they often pick up on concepts faster than classmates when they return to school in the fall. "They may not always understand all the concepts I try to teach them, but at least they have been introduced to it," Ransone says. "They didn't always want to do it. But, especially in math, they would find they could grasp all the ideas that were presented because they'd had it over summer. They felt really smart." Ransone has one tip for parents planning to use workbooks: Commit to correcting the child's work and showing them the correct way to complete problems they missed. "You really have to stick to your guns and you have to correct it and give them feedback on what they got wrong. You really have to be dedicated to it." Oh, and you may want to take the answers out of the back of the workbook to make sure they're thinking through the problems on their own. The key, says UCR's Clute, is to get your child engaged in learning. If your child's idea of summer education is watching the History Channel, turn off the television and get talking, reading, playing or going out the door to a museum. It will be good for you, too. "It is well-established that the more you use the brain in different ways, the more neuro-connections you develop," Clute says. "This is true throughout your entire lifetime. If you really want to stay mentally alert, you really have to look for things that are stimulating and engage the brain." Ready to make the most of the summer break? Once your child has finished with a summer camp or two, or wrapped up summer school or an in-house educational program, plan day trips, or additional classes, to keep the mind involved. Here are several suggestions: Ocean Institute Dana Point (949) 496-2274 www.ocean-institute.org The new Ocean Institute invites children ages 3 -18 to explore and investigate the ocean and its inhabitants in one of its exciting new summer camps. The institute also offers families ocean activities, marine life excursions and an exciting sailing voyage. You can cast off with a professional crew on a 118-foot historic tall ship for a three-hour voyage. Learn about line handling, sing chanteys and practice your marlinspike seamanship. Discovery Science Center Santa Ana (714) 913-5012 www.discoverycube.org Each summer, the center offers Camp Discovery open to children ages 7-13. From July 7-Aug. 29, children can attend six different week-long day camps that focus on science and technology. A mix of fun and education, students can interact with nearly 100 hands-on exhibits. Or, take the children there for the day. The Bowers KIDSEUM Santa Ana (714) 567-3680 www.bowers.org Each spring and summer, KIDSEUM offers adventure camps where kids draw, sculpt, dance and sing to learn about the art and culture of faraway lands. The KIDSEUM, an 11,000-square-foot children's museum, provides arts and cultural activities and festivals for thousands of children and their families. Creativity, stimulated by exposure to art, can be the basis for the development of ideas, problem-solving and social understanding. Irvine Fine Arts Center (949) 724-6880 www.artscenecal.com/IrvineFAC.html A variety of rotating monthly exhibits, art classes and studios, including photography, ceramics, drawing and painting and jewelry/lapidary, for children and adults. Orange County Museum of Art Newport Beach (949) 759-1122 www.ocma.net The museum offers classes and summer Art Camp for preschool, elementary, junior high, and high school students. The camps are designed to foster discovery, creativity, and imagination in children, whether they are curious beginners or experienced artists. All participants visit the museum galleries, where they are introduced to the museum's collection and current exhibitions and gain inspiration from the creativity and technical mastery that they discover in professional artists' works. Programs include printmaking, sculpture, drawing, bookmaking and more. Fullerton Arboretum Cal State Fullerton (714) 278-3579 www.arboretum.fullerton.edu This 26-acre botanical garden makes a great afternoon discovery or sign up for one of the many docent walks and tours. Guided educational tours of the gardens and Heritage House are available for both children and adults on request. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (213) 763-DINO www.nhm.org The museum features story time, weekend crafts, interactive exhibits, overnight camp adventures for girls or boys as well as family camps. The website has schedules and details on all these child-friendly events. San Diego Zoo and San Diego Wild Animal Park (619) 557-3969 or (760) 740-9383 www.sandiegozoo.org The zoo offers a variety of classes and camps for children during the summer. Joe Nyiri, an award-winning artist and art teacher, will offer personalized instruction and show students how to evaluate their own work in full and half-day sessions. Safari Cadets at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park is for students ages 7-11. It includes visits to off-exhibit areas and lets students help with enrichment projects for the park's animals. For more information on programs, call either of the above numbers. Aquarium of the Pacific Long Beach (562) 590-3100 www.aquariumofpacific.org The Aquarium offers a variety of classes for preschoolers through adolescents and teens. Make sure to check out the Job Shadow program, which is geared toward students (grades 5-12) interested in animal husbandry or marine biology careers. Learn what it takes to run a world-class aquarium and get a hands-on opportunity to participate in everyday activities that help maintain the aquarium. Students will go behind the scenes and shadow education and husbandry staff. Check the website for details and schedules. SEAWORLD San Diego (800) 23-SHAMU www.seaworld.org/camp/swc/index.htm The marine wildlife park, which spans nearly 190 acres, offers several summer programs for children. Among the offerings are resident camps, day camps and weekend fun adventure camps. Youths can discover the truth about sharks and other ocean animals with "dangerous" reputations; learn how stingrays, jellyfish and other animals seek prey and protect themselves from predators; get to know bottlenose dolphins, beluga whales and polar bears; and more. Grades served range from preschool to high school. Palm Springs Desert Museum (760) 325-0189 www.psmuseum.org The museum features hands-on art discoveries, classes and lectures on the desert tortoise, gallery talks and Family Days for children of all ages and their parents. The website features a detailed events calendar. Read Every Day This program starts at home. Get everyone in the family a library card and plan evening walks or afternoon trips to your nearby branch. Many libraries also offer summer story times and activities for children. Not sure where to start with the volumes of choices? Check out Capistrano Unified School District's summer reading list at www.capousd.org/readinglists. Still looking for just the right option? Check out www.summercamps.com for listings of day camps around the state. Jennifer Leuer of Yorba Linda is an education reporter. To reach her: leuer.ramus@sbcglobal.net. |
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