Summer School-Aged Care
Elementary students need different programming than preschoolers.
The summer months are a time of rest for school-agers, but also end up being a time of boredom. Many daycare centers are offering attractive programs for these children.
All around the country, the signs are the same-Spring has sprung, and summer is not far off. Your school-age children eagerly await the final day of school when they can begin a long, glorious summer with no responsibilities and loads of fun. By mid-August they are bored with hanging out at grandma's house while you work, or of being babysat by your next-door neighbor.
Many daycare centers now offer creative alternatives for elementary and middle school students in the summer months that will keep them involved, entertained, and out of trouble. These programs are also important because they reinforce learning that takes place during the school year, so that teachers do not always have to spend the first month of the new school year re-learning what they have forgotten over the summer.
Your child's school may also offer summer programming, but the downside of this can be that your child is forced to spend his or her vacation in the same place that they come during the school year. This can cause stress, and make the return to the school year much less of an anticipated event.
Local childcare centers typically offer summer programming in a Summer Camp format. They may offer themes that last a week, two weeks, or a month long. Topics range from sports, Fairy Tales, Camping, Treasure Island, Harry Potter, Weird Science, Insects, Water, or any number of other subjects. These programs sometimes also offer weekly trips to the library, park, or other field trip. This gives the opportunity for group rates for these events, and socialization that is limited when students spend summer looked after by a neighbor or relative. Many centers allow students to attend for only a week or two if there is a theme that particularly appeals to the child, or if parents have a time of the summer that is particularly hectic-such as a business trip or home remodeling. This option may be particularly attractive in the second or third week of August.
There are a variety of options for those who do not wish to leave their children unstimulated except by the television for the summer, and for those who do not want to leave their kids with the neighbor for the entirety of the break. It is important that these options be considered at this time of year, so that adequate preparations can be made to find the environment that suits your child best.
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