Summertime is a big deal. It features longer days, inviting weather and a bevy of activities for adults and kids alike. Sometimes, though, the sheer freedom and opportunity of the season can seem overwhelmingly big, leaving parents and their children with one big question: what is there to do this summer?
According to Brookings, “summer learning loss” is a serious problem among K-12 students, resulting in students returning to class in the fall having lost the equivalent of one month’s classroom instruction over the course of summer vacation. The National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) places that figure higher, and reports that students lose an equivalent of two months’ grade-level instruction over the course of their summer vacation.
Parents also suffer from summer learning loss, though in different ways. The NSLA reports that summer often presents parents with a childcare conundrum. Keeping kids active requires transportation, which can be tricky when summer programs begin and end within normal work hours. If before and after care is not provided, parents are often unable to make summer activities work for their students.
According to the NSLA, “Camps and other youth development programs provide the opportunity to reduce summer learning loss in an expanded learning environment where children are engaged experientially and have an opportunity for additional academic enrichment.” But how can parents make this extended summer schedule fit into their schedules?
Local colleges and universities often offer summer learning programs that combat summer learning loss. The National Association of Elementary School Principals suggests parents think about whom their area collaborates in summer youth education might be. Usually, the answer is no farther away than the local community college.
The Lansing Community College (LCC) Youth Program is an authority on summer learning in the mid-Michigan. Utilizing GATE, A+ and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math)-focused learning opportunities, LCC’s youth program promotes literacy, activity and “serious fun” during the summer.
Teresa Price, LCC’s youth programs coordinator, oversees a diverse summer curriculum. “We have a great variety of classes that we’re offering, and we’re sure to have something to interest any student, grades 2-12,” Price said. “From advanced robotics to science wizards to digital photography and exploring painting, our professional instructors have students covered this summer.”
LCC youth summer camps feature before and after care, making the experience easy for parents to fit to their work schedules.
Adults, too, can join in the learning through the LCC Adult Enrichment program. Year-round courses guide adults through four comprehensive areas: creative arts, health and wellness, personal interest and retirement.
According to online learning and education hub InformED, adult courses allow for imaginative learning in a comfortable space, which encourages student progress.
InformED editor, Adrianes Pinantoan, believes adult education programs encourages adults, through engaged instruction, to break out of narrow thinking patters and embrace exciting ideas.
“We’re not meant to live our lives trapped at a desk or stuck at home all day,” Pinantoan said. “People who engage in activities like adult education to learn new things and expand their worldview are often happier and more involved in the world around them.”
