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July 2007: Fun Summer Learning
During their summer vacation, young people who aren’t engaged in learning can lose some of the skills they developed in the school year. Fortunately, there are countless activities—both outdoors and inside—that offer fun summer learning opportunities for children, youth and adults. The following resources will help point parents and youth development professionals in the right direction.
KidsCamps.com
This Web directory highlights a wide variety of camps and summer experiences—in the area of sports, arts, adventure, special needs and much more—that will prove helpful for families, camp directors and camp staff.
School’s Out: Making the Most of the Long Summer 
This article from North Carolina Cooperative Extension explores how parents can maximize summer vacations with their school-age children by planning educational activities that don’t exist any other time of year.
Making the Most of Outdoor Time with Preschool Children
Developed by North Carolina State University and A&T State University’s Cooperative Extension Services, this article offers parents and child care providers some helpful hints for outdoor play.
Guide to Cooperative Games
The Freechild Project produced this insightful guide with a detailed how-to section for facilitators, as well as detailed descriptions of 30-plus games to teach team building, communication, problem solving and more.
National Recreation and Park Association
The National Recreation and Park Association Web site provides quality information on topics related to recreation and health.
The Smithsonian
The comprehensive Smithsonian Web site provides information on exhibitions, events, history, culture, art, design, science and more. The site includes links for children, teachers, volunteers and members.
National Geographic Kids
This kid-friendly Web site features a wealth of fun learning opportunities for kids—including a book club, experiments, activities, and sections devoted to animals, games, videos and stories.
The Yuckiest Site on the Internet
This Discovery Kids site highlights a range of yucky places for young people to explore. The site is both fun and educational, with plenty of science info for kids.
The Exploratorium
Online since 1993, the Exploratorium was one of the first science museums to build a Web site. The site now contains more than 18,000 pages that explore hundreds of different topics—everything from space weather to the origins of language.
The Creativity Portal
This inspirational Web site promotes the exploration and expression of creativity through arts, crafts, writing and play. Includes links for teachers to resources with free instructions, tutorials and projects.
Summer Activities for Teens
Produced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the article suggests fun, positive activities that teens can enjoy during the summer and throughout the year.
School’s Out: Beating the Boredom Blues
This fact sheet from North Carolina Cooperative Extension describes ways to reduce boredom over your children’s summer break.
For Other Hot Topics, check here.
