Weekly Media Roundup: June 20, 2018

Campers build confidence at Bricks 4 Kidz (The Bakersfield Californian, California)

At a day camp in Bakersfield, children spend their days building all kinds of structures with LEGO® bricks, learning STEM concepts along the way. With a different theme to inspire them each week, campers at Bricks 4 Kidz use the LEGOs® to build ever-more-complicated designs, making friends along the way. Marisa Wilkins, mother of seven-year-old Landon, a participant in the program, told The Bakersfield Californian, “He has become a whole new child. He's confident, has friends now and has improved dramatically academically; he is almost completely caught up grade level-wise and is excelling in math and science subjects because of Bricks 4 Kidz.”

Brain Gain Program Keeps Learning Alive During Summer (The Newnan Times Herald, Georgia)

In Newnan-Cowetta, the Boys & Girls Club’s summer learning program is in full swing. In 2013, the club introduced Brain Gain, its new summer learning initiative, to combat what some refer to as the “summer slide” – when children lose months of academic skills while school is out. In Summer Brain Gain, low-income students are taught one-week modules designed to mirror Common Core education standards in subjects including literacy, science and math. “I feel like (the Boys and Girls Club) can be the liaison to help children learn in the summer, so that they can be successful in life,” Tyler Reid, teen instructor for the Boys and Girls Club of Newnan-Coweta, told The Newnan Times Herald.

Life Lab Grows Gardeners Through ‘The Power of Garden-Based Learning’ (Santa Cruz Sentinel, California)

In Santa Cruz County, California, the nonprofit Life Labs has cultivated gardens for several schools to use for garden-based learning. A Life Lab is a place where students can marry their academic and practical knowledge to cultivate plants for their school while learning about science, nature and the environment in a real-life setting. As John Fisher, director of program and partnerships for Life Lab Science Program told the Santa Cruz Sentinel, “Being in an outdoor setting and outdoor classroom can open up kids in ways that we never expect.”

Sustenance: Four Food Establishments Dish Up Affordable Food for Summer School (West Hawaii Today, Hawaii)

Restaurant owners in West Hawaii have banded together to provide more affordable meals to children in the From Mauka to Makai summer school program. Funded in part by a 21^st Century Community Learning Centers grant, the program is open to children across the islands – but the grants could not be used to pay for food for the children as well. So program organizers approached local establishments to resolve the issue, and many restaurants were happy to help by providing healthy, inexpensive meals for the children. “These lunches are way better than the school I go to. The food seems fresher and there are more choices,” Mistee Beaudet, a sixth grader, told West Hawaii Today.