Tag: summer

Categories
Summer Camps

Summer is the Best Time to Try Something New

By John Trout
Director of Summer Camps, Lakehill Preparatory School

Kids love summer, and why wouldn’t they? Vacations, fun in the sun, and the best part (if you’re a kid) no school! Parents and teachers know, though, that summer can also mean “brain drain,” and it feels like kids forget half of what they learned in the past year! What’s a parent to do?

The secret to keeping those brain cells is to keep kids learning, but that doesn’t have to mean endless drills and remediation.  Learning a new craft or game, telling or creating stories, solving puzzles, and exploring the world around us keeps kids’ brains active and growing.  And, nothing flexes mental muscles better than trying something completely new.

Summer camps are a great place to do all of these things! Camps like Lakehill’s “Strung Together” and “Simply Stitchery” camp introduce campers to crochet and string arts. “Is it Art or Is It Science?” invites campers to use critical thinking to interpret novel situations. “World Building 101” takes a scientific look at planet and solar system formation to imagine realistic science fiction and fantasy worlds. Camps like these will have kids learning all summer long, even when they think they’re just having fun.

Find out more at lakehillprep.org/summer-camps.
Categories
Summer Camps

Camps are for Kids

By John Trout
Director of Lakehill Summer Camps

I know it’s only February, and summer seems like a distant dream, but here at Lakehill summer camp preparations are in full swing! Calendars are being set, camp descriptions are being finalized, and the Lakehill Summer Camps staff is busy planning a summer full of fun and adventure.

As this process unfolds, a single thought keeps coming back to me: I wish I were a kid again!
This year’s camp lineup looks fabulous! Minecraft, Community Connections, LEGO Engineering, Destination Dallas, and other perennial favorites are all lined up and ready to go, but it’s the new kids on the block that have me really excited!
Farm to Table takes a close look at the sources of our food, giving kids a tasty lesson in going local. Brain Freeze explores the world of science at its coldest. Mutants, Marvels, and Superheroes examines our classic super heroes and super villains, and guides kids into creating their own. Waffle Iron Cooking promises to do some amazing things with…you guessed it…just the lowly waffle iron.
These quirky, new, outside-the-box camps are exactly the kind of camps I would have enjoyed as a kid, and I’d love nothing more than to roll back the clock and sign up! I’m so thrilled at the creativity and energy that our summer camp teachers have put into their camps already, and I can’t wait to see their ideas unfold as the months roll on.
Our full summer camp catalog is available here, and camp registration goes live on February 20.  You can register here. And, sorry…these camps are only for kids!
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Categories
Family and Community

Season of Reflection

By Roger Perry
Headmaster, Lakehill Preparatory School

As the school year comes to a close, I fondly recall so many wonderful memories of talking with children, meeting with adults, and celebrating successes, both large and small. My wife has reminded me throughout our marriage of forty-plus years that it truly is the small things that count. She has always been right in this regard.

Recently, I was fortunate to observe several senior internship reports, where our newest graduates spoke of their experiences in professions they are considering for the future. Much of what they learned may have been small, but it helped them as they are progressing in their development. The professionals in our community who worked with them described them as confident, compassionate, friendly, articulate, respectful, and hard working. Those impressions of our students brings me great joy, and is something of which we should all be proud.

It also brings a smile to my face when I think about some of the remarkably funny (and often remarkably profound) things that have been said to me during the course of a school day by children. As we enter what I call the Season of Reflection, I encourage you to create opportunities for the little things in your life this summer. Your children, no matter what age, will only have the Summer of 2014 this one time. Cherish the time you have with your children and enjoy the amazing and wonderful things they will say to you. No matter what year this is in your life, consider this the best year and make this summer the best summer ever.

Summertime is for children and all of us – if we look deep enough – have a little bit of child left in us. Enjoy the wonder of summer and make memories that will last a lifetime.

Categories
Uncategorized

Summer

By Patti Brooks
Lower School Coordinator, Lakehill Preparatory School
SUMMER is such a HAPPY word!  It just makes us all feel good to think about the carefree times, no matter what our age!
Summer days in my childhood meant being told “to go ride my bike and not to come back until dinner.”  I even took a sack lunch (always with a giant dill pickle) to the park and just fooled around with my friends.  No one worried about us and if we saw a stranger, we waved!
Summer for children in 2014 is different than it was in my growing up years.  They have a multitude of wonderful camps (like Lakehill’s Summer camps) to enjoy. Children have many great opportunities for travel to broaden their experiences and enjoy their families away from home. They have computer games and technological devices to entertain them. The children are definitely “kept busy” more than we were in the 1950’s.
One thing remains the same, however, and I think it is the most important thing for children to do in the summer…..that is to READ!!  Summer reading is assigned to many Lakehill students, but reading for pleasure or having parents read to their children is also very valuable. The habit of daily reading that is established during the school year should be continued as much as possible.  This was true in the “old days” just as much as it is now. Regular reading is how children learn new vocabulary, learn about other cultures, learn how to do something, or just enjoy leisure time!
Please, please set up a routine in your home to encourage daily reading if you have school age children.  ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!
Categories
Summer Camps Uncategorized

Arts and Crafts: A Staple of Summer

By John Trout
Lakehill Preparatory School, Director of Summer Programs

Arts and crafts have been a staple of summer camps and programs for so long that it’s easy to forget why the tried and true keep coming back around.

The truth is, there’s a special kind of joy, unlike any other, that comes from seeing a project you’ve been working on for an extended period of time come to completion. After the finishing touch is added, you examine the fruits of your labors from all angles, taking pride in the fine details added so painstakingly, and revel in the fact that through your hard work there is something new in the world.

As Director of Summer Programs at Lakehill Preparatory School, I get to see kids, every summer, experience that special joy. Whether kids are learning to weave colorful baskets in our Dream Weavers camp, bringing new life to an old favorite object in Stars, Stripes, and Sparkles, or experimenting with new stencils or Mod Podge decoupage glue in Crafting Innovation, the start is the same: tentative and careful, as the ideas are slowly forming in the crafter’s mind. Then, as vision becomes reality, the pace speeds up, the artist’s strokes are more confident, and the work becomes feverish. Lastly, work slows down again as the final tweaks are made, and that’s when you see it, that special joy.

You know that the artist has plans already; a gift for mom, dad, or a grandparent, a special place on the windowsill, or a spot of honor on the hallway wall may be its destiny.

About Lakehill Summer Camps

Lakehill Summer Camps are unique in offering quality, teacher-led camps at an affordable price, with free before-camp and after-camp care available every day.

Lakehill Summer Camps offer programs for boys and girls entering kindergarten through grade 12, with weekly sessions beginning June 9 and ending August 8, 2014.

In addition to science camps, Lakehill offers a variety of camps in LEGO, Minecraft, visual and performing arts, crafting and building, film making, and more.

There are a variety of sports camps, including cheerleading, tennis, disc golf, soccer, and basketball.

Young minds can stay sharp over the summer with fun camps in reading, writing, mathematics, and technology, or get a leg up preparing for kindergarten, fourth grade, or Middle School.

Altruistic campers can spend a week volunteering in the Community Connections Camp. With 85 different camps available, there truly is something for everyone.

Camps are $220 per week for a half-day session, and $295 per week for a full-day session. Free before-camp and after-camp care is available.

Camps will be offered at both the Main Campus and at the Alice and Erle Nye Family Environmental Science Center. Online registration is now open and programs are filling fast. More information and easy online registration is available at http://www.lakehillprep.org/summer_camps.html.

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Categories
Summer Camps

Summer Fun at Lakehill

By Patti Brooks
Lower School Coordinator, Lakehill Preparatory School

Picture this…..it is Friday, May 23 and the last day of school for your child…

Everyone is so excited because after today, summer is finally here! No more scurrying around in the mornings, fixing lunches, looking for lost homework, searching for the other shoe…!

Now, fast forward to two weeks later and it is June 6.  The kids wake up and say, “What are we going to do today?” Or worse, “I’m bored!” How long have you been hearing that already and is there a solution?

I KNOW…..LAKEHILL SUMMER CAMPS TO THE RESCUE!

From my own personal experience, I have seen that these camps are terrific!  They are all taught by caring, well trained, fun-loving, certified teachers. From science, filmmaking, and outdoor adventure to academics, performing and visual arts, and sports, parents will find camps that will turn summer into a learning adventure for their children.

Lakehill Summer Camps meet the needs of parents who need full day supervision (offering FREE before and after care).  Campers can attend a half-day camp or a full-day program at such an affordable price. Go online to Lakehill’s website to access the Summer Camp Guide as well as easy online registration. There were nearly 200 sign-ups in the first two days alone, so it is important to register now and not wait!

The biggest challenge will be in making your choice…..so many fun camps are available.  (I bet your child would love to be part of the decision making, too.)

So, I predict the next time your child will say, “I’m bored” will be on Monday, August 11, when there are no more fun Lakehill camps for Summer 2014!

To make it easy, you can find out more and register at http://www.lakehillprep.org/summer_camps.html.

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Categories
Family

Summertime

By Roger L. Perry
Headmaster, Lakehill Preparatory School

As we prepare to enter the summer phase of our lives, it is important to remember the opportunities that summer affords us for family memories. A summer pace is very different from the pace during the school year. Deadlines and activities follow a much more fluid schedule during the summer months.

It may seem unusual but my memories of summer, as a youngster, focus on the little things and certainly things that were unplanned. My family took big vacations and enjoyed significant adventures; however, the exploring of the unknown and playing with my brother stand out as highlights. The imagination enhanced by lying in the yard, watching the clouds float lazily past our small town, consumed hours of daydreaming about the past and especially about the future. I think all of us, children and adults alike, could benefit from more time to daydream, to explore our thoughts, and to imagine our world as it could be rather than how it is for most of us.

The older I get the more I have begun to appreciate the concept of time and how valuable it is to each of us. The interesting thing about the value of time is the fact that having some unscheduled time may be very good and our over scheduling may cause us to miss some of what is most important in our lives. So, I encourage you to make room for some unscheduled time this summer. A family walk or a family talk may provide you with an amazing summer memory. Each of us finds our own way to slow the pace. If you can’t think of anything, grab a blanket and lie in the yard and watch those puffy clouds float across the sky. Try it. Who knows, you might find something exciting that you were not even looking for, among the clouds and the stars.

Enjoy your summer holiday!

Categories
Seasons

Slow Down for Summer

By Roger L. Perry
Headmaster, Lakehill Preparatory School 

This has been a very special year, as Lakehill celebrated its 40th anniversary. Of course, every year is special as it signals the completion of another step for each of us in our lives. The steps obviously mean different things for each of us and the significance of those steps will be measured when we reflect on the path we have traveled.

Now it is summertime and life’s schedule allows for some modification. Let me once again encourage you to try as hard as you can to take a little time over the next few months of summer and enjoy some time with your children.

One suggestion comes from my early years growing up in West Texas. My family – children and adults alike – would get a blanket and lie down in the front yard, looking at the stars that make up our universe and letting our imaginations and sense of wonder run wild. Our conversations during these events far exceeded any television program we might have missed.

So be creative and watch the waves of a local lake or find a state park and follow a trail with no idea of your final destination. As my wife Virginia often reminds me, it is the little things that matter. I encourage you to appreciate the little things this summer as they are the ones that you and your children will remember forever.

Remember that summertime is for children and that all of us – if we just look deep enough – have a little bit of child left in us. Enjoy all of your summer experiences and I will look forward to welcoming you back in late August!