2018 After School and Field Trip Guide
Special Advertising Section
Now that school is back in session, you may be looking for after school programs to help your children discover new interests and talents. Or perhaps you simply need ideas for things to do once the bell rings. We’ve got your covered!
Read on for a list of organizations guaranteed to keep kids engaged and excited about learning outside the classroom. Plus, you’ll find ideas for places to explore for potential field trips—perfect for the class during school hours or the family on the weekends.
KEY:
FT (great for a field trip!) | AS (great for after school activities!)
Boys & Girls Club (FT)
2250 N Detroit Ave, Toledo
419-241-4258 | bgctoledo.org
With a belief that success is within the reach of every child, the Boys & Girls Club works hard to provide a safe place where children can learn and grow through new experiences, various programs, and adult mentors. The club focuses on helping kids become productive, caring, and responsible citizens.Programs include Power Hour, an after school homework help program, Cadet Corps, a weekly brainstorm and goal setting session for kids 7-9 years old, Leadership Development clubs for kids of all ages, Computer Technology, Sports and Fitness, and Arts and Crafts.
Girl Scouts of Western Ohio Maumee Valley
2244 Collingwood Blvd, Toledo
513-619-1431 | gswo.org
A great way for girls and young women to experience adventure, success, and leadership opportunities is through Girl Scouts. Girls of all ages can get involved in engaging and fun activities such as outdoor opportunities, developing life skills, entrepreneurship opportunities, and involvement in STEM subjects. And, of course, this is a great way for girls to make lifelong friendships as well.
Toledo Turners Gymnastics (AS)
26280 Glenwood Rd, Perrysburg
419-873-0511 | toledoturners.com
Looking for a fun way for your son or daughter to get active after school? Toledo Turners are enrolling new students interested in gymnastics. This non-profit organization helps children to be physically active while building self-confidence in a fun way. Classes are organized by age and skill level. They offer competitive teams and cheer tumbling along with gymnastics classes, great ways for kids to burn off the extra energy built up during the school day.
The Toledo Ballet (AS)
5327 Monroe Street, Toledo
419-471-0049 | toledoballet.net
It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a seasoned dancer on your hands or a beginner, Toledo Ballet offers a wide range of dance classes for students of all ages and abilities, making it a great option for an activity after the bell rings this fall. Toledo Ballet offers classical and contemporary dance as well as conditioning classes (cross training for dancers or anyone who wants to stay in shape). Toledo Ballet also offers an adaptive dance class for children and young adults with Downs Syndrome. Call today for a tour of the state-of-the-art facility or to register for a class. The fall session starts September 4!
Simply Stated and Painted
2534 Parkway Plaza, Maumee
419-214-0224 | simplystatedandpainted.com
For the young artist, a visit to Simply Stated and Painted is a great after school activity. Visitors can choose from hundreds of ceramic pieces to paint. Select a mug, plate, figurine, ornament, or one of hundreds of other pieces and then apply paint and other supplied decorating elements. After the painting is complete, the piece is fired in a kiln and you can take it home. Painted pieces make great gifts! Simply Stated and Painted also hosts parties and painting classes.
After School All Stars (AS)
1500 N Superior St, Toledo
419-680-2821 | toledoasas.org
After School All Stars is a great after school program for Toledo area kids. The organization focuses on three main goals: academics, enrichment, and health & fitness. With academics the students can get extra support in core subjects like English and math. Enrichment focuses on providing kids with unique extracurricular opportunities that help build social, artistic, and emotional skills. Lastly, the focus on health & fitness teaches the benefits of living healthily.
Mini Motions (AS)
2437 Tremainsville Rd, Toledo
419-473-0999 | minimotionsdance.com
Mini Motions Dance Center is a great place for kids of all ages (even as young as 2) to gain confidence, coordination, balance, strength, listening skills, and social skills. Mini Motions specializes in classes which allow students to learn several dance styles. Classes are offered during the evenings from Monday-Thursday and Saturday mornings. Some of the dance styles that are offered include jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop, and lyrical/contemporary. Mini Motions also offers cheerleading and gymnastic classes.
YMCA of Greater Toledo
1500 N Superior St, Toledo
419-729-8135 | ymcatoledo.org
The YMCA of Greater Toledo has many opportunities for youth development at their numerous locations across the Toledo area. The Y allows kids and teens to explore their interests and discover new talents which naturally helps kids become more confident. One program is the Youth Opportunities Program which is an after school program for disadvantaged teens from 14-21 in Lucas County. The program offers tutoring, life skills training, work experience, mentoring, group events and field trips, financial advising, and so much more. In addition to Youth Opportunities, the Y also offers many youth sports opportunities, child care, and camps.
Toledo Zoo (FT, AS)
2 Hippo Way, Toledo
419-385-4040 | toledozoo.org
We are lucky to live in a city that has such an awesome zoo. The Toledo Zoo is a great place for both kids and adults to visit. With over 700 different species of animals, the zoo teaches kids to learn about the world around them. Be sure to also explore the aquarium which has a touch tank that allows kids an up close look at the ocean’s wonders. For an additional fee, visitors can sign up for Behind the Scenes Tours to see the zoo from the perspective of a zookeeper, an awesome opportunity for any kid with the plan to someday work with animals.
Olander Park (FT, AS)
6930 Sylvania Ave, Sylvania
419-882-8313 | olanderpark.com
Sylvania’s Olander Park is a great place for kids to play, learn, and explore nature surrounding them. Olander Park offers a 28 acre lake which is a great spot for fishing and boating. Additionally, a 1.1 mile paved path surrounds the lake which is nice for walkers, joggers, rollerbladers, and bicyclists. Kids will love the four playgrounds that the park offers, and older kids and adults can enjoy the two sand volleyball courts. The park also offers spaces to rent for weddings, meetings, and reunions.
Country Lane Tree Farm (FT, AS)
3525 N Bolander Rd, Genoa
countrylanetreefarm.com
Get everyone out of the house and spend a day down on the farm. Your whole group can explore the grounds, get up close and personal with the animals and even milk a cow! Country Lane Tree Farm is still a working agricultural and animal farm that has been owned by the same family for more than 126 years.
Toledo Botanical Garden (FT, AS)
5403 Elmer Dr, Toledo
419-536-5566 | metroparkstoledo.com/explore-your-parks/toledo-botanical-garden
The Toledo Botanical Garden is a beautiful 60 acres with numerous garden displays. The gardens offer many opportunities for visitors to learn about a variety of annuals and perennials. The gardens also host the Artisan Village which includes original sculptures located throughout the garden, and award-winning art available during the annual Crosby Festival of the Arts in June. Kids can explore nature through pioneer living activities, and hands-on plant exploration.
Sauder Village (FT, AS)
22611 State Route 2, Archbold
419-446-2541 | saudervillage.org
Put the cell phones down and take a step back to simpler times. At the historic Sauder Village, visitors explore what it would have been like to live from 1803 to 1928. Costumed guides may convince you that you are in a different era. Visitors can explore historic homes and shops, such as the one-room school house, Dr. McGuffin’s office, a printer, a cider mill, and much more. Craftsmen, located throughout the village, demonstrate working with glass, metal, fiber, wood, and clay. Also, be sure to stop by and visit the farmyard animals.
Johnston Fruit Farm (FT, AS)
2790 US-20 ALT, Swanton
419-826-1453 | johnstonfruitfarms.com
The fall is a perfect time to get out and enjoy a tour at Johnston Fruit Farms. The local, family-owned farm offers behind-the-scene tours to groups of 12 or more, hayrides, and a chance to pick pumpkins and apples. You’ll also find delicious peaches, apples, donuts, you-cut sunflowers and a free petting zoo. With a class of students or just your family, this is one farm you’ll want to visit.
The Kelsey Museum of Archeology (FT, AS)
434 South State Street, Ann Arbor
734-764-9304 | lsa.umich.edu/kelsey
The Kelsey Museum has a fantastic K-12 field trip program with tours and hands-on activities. Check out Kelsey’s popular Egyptian, Roman and Greek artifacts including objects from Karanis and Seleucia, a colorfully painted Egyptian mummy coffin, magical amulets from the ancient Near East, Greek pottery, and Roman sculptures. A special exhibit, running through January 6th 2019, called Urban Biographies, compares the evolution of Greece, Rome Turkey and (our local) Detroit to examine the cities and how they grow and change over time. Another perk—every dollar goes to the development of educational programming and resources for students and the community.
Toledo Museum of Art (FT, AS)
2445 Monroe St, Toledo
419-255-8000 | toledomuseum.org
The Toledo Museum of Art is an impressive museum which also offers free admission. Founded in 1901, the main purpose of the museum is to provide arts education. Not only can visitors learn about the artwork displayed throughout the museum, but TMA also provides youth and adult art classes, art demonstrations in the glass pavilion, and guided tours.
September 2018 Giveaway!
This month we’re giving one lucky reader a set of Strawbees, a creative construction kit that uses straws and connectors for limitless opportunities for building. Kids can build anything from a tiny pixie to a giant robot.
Working the Muscles Between Your Ears—Joe Gillen, Co-founder of Sylvania STEM Center (on FIRST LEGO League Robotics)
Healthy competition, working as a team, and losing gracefully are important traits for children to learn and experience, qualities that will carry them through their school years and into the workforce.
But what about children who aren’t athletes or have no interest in sports? Outside of athletics, extracurricular options are often limited. Joe Gillen recognized this quandary with his own children, and he, along with Tom and Crystal Burnworth, whom Gillen dubs “the brains behind it,”, formed Sylvania STEM.
Sylvania STEM
Sylvania STEM provides extracurricular science, technology, engineering, and math education through a joint partnership with FIRST LEGO league (FLL) programs.
Gillen explains, “FIRST robotics is based on a sports model, and 4th through 8th grade has competitive aspects.. Dean Kamen, billionaire philanthropist and inventor, saw [children’s] love for sports celebrities, and how they knew every name and statistic, but they couldn’t tell you a popular scientist or engineer.”
“Kamen then funded the 1989 FIRST competitive robotic organization,” Gillen continues. “The kids are on teams just like sports, up to 10 people, and the team is made up of all ages, both boys and girls. They are presented with a challenge every year, and that includes the robotic challenge and the research portion. Last year’s theme was all about water and how to develop an innovative solution using robotics.”
“One of my favorites quotes from Dean Kamen is, and I’m paraphrasing here, “Every child on every team can ‘go pro’ in robotics or science engineering. Less than 1% go pro in sports.”
Core values
Gillen adds, “As a parent, what really sold me was the FIRST core values; [they’re] woven into every aspect of the program. Basically, have fun, and [practice] gracious professionalism. Compete as hard as you can, but never ever at the expense of another team. If you have a problem and need a part, you can go to any other team and ask for help, and the teams will drop what they’re doing and help you. Really—just because that’s how the program is built. You learn teamwork and dealing with defeat and working with other people.”
Commited to the cause
In FIRST Robotics, Gillen asserts there is something for every child. While every member on the team must know about the robot and how it works, not all kids need to physically build the robot. Some children focus on the design work, others on outreach, and still others on computer programming.
Gillen spends hours with FIRST every week, and all of that time is completely volunteer work—he is not paid. He comes home every day around 4:30—he works full-time as an IT Help Desk Administrator at the University of Toledo—eats a quick dinner with his family, and then they’re all off to the Center.
All three of his children, Bailey (16), Sydney (13) and Emily (11), help out and volunteer, and they also participate on their own FIRST teams. During a slow stretch of the season, Gillen is “only” at the center 3 to 4 days a week. When the teams are preparing for competition, they can be there every day, including weekends.
What’s your favorite activity to do with your family? Robotics, that’s what we do.
Best holiday memory from when you were a kid? Tradition of going to different family’s houses for the holiday.
What’s your go-to activity when you have a few minutes to yourself? I don’t usually, but woodworking.
Describe your life in five words or less. Crazy busy, technologically-driven, volunteering.
What is your favorite Toledo hangout? Sylvania STEM Center!
Describe Toledo. Hardworking and dynamic.
sylvaniastem.org
3315 Centennial Road, Unit H
Sylvania, OH 43560
[email protected]
Good-Bye Summer, Hello Family Rhythm—Avoid Being Swept Away
If your house is anything like mine, over the past months many different plans have been justified by two simple words: “It’s summer!” Bedtime gets pushed back? “It’s summer!” Staying out later than normal eating pizza and ice cream on a Tuesday night? No problem… “it’s summer!” If summer equals impulsive outings, longer days, weekends or vacations away, September means the return to schedules. School schedules, sports schedules, pick-up and drop-off schedules. With all the requirements of a new school year, our tendency is to rush back to a “routine.”
Family rhythm
But how to make that routine meaningful? How can we bring the big issues in our lives to our kitchen tables? How can we talk to our kids and make connections for them that last? I think finding a meaningful family rhythm is more important than sliding back into a routine.
Routine is what you do yourself, individually, alone. Routine is how you get ready in the morning. It’s about when you brush your teeth. Routine is about when the coffee pot gets switched on.
Rhythm is something different. Rhythm is what we remember years from now. Rhythm is like waves in an ocean all moving together. It’s a song’s notes rolling to the same beat, or all the leaves on a tree, blown by the same breeze. And rhythm is what we want for our families. Not uniform routine, but a rhythm that has us all moving through the crazy schedules, together. Think about it this way: a rich, healthy family rhythm is what our kids will remember when they are grown.
So, how can we create rhythm for our families?
It all starts with values
Often in this space we talk about living our values, together as a family. How we spend our time, where we invest our attention, is all based on our values. Does your family value time together? Building a rhythm of family game nights, or “pizza & a movie nights” might be key to building a good family rhythm. Does your family value being active together? Taking family bike rides or going on long Saturday morning walks at a park might be the way to get started. Finding a good family rhythm assures that your values remain at the top of your household’s priority list.
Your “Yes” is a “No”
Identifying your values is so important to building a healthy family rhythm is because there are so many things competing for our time. To fully live our your values as a family requires discipline. And the best way I’ve come to think about discipline is realizing that your “yes” to one thing, is a “no” to something else. Being committed to family dinners together three or four nights a week has clear implications for what other routines individual members of your family can say ‘yes’ to. If you want to go on family walks every Saturday morning, saying “yes” to that, means you will most likely have to say “no” to the myriad of other Saturday morning opportunities. If your family wants to build a rhythm around supporting each other, saying “yes” to one child’s sports team might mean saying “no” to other activities. Our ability to say no to certain opportunities gives us a better chance to form meaningful rhythms for our families, with those choices rooted in our values.
So, as we move out of one season and into another, find a meaningful rhythm based on your values. And I hope you find the collective willingness as a family to say “yes” to what matters, and “no” to anything that might get in the way.
Little Hands Are For Building—How Screens Impact Young Children
“How adults monitor their own screen time in the presence of children often translates into how present they are with the children.”
Screens seem to be ever present, and as we click, sweep, and scroll through our lives, kids are becoming tech savvy earlier and earlier.
With so many games and apps available, it’s easy to place screens into little hands. Yet experts say there are good reasons to hold off. Diana Shepherd, PhD, says that for children under the age of five, there are few (if any) benefits from using screens—and potentially many harmful consequences. “Infants and toddlers cannot learn from traditional digital media as they can, and do, from interactions with caregivers,” explains Dr. Shepherd.
How they learn
Young children are wired to learn about the world through their senses. Thomas Kaut, a Montessori school administrator, serves children ages two through 12, explains, “Children are active learners. Viewing a screen does not provide the same learning opportunity as active exploration with their hands. You can always do better with blocks, sand, and water.”
When a child builds a tower with wooden blocks, she gains skills in all areas of development. She learns about shape, size, texture, weight, and spatial concepts as she picks up and places each piece. She counts and sorts her blocks. She repeatedly squats and stands, describes her structure, and negotiates with peers. In contrast, the click-and-drag virtual tower offers few of these learning opportunities.
Kaut worries that the more time young children spend with screens, the less time they’re engaged in real-life activities that support cognitive, physical, and social-emotional development. They aren’t moving their bodies, playing outside, and interacting with adults and other children. Problems such as language delay, obesity, and sleep disturbance have been linked to increased screen time and early exposure to screens.
They’re watching us
Young children need loving caregivers to sing, read, play, and cuddle with them. “The parent is the child’s first and most important teacher,” says Tami Winternitz, director of a preparation program for early childhood education (ECE) teachers. This means children also depend on parents to be good models. “How adults monitor their own screen time in the presence of children often translates into how present they are with the children,” Winternitz says.
Interruptions caused by our devices, can negatively impact parent-child interactions. Dr. Shepherd says that when the television is on, even in the background, parents spend less time talking to and playing with their infants. “Positive engagement is reduced when parents are distracted by their devices, diverting their attention to a text, media message alert, snapping photos, or watching television,” she says. What’s more, research indicates that when parents allow these technology-based interruptions, children often respond with negative attention-seeking behavior—whining, crying, clinging, or otherwise “acting out.”
Be mindful of content
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children under 18 months avoid screen exposure except for video chatting. For children up to five years, screen time should be limited to one hour per day of high-quality programming, viewed with an adult. “Letting children use media by themselves should be avoided,” says Dr. Shepherd, explaining that adults need to help children interpret what they are seeing and apply it to the real world.
In addition, parents must choose content carefully. On-screen violence can lead to increased aggression, particularly among boys. And young children whose media diet includes lots of fast-paced programming with multiple screen shifts (think SpongeBob), are at greater risk for attentional difficulties. “Parents must ask themselves,” says Dr. Shepherd, “What do I want my children to experience and learn from media, and how will this shape their thoughts, perceptions, emotions, and behaviors?”
Digital books should be previewed, too. Research has shown that distracting elements—sounds, lights, and animation—may decrease a child’s ability to follow the plot. But comprehension increases when an ebook is viewed with an adult and includes features such as word highlighting and repeatable text.
It’s helpful to note that there’s no harm in not exposing a young child to screens. Parents are often misled when toys and apps are marketed as “educational.” They want to provide every advantage, and many parents worry their children will be left behind without access to the latest technology. However, most research indicates young children do not benefit from using these products, and experts agree that kids learn best when reading books and doing other hands-on activities with their caregivers.
Setting boundaries
Though it’s tempting to hand a tablet or phone to a fussy, bored child, it should be avoided. “Using a screen as a babysitter or distractor may make the situation easier on the adult for that moment,” says Winternitz. “However, a screen will not likely provide what the child actually needs—food, rest, comfort, calm, support, or social interaction.”
Dr. Shepherd also cautions parents against using a screen as the go-to for calming a child—this can lead to problems with a child’s ability to self-regulate. As a busy mom to six children, she knows it’s not always easy. “But the patterns we establish early guide their behaviors as they grow up,” she says. “When they are young, that’s the time to invest in their future by making these choices and by making time to engage with them.”
Things to do without digital interference!
–Walk through your neighborhood without your phone. Comment on the weather, pets, vehicles, neighbors.
–Use texture—soft, rough, bumpy, slick—in your play time.
–Install a sandbox.
–Build a fort with cardboard boxes and blankets.
–Play old board games, like Hi Ho Cherry-O, Candyland or Chutes and Ladders.
–Create portable activity boxes (stickers, pipe cleaners, putty, paper and markers, small board books, dolls) for waiting rooms, restaurants, car rides.
–Pull a chair up to the sink and let your toddler play with bubbles while you make dinner.
–Watch old episodes of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, a great example of the slow-paced, prosocial content that’s appropriate for young children.
–Set ‘no-screen’ times and places (dinner table, bedtime routine).
–Talk to your child about what he’s feeling, and comfort him.
–Sing, dance, and read with your children.