Making learning fun
Summer campers at three parks in Butler, as well as Alameda Park, are getting some extra attention from two seasoned professionals.
Butler Area School District is adding an educational component to the longtime kids' program by providing two teachers.
“A lot of the kids we serve struggle academically,” said Bill Halle of the Grace Youth and Family Foundation. “Just having the ability to revisit (academics) through active learning and reading is just huge in getting them geared back up for school.”
Halle has been holding summer camps for 21 years at various parks in the city, and has partnered with city council in providing the camps for the past five years.
Youths who are city residents aged 6 to 13 years can attend summer camp at Institute Hill playground, Father Marinaro Park or Rotary Park from noon to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The camps, which attract 200 to 250 children each summer, started June 14 and will wrap up Aug. 13, Halle said.Adding the 30-minute presentation or activity by Lee Dittman, an elementary school teacher in the Butler Area district, is very beneficial to campers, he said. He said Dittman is an expert at engaging campers of all ages in her lessons, activities and presentations.“All teachers can't do that, but Lee does a great job keeping the kids' attention,” Halle said.This year, six experienced camp counselors graduated from college and moved on to regular jobs, so the camps are overseen by younger college students, he said.“We have a young staff, so it works great having a teacher come,” Halle said.
The school district also provides a “Bookstop” once per week at the city camps, where campers can select two or three books to take home for free.Halle is always amazed at the number of books available to campers at the weekly Bookstops.“They come to the parks with bins and bins of books,” he said. “Many times, the kids will get the books and sit down and start reading immediately.”Typical activities at the city camps include arts and crafts, card games that improve math skills, basketball, kickball, soccer and a snack, but the addition of a teacher visit has greatly improved the program.About 100 campers also take part in the pool program at city camps, in which they are bused to the Alameda Park pool and water park twice per week.“We couldn't continue to do the camps without the partnership of the Butler Area School District, the city and the county parks and recreation department,” Halle said.
Lance Welliver, director of the county parks and recreation department, said 2021 marks the second year he has collaborated with Butler Area to have a teacher visit his camps.He said science teacher Ben Rittenhouse excels at creating curriculum that fits with Camp Alameda's weekly themes.“We feel like its a great addition to what we offer here,” Welliver said of the teacher program.Camp Alameda offers one camp a week to youths ages 5 to 12 in various areas at Alameda Park.Welliver said Rittenhouse tries to make his 30 to 45 minutes with the campers as interactive as possible by having them build a small project or participate in an activity.“We try to keep the kids engaged as much as possible,” he said.Welliver hopes teachers will continue visiting the camps in future programs.“It's a great addition we're able to offer the campers,” Welliver said. “It's been a great partnership for the last two years.”
Tanya Lewis, Butler Area's instructional literacy coach and summer camp coordinator, said in addition to the academic aspect of the program, campers experience social/emotional learning as well.She said studies have shown that students without confidence or skills, such as setting goals and building relationships, have a harder time learning.“Significant learning is not happening without those skills,” Lewis said.The skills are built into the interactive, engaging lessons the teachers bring to the camps, she said.The school district buys all the materials needed for Dittman and Rittenhouse to complete their lessons at the camps.The books given out at weekly in the Bookstop program are collected through book drives during the school year, Lewis said.She said the two summer camp programs are beneficial to the students from the district who attend them.“It's exciting that we have this opportunity to collaborate with both the city and the county to help our students and support our learners,” Lewis said.
