School’s Out, but That Doesn’t Mean Learning Has to Stop

Summer. Time for play and relaxation. But what can parents do to help their kids keep learning while school’s out?

Not to worry. Ventura County has plenty of activities to keep young minds active.

Libraries, museums, nonprofit organizations and businesses all offer programs, goods and services to help parents help their kids grow intellectually.

Libraries run by the county offer a free program called “Trek” that gives children of all ages some encouragement to read. Students are given cards and stamps to mark their progress, as well as a few perks such as a sports bottle for reading 25 books.

“The idea is to keep the kids reading through the summer and show them it’s fun and give them a little incentive to keep doing it,” said Donna Roff, the county’s west regional library manager.

Contact the local library for more information.

Libraries run independently by various cities, such as Santa Paula, Oxnard and Thousand Oaks, offer separate reading programs.

The program in Thousand Oaks is fairly extensive and includes reading programs tailored for different age groups, including toddlers as young as 18 months old. For more information on the Thousand Oaks program, call the children’s information desk at 449-2660, Ext. 213.

Bilingual educators recommend that students learning English as a second language should engage in a variety of activities to retain the English they learned during the school year. The child should practice speaking English constantly during the summer, said Cliff Rodrigues, director of bilingual education for the county schools superintendent’s office.

One idea, he said, is to have schools set students up with an fluent English-speaking child to write to as a pen pal or to chat with or send e-mails to during the summer. Rodrigues suggests reading books at the library, watching television and going to stores where they have to use English when making purchases.

Museums also offer programs designed to keep kids learning.

Every Wednesday at 4 p.m., for example, children can create art using recycled material at the Gull Wings Children’s Museum in Oxnard. This month, the program will focus on dinosaurs, encouraging kids to craft objects such as as dinosaur tracks and a 3-D rendering of the prehistoric creatures. On Tuesdays at 4 p.m., the museum reads stories to children.

The cost is $3.50 a person for each session. Admission for children younger than 2 is free. A $35 membership card is good for a family of up to 6 for one year. The museum is at 418 W. 4th St.

Some local bookstores also offer educational workbooks for purchase that students can use to keep learning at home. Bennett’s Educational Materials at 2897 Johnson Drive in Ventura, for example, sells several workbooks popular with parents. The Summer Bridge Activities books by Rainbow Bridge Publishing has workbook exercises that cover several subjects--math, reading, science and social studies--in one book. The workbook also includes a list of recommended reading.

Bennett also offers CD-ROMs, such as “Jump Start” produced by Davidson & Associates Inc., with activities that cover a variety of academic subjects for different grade levels.

Karen Laferney, the store manager, suggests parents also use games to teach their kids. One game sold at the store, “Tangoes,” uses geometric puzzle pieces to teach students math.

“Parents can play with the kids because kids are on their breaks and they don’t always want to work as hard,” Laferney said. For more information, call 644-4975.

Parents also can opt to send their children to private learning centers geared toward helping students gain confidence in math, reading or both.

One such business, Kumon Math & Reading Centers, started in Japan in 1958 and has since spread to 30 countries. Ventura County has centers in Ventura, Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo and Simi Valley.

The centers offer more of a long-term program. The instructors teach students on Monday and Thursday and require a 10- to 15-minute homework assignment completed on other days.

“We feel a little [homework] every day helps them with study and concentration,” said Katy O’Donnell, an instructor at the Kumon Center of Ventura.

The program focuses on developing speed and accuracy in reading and math skills. It costs $75 a month for each subject, in addition to a $35 registration fee.