MVSD hosted a two-week Kids Summer Fun Program at the Family Center, providing childcare support for District families and fun for students.
The program, for kindergarten through eighth grade students included hands-on engineering, robotics, science and math activities, art, ceramics, cooking, library time with read-alouds and literacy activities, games and recreational play. Breakfast and lunch were provided by the District’s Nutrition Services Department and included a weekly barbecue with grilled hamburgers and hot dogs.
According to Eva Robles, MVSD’s Coordinator of Community Schools and Extended Learning, the goal of the Kids Summer Fun Program is to provide enrichment for students and support for families.
“Summertime can be difficult for working families with young children so this program helped fill a need for our community by providing a safe, fun, enriching place for our students. Students were grouped by grade levels, Kinder to 2nd grade, 3rd to 5th grade and 6th to 8th grade and each group rotated through three sessions daily completing fun hands-on activities.”
From cooking cheesecake, making a ceramic mug, building a foam glider and testing its distance, enjoying story-time, painting tiles and playing basketball, students had a great time in the program.
“It’s a lot of fun coming here,” said Isabella. “There are so many fun activities to do and I really like the cooking.”
Supported by Windtree Education, the cooking lessons focused on kitchen safety as students followed recipes learning about ingredients, measurements, and the importance of making food look appetizing.
“We made chips and guacamole yesterday that were really good,” said Xavier. “We cut the tortillas into triangles and cooked them in the air fryer. Today we’re making Cheesecake with berries, it should be good too.”
At the end of the program each student received their own set of measuring cups and measuring spoons to take home, as well as a chef’s hat and apron.
The District was happy to provide the support to families during the last few weeks of summer as everyone gears up for the start of the school year on August 17.