All About Kids 2016

all about A2K

May 19, 2016

A Special Supplement to Osseo-Maple Grove Press, Champlin-Dayton Press, Crow River News

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ALL ABOUT KIDS • Thursday, May 19, 2016

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ALL ABOUT KIDS • Thursday, May 19, 2016

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Recreation departments offer summer fun for kids

BY ALYSSA KREKELBERG SUN PRESS NEWSPAPERS Kids and families looking for fun summer activities don’t have to look further than their city’s Parks and Recreation department.

In Maple Grove, the Parks and Recreation Youth Athletic Association offers various sports throughout the summer for kids ages nine to 18.

Kids can partake in baseball or fastpitch softball, basketball, hockey, soccer, football, swimming, wrestling, tennis and lacrosse.

The Champlin Parks and Recreation department will have similar youth athletics this summer. Activities include

basketball basics, ultimate frisbee, soccer, sand volleyball, youth t-ball, kickball, yoga and more.

In addition to sports, the Maple Grove Parks and Recreation department will offer special programs this summer for kids. One program will be the Playhouse Preschool located in the Maple Grove Community Center, which will work to develop strong readiness skills while creating a positive and enthusiastic attitude towards learning. Another program is the Playhouse Summer Adventures for kids ages three through five. The program will offer recreational activities such as games, crafts, social play and more.

“It’s important for kids and families to have recreational opportunities for health benefits, emotional benefits, physical fitness

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and overall health,� said Michelle DeBace, the program specialist for the Maple Grove Parks and Recreation department.

Maple Grove’s Town Green will also have performances this summer fit for kids. There will be interactive music for

children, puppet shows and dancing. Child appropriate movies will also be shown at Town Green each Friday beginning in July. Movies include “The Peanuts Movie,� “Finding Nemo,� Maleficent,� “Minions� and more.

Champlin’s Parks and Recreation will also offer programs for kids this summer. One is a Summer Playground Program, where kids will spend time on playground equipment, play team games, sports, and will do arts and crafts.

In addition, there will be a Craft Camp for kids ages six to 12 where kids will use various

PARKS...

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ALL ABOUT KIDS • Thursday, May 19, 2016

Summer recreation programs PARKS...from page 3 materials to create different art projects. At the end of this program, kids will showcase their work in at “art show” for families and friends.

Rogers Recreation will also offer summer activities for kids this summer, including their Playground Program for kids in Kindergarten through fourth grade starting in July. Summer themes for this program include A Bug’s Life, Tropical Paradise, Adventure Time, Under the Sea, Arrgh...Let’s be Pirates, and Summer Olympics.

One new Rogers Recreation program is called Connect: A Mind/ Body Class for ages 4 to 10, where students learn to focus their minds and manage their breathing while learning how to trust their inner voice and be comfortable with their decisions. Other programs include Introduction to Pickle Ball, Art in the Park, and Puppets in the Park.

Cities across the area are offering a variety of summer programs for kids. Check with your local Parks and Recreation department for more information on activities.

Contact Alyssa Krekelberg at alyssa.krekelberg@ecm-inc.com

Keep kids active this season The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that children and adolescents get 60 minutes or more of physical activity each day.

The CDC advises that such physical activity should include aerobic activity and muscle and bone strengthening exercises. Aerobic activity should take up most of kids’ daily physical activities and can include moderate activities, such as brisk walking, or more intense activities like running.

Parents should make sure kids include some vigorous aerobic activity in their physical activity routines at least three days per week. Muscle strengthening activities do not mean parents should get their youngsters in the gym as soon as possible. Rather, activities like gymnastics or push-ups done three times per week can be enough to help kids build strong muscles.

The CDC notes that as kids reach adolescence, they may start structured weight-training programs to strength-

Physical activity should include aerobic activity and muscle and bone strengthening exercises. en their muscles. Jumping rope or running three times per week can serve as kids’ bone-strengthening exercises.

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ALL ABOUT KIDS • Thursday, May 19, 2016

Engaging kids throughout summer “Summer Slide� is a term parents may hear at the end of the school year. No, it doesn’t have anything to do with playground activities. Rather, “summer slide� refers to knowledge gained during the school year that may be lost over the duration of summer break.

The National Summer Learning Association says many students lose about two months of grade-level equivalency in math computation skills over the summer. Students tend to score lower on standardized tests after summer vacation than they do when the same tests are taken at the on-

Parents who engage kids throughout the summer and reinforce educationally sound activities can prevent summer.

set of summer.

Minds left to sit idle can haunt children when it’s time to return to the classroom. But parents who engage kids throughout the summer and reinforce education-

ally sound activities can prevent summer slide. • Make vacations educational. Visit a locale kids have studied in class and explore its culture and traditions. • Offer plenty of read-

ing materials. Reading can expand children’s minds and help them build and maintain their vocabulary. • Ask teachers for work packets. Students can stay on top of their studies by doing some light schoolwork throughout the summer.

This can reinforce lessons kids have already learned and keep their minds sharp. • Purchase a journal.

Encourage kids to write about their summer adventures in a journal. Chances are their teachers will ask about summer vacations and may require an essay when students return to school.

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Prevent injuries during summer sports fun The warm weather beckons children outside to play. Whether they participate in organized sports or enjoy pick-up games with friends, sports are a way to remain physically active and pass the days of summer in a fun way. A variety of leading oral health organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Dental Association, have teamed up to remind parents,

coaches and athletes to play safely when they’re playing sports.

A child or young adult’s mouth and face can be easily injured if the proper precautions are not used while participating in sports or recreational activities.

In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of the seven million

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ALL ABOUT KIDS • Thursday, May 19, 2016

Additional sports safety tips to consider SPORTS...from page 5 sports- and recreationrelated injuries that occur each year are sustained by children as young as five years old.

In 2012, the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation forecasted that more than three million teeth would be knocked out in youth sporting events. They also reported that athletes who don’t wear mouth guards are 60 times more likely to damage their teeth. Yet, in a survey commissioned by the American Association of Orthodontists, 67 percent of parents admitted that their children do not wear a mouth guard during organized sports.

At a time when a good

Mouth injuries during sports play can be prevented when athletes wear custom-fitted mouth guards.

football helmet or hockey stick may cost a few hundred dollars, mouth

guards remain inexpensive pieces of protective equipment. Mouth

guards save teeth and protect the jaw. When a mouth guard is working

properly, it will hold teeth in place, resist tearing and allow for normal speech and breathing. Rely on a dental professional to recommend a properly fitted mouth guard for a vast array of sporting activities.

Here are some additional sports safety tips to consider to reduce young athletes’ risk of injury. • Wear a mouth guard when playing contact sports. Mouth guards can help prevent injury to a person’s jaw, mouth and teeth, and they are significantly less expensive than the cost to repair an injury. Dentists and dental specialists can make customized mouth guards to provide the best fit. Other less-expensive options are the boil and bite mouth guards, which are softened in boiling water to fit the mouth, and stock mouth guards, which are

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Summertime is an opportunity to engage in recreational sporting activities. Athletes of all ages should wear the appropriate safety gear while competing to greatly reduce their risk of injury.

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ready-to-wear but may not fit as well as their customized counterparts. â&#x20AC;˘ Wear a helmet. Helmets absorb the energy of an impact and help prevent damage to the head. â&#x20AC;˘ Wear protective eyewear. Eyes are extremely vulnerable to damage, especially when playing sports. â&#x20AC;˘ Wear a face shield.

Rely on a face shield to avoid damage to the delicate bones around the eyes, nose and jaw. Hockey pucks, basketballs and racquetballs can cause severe facial damage to athletes of any age.

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ALL ABOUT KIDS â&#x20AC;˘ Thursday, May 19, 2016

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Summer camp options abound

Summer camp is a beloved tradition in many families. Many parents of young children fondly recall spending their summers at summer camp, where they made lifelong friends and learned the finer points of roasting marshmallows and competing in three-legged sack races.

Parents looking for the right summer camp for their kids will soon discover there are various types of summer camps, each offering youngsters something different. The following are some of the summer camp options parents can expect to encounter as they search for the right camper for their kids.

DAY CAMP Day camps are not overnight camps, which means kids will return home each night rather than sleep over at camp. Day camps typically offer many of the activities people have come to associate with camps, including crafts, sports and even day-trips to experience local culture or attractions. Many day camps are co-ed, and counselors typically live within the community.

FAITH-BASED CAMP Faith-based camps offer many of the same activities as more traditional summer camps, but do so while simultaneously offering campers the opportunity to celebrate and further explore their religious beliefs. Some faith-based camps may focus heavily on religion, incorporating faith into daily camp activities, while others may be more subtle with regard to integrating religious beliefs and lessons into camp activities.

SPORTS CAMPS Some summer camps focus on a particular sport, catering to young athletes who want to further develop their athletic talents. Sports camps may feature guest lectures and lessons from notable local athletes and coaches, while some camps may provide instruction from current and/or former professional athletes. Some sports camps are overnight, while others are day camps.

FAMILY CAMPS Family camps are opportunities for the whole family to enjoy the summer camp experience. Family camps typically tailor their activities around tasks families can complete together, with counselors providing assistance when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needed. Family camps may be faithbased or secular, and families typically stay overnight, sleeping in facilities on the campsites or in lodging away from home.

SPECIAL NEEDS CAMPS Parents of children with special needs can still send their kids to summer camp, as there are many camps that cater to such youngsters. Special needs camps may cater to campers who are blind, deaf, learning disabled, or mentally or physically disabled. Staff at special needs camps typically undergoes extensive training, which helps to calm some of the fears parents may have about leaving their special needs children at camp. Facilities at special needs camps are often built to accommodate the specific needs of campers.

Camps offer many activities including daytrips to local nature areas.

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