Message from Janice

Dear Parents,
Can it be that already 1/2 of the summer vacation has evaporated leaving only in its place memories of the lessons and activities we shared? Most of your children probably have been having a great time going to camps of many sources, having fun activities to do, and meeting and making new friends.

We’re still on our vacation to Canada inn the Boundary Waters between the US and Canada, just north of  International Falls, Minnesota, .Our cabin is in a  remote spot where we see few people and interact with even fewer. But  we are unlike the children. We don’ t mind being alone and when a neighbor asked if I were lonely, I was sorta surprised.  Having a job that keeps me with lots of others fills my need for social interactions. I’m not looking for others. I don’t need schools to be in so I get this social stimulation But the children, your children, they re different, They want to play with others, they want to make friends with newly acquainted people. They get bored easily and get lonely too. So even in the summer months when school is not in session, your children need opportunities to play and to be with other kids.And you comply by giving your kids chances to meet their social needs. You enroll them in summer camps which they mostly like and need.

A bonus of doing this is that you get to see some different schools during the summer months. While regular school is academically constructed, summer camps are usually socially sensitive. There are sometimes too many kids in summer classes but none-the-less you can see how the adults of a particular camp or school treat the kids in camp and extrapolate how they probably treat kids in general.
So while you have some free time this summer, take advantage of that and visit some schools. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words!

More later,
Janice Mattina
Founding Head