June 28, 2000
College for Kids: Everything from pickles to paella
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
What do pickles and beetles, pawns and paella have in common?
A host of eager young learners, who are spending their summer days learning about everything from creepy, crawly critters and pickling basics to chess and Spanish language and culture.
Last week, in its first week, College for Kids featured courses on pickles, bugs, chess, Spanish and pottery. This week, the sky's the limit as Northwestern Michigan College's annual summer enrichment program offers more than 25 courses, with topics ranging from drawing to scuba diving to volcanoes and mountains. The College for Kids offers more than 100 courses in all, drawing nearly 1,000 students this summer.
The Clayton sisters, Kelly, 10, and Kendra, 9, both completed the "Aqui Se Habla Espanol" last week. The course took them on a tour of Spanish-speaking countries in Central and South America. Using games, videos and projects, the teacher introduced her students to topics such as food, language, culture and daily life during this week-long course.
"The teacher makes it fun, she plays games with Spanish," said Kelly, who took art classes with the College for Kids last summer.
For the 21st year, kids ages 4-18 have a huge variety of educational choices - with a healthy dose of summer fun thrown in. Topics such as shelter building, kayaking orienteering and hiking courses will take students outdoors while drama, sculpture, bookmaking and party planning will keep them in.
The College for Kids program started out as an enrichment program geared to gifted and talented students recommended by their teachers. Over the years it evolved into general offerings open to all school-age students.
"The kids taking these courses, it sparks their interest," said Carol Evans, director of extended educational services at Northwestern Michigan College. "Whatever they do in the summer, all these classes offer something for them. For example, students in the Creepy, Crawly Critters class will look at bugs a whole different way all summer because they took the course."
This year, the College for Kids offers 43 new classes. The college has also expanded its offerings for teens, acknowledging that not all kids ages 14 plus work full time. It is also offering a week-long Kids on Campus summer camp, which features a concentrated block of courses during morning and afternoon sessions for students in first through eighth grades.
"The kids get classroom fun and a learning activity," Evans said. "It is not just content for the sake of content or activity for the sake of activity. These courses keep the kids' neurons firing the summer."
Many of the teachers in College for Kids are teachers on their summer break. Others are local professionals who have an area of expertise or passion they want to share. Some veterans have been with the program more than 15 years while others are new this year bringing a new course with them.
This will be the second summer that Donna Shugart has taught Internet Adventures for children in grades 7 and up. Calling herself a computer hobbyist, she teaches her students the basics of navigating the Internet safely, using the Internet for research and setting up and using an e-mail account.
"I do this because I feel quite passionate about teaching children safe surfing on the Internet," said Shugart, a business owner and musician who has also worked as an instructional aid in computer labs at Traverse City Area Public Schools. "They are so eager to be on the computer that they love it and we do a nice mix of fun things and educational things."