Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County Combats Learning Loss with Summer Brain Gain

boys girls clubs thurston county
Science experiments foster critical thinking and discovery as part of Summer Brain Gain activities.
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By Lisa Herrick

boys girls clubs thurston county
Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County serves school aged kids throughout Lacey, Tumwater, Olympia and Rochester.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America contends that most youth lose about two months’ worth of math skills during summer, but low-income youth also lose more than two months’ worth of reading skills while their middle-class peers make slight gains. Keeping kids’ brains stimulated during summer is a challenge for any parent, but for many low-income and disadvantaged families who do not have the financial means to send their kids to summer programs, the learning loss their children experience over the summer is even greater. By the end of fifth grade, disadvantaged youth are nearly three grade equivalents behind their more affluent peers in reading. When left unaddressed, summer learning losses can stack up from year to year, causing low-income children to fall further and further behind, ultimately endangering their chances for high school graduation.

Summer Brain Gain is a program specifically designed for Boys & Girls Clubs to prevent summer learning loss and foster critical creative-thinking skills. The program engages youth to learn through discovery, creative expression, group work and a final project, so they don’t fall behind in the summer. Composed of one-week modules with fun, themed activities for elementary school, middle school and high school students, Summer Brain Gain offers an interactive approach to hands-on summer learning.

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A common focus of Summer Brain Gain is reading to ensure kids do not fall behind in their reading abilities over the summer.

“Within Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County, each of the local branches is able to tailor Brain Gain to their local area and kids’ interest. We want to excite kids about education in the most fun ways possible. Over the course of last summer over 300 kids were served through educational enrichment opportunities at Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County,” explains Shellica Trevino Director of Operations. Summer Brain Gain will be offered through the local branches in Lacey, Tumwater, Olympia and Rochester. Last summer each of the clubs presented a slightly different focus.

Reading was the big hit in Lacey. Kids took field trips to the Lacey Library and registered for library cards. Each day participants had opportunities to read, discuss books and complete book related activities. For example, the children wrote poems after reading The Velveteen Rabbit. “Comics are very popular in the Lacey Club, so we sure to incorporate comics as reading options,” shares Kirk Van Irvin, Lacey Club Education Program Staff.

In Rochester the focus was science. Each day the kids had an opportunity to work on different experiments such as making gak a slimy putty, combine soda and Mentos, make play dough, build marshmallow architectural structures, as well as time to read.

boys girls clubs tumwater
A favorite activity at the Tumwater Branch of Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County Summer Brain Gain was the Wonder Wall where kids posted questions and answers on topics of curiosity.

According to Kaila Rants, Education Room staff in Tumwater Club, “The Tumwater kids loved the ‘Wonder Wall,’ which is a wall where they could write questions on subjects they were curious about. Then other kids who knew about the topic would write back to answer the questions. If no one knew the answer the staff would let the kids wonder on it a bit then would help them research it.” The Tumwater Club also included a science session. They designed cloud formations to investigate rain fall activities and built structures to protect eggs from breaking when dropped from a balcony.

At the Olympia Club, each week had a theme such as Mad Scientist Week where the kids built volcanoes and learned about volcanoes from an educational video produced by National Geographic. Mike Babauta, former Olympia Club Director shares, “I was hesitant to offer the volcano activity thinking it has been over used. But the kids were absolutely thrilled to build and then see their volcanoes erupt. The finale of the week was the kids getting to dress up as mad scientists.”

Boys & Girls Club of Thurston County is only able to offer Summer Brain Gain and other Summer Camp programs because of crucial funds raised during one of its two main fundraisers, the Foundation for the Future breakfast, held on May 28, 2015 at the Saint Martin’s University Marcus Pavillion.

Christine Hoffmann Communications & Events Manager explains, “The Foundation for the Future breakfast helps us raise about 20% of our overall operating budget which funds activities for over 2,700 kids per year in Thurston County. Our programs are focused on three overall outcomes which are academic success, healthy lifestyles, and good character and citizenship. We hope to raise $325,000 at the breakfast via donations from attendees and from the support of our matching fund partners Titus-Will Family Foundation, Bruno & Evelyne Betti Foundation, and the Jernigan Foundation. We are thrilled to have the 1964 Olympic Gold Medalist 10,000 meter runner as our keynote. His story of overcoming all odds to be a game changer for the USA Olympic team is phenomenal.”

Visit Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County website to learn more about Summer Brain Gain and Foundation for the Future breakfast.

 

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