Ways to keep your kids learning during the summer

School will be out soon and it’s important to keep our kids minds active during the summer. Here are some ways that I have been able to keep my two girls ages 8 and 9 learning while schools out. I try and make summer learning fun.

One of the places we like to start our summer off is at our public library. We go there to find out what programs are offered during the summer. The library is a great place to keep your children engaged in reading because of some of the incentives they offer to the kids for reading.  It is free to get a library card and your child can have their very own card. I know my girls love having their own card to check out books. If you haven’t been to a public library lately, most have a special section of the library for younger children with computers and crafts.

Each library has unique programs for students over the summer.  Most public libraries in Pinellas County run their programs from June 15^th - August 9^th.  A weekly program during the summer at Seminole Community Library is the reading with the dogs program. “This is where students are one on one with therapy dogs. Last summer it was very successful,” said Jill Storm, Youth Services Supervisor at Seminole Community Library.

One of my girl’s favorite programs in the past at the Seminole Library has been the Wonderful Wednesdays. This is where each week special guests come entertain the kids. In the past there have been magicians, balloon artists, musicians and more.

 Elementary school students who enjoy science can try e-magination which is where students get to do hands-on science experiments and have fun doing crafts. For the younger kids ages 3-6, on Monday nights at 7 p.m. there’s Slumber Stories, where children can come in their pajamas and read stories and do a craft.

Another great way to keep kids reading over the summer is with the Reading with the Rays program. Kid can pick up their Reading with the Rays game card at the library. Your kids will need to read a certain number of hours each week and as they read they move around the bases. After the get around all of the bases, they can turn their playing card in for a free ticket to a Rays game. My girls have done this the past few years and knowing they get to go to a Rays game if they read is fun for them.

If you are looking for camps to send your kids to, there are several that are fun and geared toward learning. St. Petersburg College, College for Kids Summer Camp offers unique summer programs starting June 9^th  and running through August 1^st.  College for kids has been around for 36 years. I remember going when I was a kid. They offer affordable camps for kids in elementary, middle and high school. What’s nice about this is you have credentialed teachers and there are nine different locations throughout Pinellas County where the camps are held.

 They also have before and after care. For incoming 10-11^th graders there is a weeklong camp offered for free called Career Pathways Academy. This helps students think about career choices. www.spcollege.edu/c4k or call 727-341-3000.

Another fun camp in Seminole is Bauder Elementary School’s 13^th annual Summer Science Camp. This is a weeklong camp from July 14^th-17^th . It is hands-on science activities, computer technology and arts and crafts. This is for K-5^th grade and runs from 8:30 a.m to 3:30 p.m. Bauder teachers are the camp counselors.  If you are interested call Bauder’s office at 727-547-7829.

University of South Florida’s Continuing Education offers beginning reading programs throughout the county. Students meet once a week for five weeks for two hours. The cost for these classes is around $350 including materials.  You can find out more at usf.readingprograms.org or call 1-800-978-9596.

If you want to have your kids do some learning at home on the computer, the Pinellas County School Board’s web site www.pcsb.org offers quite a few learning programs on their web site. It is called Beyond the Classroom. “Our expectation is that students will spend a minimum of 30 minutes each week during the summer for grades K-2 and 60 minutes grades 3-5 in each application on the Beyond the Classroom web site. The purpose is to extend their learning from the school year,” said Pat Lusher, Director of Digital Learning for Pinellas County Schools.

 Lusher says students will need to have their Pinellas County School student username and password to log in. “Some of the most common sites are Ticket to Read, ST Math, FCAT Explorer and BrainPop.com,” said Lusher. This summer they will be adding a program for students to check out eBooks on their mobile devices or computers at home from several of their digital libraries. It’s called My Digital Backpack. There will be incentives for student participation to encourage students to become fluent readers.

Even though students are on summer vacation, make sure they don’t take a break from learning. Kids can have fun and learn at the same time.

Summer fun that won’t break the bank

As we get ready for the summer, I love to find fun stuff to do with the kids that’s inexpensive and sometimes even educational.  
My kids love to go to the movies and during the summer kid’s movies are $1 at the Regal movie theatres and the Regal Summer Express. The movies are for nine weeks on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. starting June 11^th. Some of the movies include Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Rio, Parental Guidance and Happy Feet Too. The movies are both G and PG.

This summer bowling is free for kids. It’s part of the Kids Bowl Free Program. You register your kids online at and each week you will receive tickets for your kids to bowl 2 free games a day of bowling. If you don’t have bowling shoes you will need to pay to rent the shoes. Otherwise it is free. You can’t beat that. We have done that the past few years and my girls have become quite the bowlers. Bowling Alleys across the United States participate. In Pinellas County the lanes you can bowl for free are:
Twedt's Bowling Center in Largo 727-581-4102 and Ten Pin Lanes in St. Pete 727-381-1010. Don’t forget to register. You must have your ticket.

We also enjoy going to the library. The library is free to go to and I found since I started taking my kids at a young age, they really enjoy looking at books and going to the library. During the summer most libraries offer special events during the week for the kids. In the Seminole Library it’s called Wonderful Wednesdays. On Wednesday they have special guests who come to the library and do shows for the kids.

When you are at the library pick up the Readingwith the Rays game card. If you child reads 24 hours this summer they can get a free regular season home game ticket. My girls have done this the past two years and we have a blast at the games.

The Barnes and Noble bookstore also encourages reading. They have a summer reading program that your child can get a free book by reading any eight books during the summer and recording them in a reading journal. This program goes until September 3^rd.

 We live in Florida so the beach is a perfect place to relax and take the kids for a swim. We forget sometimes how nice the beach is and how beautiful it is.

Something else we have a lot of in Pinellas County are parks. Some have playgrounds and some have trails. My favorite for taking my kids on the bike trail is Lake Seminole Park located at 10015 Park Boulevard in Seminole. The park is 250 acres and is designated as a wildlife habitat and sanctuary. The park’s trail is 2 miles. It winds through the flatwoods. We’ve been out there and have seen eagles and tortoises.

Another great place is the Boca Ciega Millenium Park at 12410 74^th Avenue N. in Seminole. This park has a 35-foot observation town that looks over Boca Ciega Bay. To get to the tower you walk on a beautiful boardwalk. The surroundings with the nature is so peaceful and relaxing.  And if you or your kids enjoy taking wildlife photos this is a picture perfect place to take them. The park also has a covered playground to provide shade, which is nice when it is so hot outside.

Did you know there are water parks around Pinellas and they are free. In Dunedin you can find a beautiful park called the Kiwanis Sprayground.

 

It is located at 1937 Ed Eckert Drive, Dunedin. This is an interactive 3,000 square foot water playground open daily from 9 a.m. to sunset. There is also free sprayground at Dell Holmes Park in St. Petersburg at 2741 22^nd Street South.

 

If you want to spend a few dollars you can enjoy the aquatic centers at some of the city recreation facilities. Largo’s Highland Family Aquatic Center just went under major renovations and will have a re-grand opening on June 8^th. This facility has waterslides and much more.

I have to add fishing to the list of things to do with your kids. My girls just started fishing this past year with my husband and love it. You can find quite a few places to go fishing all over Pinellas County, but have you taken your kids to the longest fishing pier in the world? That’s right the south Skyway State Fishing Pier is the longest.  The price to fish for kids is $2. Kids 5 and under are free. You do have to pay $4 per vehicle and adults are $4. It is a lot of fun and when kids catch fish there’s just something magical about it.

I know the summer can be long at times especially if you have kids that are on the go and most of us do. Here’s a least a few ideas that you can use that are enjoyable and affordable.

 

Visit Your Local Library

The library is full of fun for kids. Not only can they check out books and movies over the summer, but they can also win free things for reading.

Ask the librarian about the following:

The Tampa Bay Rays will give a ticket to a Rays game for reading 24 hours worth of books this summer. Click above for more information or visit your local library to sign up.

Taco Bell is giving kids a free taco and burrito for reading 10 books.

Disney on Ice is giving kids a free pass for Disney on Ice Sept 9-11th at the St. Pete Times forum for reading 5 books. Ask the librarian for your ticket.

Seminole Library Fun Wednesdays

The Seminole Library is offering Wonderful Wednesdays this summer beginning June 15th.
Each event starts at 2pm. It's a free event, but because space is limited the library distributes tickets an hour prior to the show.

June 15- Sula Donnolo- storyteller
June 22- Tampa Taiko Drums
June 29- Great Explorations Kid Chemistry
July 6- Fritzy Brothers Band
July 3- Florida Bat Conservatory
July 20- Play 'n Around Theatre Hansel and Gretel