Summer Program Summary

Thank you so much for participating in Enrichment Counts' very first series of summer learning programs!  It was very rewarding to see children so engaged and excited to do all the hands-on learning activities from painting the class castle to playing Continent Twister.  Your positive feedback about the type of learnng provided and your children's desire to return each day has helped me to make the decision to provide more of these programs next summer.  Please watch the website throughout the year to check on updates and please let me know about topics you are interested in seeing offered.  I will check for your       comments regularly. 

~Thank you to the teachers~

Brittany Littlefield for delivering a highly motivating science program which had whole families spending their evenings playing with quicksand and testing Galileo's and Aristotle's theories of gravity and density.

Elizabeth Stegmayer for introducing students to the many historical  resources available right in our own town as they produced their own digital documentaries of two Saugerties ghost stories. 

~Thank you to the volunteers~

Heike Klier  for helping individual students create everything from medieval knights to Leaning Towers of Pisa, and for sharing her German heritage with us

Karen Squires for creatively compiling and copying our EPCOT Week recipes for families, and for sharing her knowledge about life in Japan with us

Iwona Mills for helping children perfect their castle puppets and for sharing her Polish heritage with us

Michael Sullivan Smith for showing students how to use tax and insurance maps located in the library to research their own family history

Marjorie Block, Village Historian for giving us a tour and sharing all her knowledge of the Kiersted House

Audrey Klinkenberg, Town Historian for showing students how to use the library history room records to research their own family history

Bob VanBuren for modeling proper flag folding to students and educating them about a day in the life of a soldier
Anna Catalfomo for teaching students an introduction to juggling during Castle Week
Dolores VanBuren for her assistance with painting EPCOT projects

Key Club students Shannon Averill and Veronica Rell for their assistance during castle week

Thank you to St. Mary of the Snow Parish for the use of a wonderfully large, air conditioned space for the programs!! 

 

 

 

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Enrichment Counts

Creative, theme based summer learning programs for children entering grades 1-6...right here in Saugerties!!

SUMMER 2011

Program Guide

Grades 1-6

July 11-15 & July 18-22

St. Mary of the Snow Parish Hall 23 Cedar Street, Saugerties

Enrichment Counts is designed to enhance children’s learning through motivating, project-based activities which allow them to explore a specific topic in depth. During the summer programs, children will be immersed in a topic, learning about it through everything from physical activities and games to research and art projects. At the end of each program, parents will be invited in to see how the children have merged their knowledge with their creativity.

Theresa Costello is a certified K-6 teacher with 15 years of teaching experience. She has always enjoyed maximizing student learning by offering motivating, project based activities and looks forward to offering more enrichment programs in the future.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

July 11-15

CASTLE WEEK

Children entering grades one and two will work together to design, paint, and decorate a castle which will serve as a set for our end of the week presentation of castle characters. Through group instruction and small group work, children will learn about the roles of the different people who lived in medieval castles and create their own puppets of those people to introduce to you on Friday. Outdoor castle games will be played between project work sessions throughout the week. Be sure to wear your paint clothes!!

AGES: entering grades 1 and 2

PLACE: St. Mary of the Snow Parish HallDATES: July 11-15

TIME: 9:00am-12:00pm

COST: $110 per child

INSTRUCTOR: Theresa Costello, certified K-6 Teacher

MAXIMUM CLASS SIZE: 15

WACKY SCIENCE!!

Have you ever wondered how slime is made…. or better yet, what makes slime so gooey? How is your tongue able to taste so many different things? What makes soda fizz? Become real scientists as we experiment with, research, and use the scientific method to solve these wacky mysteries. On Friday, the mysteries will be unveiled during a simple exposition for parents. Be sure to bring a smock or wear old clothes… this could get a little messy!

AGES: entering grades 3 and 4

PLACE: St. Mary of the Snow Parish HallDATES: July 11-15

TIME: 1:00-4:00pm

COST: $110 per child

INSTRUCTOR: Brittany Littlefield, certified 1-6 Teacher

MAXIMUM CLASS SIZE: 15

PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

July 18-22

EPCOT IN SAUGERTIES!!

Pick your favorite country and let’s get creative! Using our shared knowledge, research skills, and plenty of appliance boxes, we will apply our geographical knowledge to creating our own small version of Epcot. At the end of the week, parents will be able to visit and learn about each country from you, the experts. Wear your sneakers so we can play some international outdoor games as we go along!

AGES: entering grades 3 and 4

PLACE: St. Mary of the Snow Parish HallDATES: July 18-22

TIME: 1:00-4:00pm

COST: $110 per child

INSTRUCTOR: Theresa Costello, certified K-6 Teacher

MAXIMUM CLASS SIZE: 15

HALLOWEEN IN JULY!

Come investigate Saugerties history and its spookiest stories by meeting a town historian, researching the town's archives, and visiting a reported haunted house. We will utilize authentic historic resources, all located within walking distance of St. Mary of the Snow. Our project will culminate in a digital recording of your findings, using a Flip video camera and simple podcasting software. So, lace up your sneakers, grab your water bottle, and get ready to trek about the village in search of Saugerties's ghostly citizens.

AGES: entering grades 5-6

PLACE: St. Mary of the Snow Parish Hall

DATES: July 18-22

TIME: 9:00am-12:00pm

COST: $110 per child

INSTRUCTOR: Elizabeth Stegmayer, certified School Library/Media Specialist

MAXIMUM CLASS SIZE: 15

For more information, please contact Theresa Costello at costellos1@verizon.net

Welcome to Enrichment Counts

Hello and thank you for visiting the Enrichment Counts Blog!   I am very excited to be offering enrichment programs to elementary school children in Saugerties this summer!  I have always loved using projects as a basis for teaching themes because they allow children to learn and apply so many different skills at one time.  Since projects typically involve creativity, children tend to feel a sense of ownership as they work. This is an automatic motivator.  Let's use the Castle Week offered this summer as an example.  Children will be learning how to research and extract important information as they listen to castle stories and read simple non-fiction books about castle life.   Then they will apply their new knowledge to the creation of their own puppet as well as our group castle, allowing them to use their own creativity and artistic talent.  Since they will be working in groups much of the time, they will also be practicing communication skills and cooperation.  Introducing their puppets to each other and eventually to you on Friday will involve some writing and language skills.  Last but not least, of course we will offer you some food as we introduce our puppets to you.  Preparing food as a group always involves reading and a bit of math.  It all adds up to a lot of learning in a short period of time, and a great opportunity to practice using the skills they've learned in school and at home during the year.  This same approach of combined learning, more formally called the interdisciplinary approach, will be used in all four of the programs offered this summer. 

Please come back often to visit. I will be adding more tabs as Enrichment Counts develops, and checking regularly for your comments and opinions.  Thanks again!!    Theresa Costello