“Smarter Fun in Summer” camp begins June 22nd for children ages 6-13 at the Boys & Girls Club of Plymouth from 8AM to 5PM and continues for ten weeks at $140.00 per week. Three-day camp is also available.  Evolving from the Boys & Girls Club of America’s signature Project Learn program, Smarter Fun in Summer camp is designed to keep children active, safe, and happy in the summertime while providing activities that reduce or prevent “summer learning losses.”  Research has shown that children who do not practice reading, writing, and computation skills in the summer return to school in September less prepared for learning than they were in June.

Moreover, student “learning losses” in summer are increased as family income levels decline.  The misuse of “discretionary time” in summer also leads to other outcomes that are not positive for youngsters who may make poor judgments about their behavior in unstructured time.

According to a study from the University of Missouri, many kids forget some of what they have learned, and by the end of summer, they lose over two months of grade-level equivalency in mathematics, a month of reading skill, as well as losses in “practice skills” like writing and listening.  It is a concern for parents and youth care providers alike.  At the Boys & Girls Club of Plymouth, the Smarter Fun in Summer camp promotes leisure activities that reinforce important skills like reading, writing, and listening as well as mathematics and problem solving. We believe that powerful and authentic learning experiences come through games and hands-on activities.  These learning experiences often generate the most excitement among young people and leave a lasting imprint on their growth and development.

Staffing includes a Camp Director who is a certified teacher, a reading instructor, three activity coordinators, and a trained staff certified in CPR and First Aid.  Reading volunteers from Mayflower RSVP are on hand two or three times a week to practice reading with youngsters and encourage reading as a life-long leisure activity.

Additionally, daily family life presents opportunities for learning out-of-school.  For example, children love to help in the kitchen so have them read a recipe card to you as you prepare the meal.  Ask them to read package directions.  Even reading a cereal box will keep the “reading” mind active.  The kitchen is also a great place to practice measuring.  Double a cooking recipe and an unsuspecting child will learn how to add fractions.  Work on fine motor skills by having your child cut coupons then take a trip to the grocery store and add up the savings. There are limitless ways to keep your child’s mind active throughout the dog days of summer.  Encourage them to write a journal of their summer vacation.  And of course, have your child read, read, read.  Find learning moments in everyday tasks. Remember to keep the mood happy and playful and you will be able to engage your child in learning all summer long!

Our summer camp is an ideal place to take advantage of engaging and informal learning opportunities.  It makes sense that a Boys & Girls Club would make learning an important aspect of Summer Camp.  There are over 4000 Boys & Girls Clubs across the nation and the mission is always the same - to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens.  This mission is taken very seriously at the Plymouth Boys & Girls Club. 

Our mission is achieved by:  providing a sense of belonging and ensuring that the child fits in, is valued, and is part of the group, by instilling competence and a feeling that each child can do something well and will be respected for it by his or her own peers, and through giving the child a sense of usefulness that each child has something to contribute and the opportunity to do something of value for other people.  Finally, it is achieved by providing a sense of upward influence so that the child knows he or she can speak up, be heard, and can influence decisions in the Club.

Yup, summer is a great time to be a kid, at the Boys & Girls Club of Plymouth.