Summertime is still learning time

Published 8:00 am Saturday, May 21, 2016

The end of the academic year has come to a close for Baldwin County Schools and John Milledge Academy, as both are celebrating graduations this weekend. Other area school systems will follow suit next week.

For most students, their attention now turns to summer break.

There are a host of local summer activities available to keep young minds active and learning during the summer months, even when they are away from school. While some activities have a cost, others are accessible for free and potentially go a long way in keeping children active, engaged and, most importantly, learning even while outside the classroom.

Keeping their minds active as they have fun promotes continued learning even outside the confines of a classroom, and may go a long way in contributing to their success during the school year.

These kinds of activities not only have benefits academically, they also help foster important life skills, and have fun at the same time. There’s also the socialization factor, where these young participants learn to engage with their peers, sometimes youngsters from other schools or neighborhoods that they may otherwise have never interacted with. These activities are prime opportunity to help them nurture current friendships, while also making new ones.

Young people who read recreationally and are engaged in learning activities outside of school often fare better in the classroom than their peers who don’t, and the summer vacation lull with little or no learning activity may minimize reading skills.

Whether it’s the library’s Summer Reading Club, Vacation Bible School, Allied Arts programs, the Y.E.S. program, recreation and athletic camps, the Boys & Girls Club or countless others, these months offer a chance for young people to be exposed to programs some would otherwise never have an opportunity to experience.

Summer youth programs are vitally important and can go a long way in developing skills that often carry over from one school year to the next and hopefully show up in the form of classroom achievement as well.

Summer youth programs are vitally important and can go a long way in developing skills that often carry over from one school year to the next and hopefully show up in the form of classroom achievement as well.