Summer Kids is our eight week summer program open Monday-Thursday from 8:00am-4:30pm. Summer Kids is open to students going into 1st grade through students going into 8th grade. Students are split into six classes according to grade and/or academic ability. They receive instruction in basic academic skills, art, and the Children’s Garden. We provide recreational activities and go on a weekly field trip. We serve breakfast, lunch, and a small snack to all students in Summer Kids.

The Children’s Garden is in partnership with the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. It provides students in the Summer Kids program an opportunity to experience hands on science, nutrition, and health while learning about gardening through planting, maintaining, and harvesting herbs, vegetables, and flowers. At the end of the summer the students harvest the produce and share it with their family.

Program Fee
Our highly affordable Program Fee for Summer Kids 2014 is $256 per child for the entire eight weeks of programming. The registration fee is due with your registration before your child(ren) can have a spot in our program.

“The Area Learning Center office is proud to have Kaleidoscope as a community partner. They truly believe in the holistic approach to educating our children and we are grateful to be in partnership with them.”
Lorraine Rhodes-Dix, Area Learning Center Coordinator,
Minneapolis Public School District

Summer Kids Highlights

• Academics: We are an Area Learning Center for Minneapolis Public Schools. In being so, we are required to do academic intervention for a minimum of 2 hours per day.
• Academic Goals: Our goal for Summer Kids is to support and reinforce what the students learned during the school year, based on the Minnesota State Standards. We strive to see students improve academically throughout the summer and to be at grade level by the beginning of the school year.
• Assessment: Each student is assessed to determine the areas they need the most academic support in. During the summer we require a school day teacher evaluation that we use to assess where the learning gaps are. Each student is assessed to determine the areas they need the most academic support in.
• Curriculum:Our program uses key curriculum to help guide the students in their academics.
  • KidzLit and KidzMath – Designed to teach reading and math skills while also teaching social development skills to students. The programs use interactive storybooks and cooperative games to engage students in learning activities through reading, writing, art and drama.
  • Growing to College – Used in conjunction with the GetReady curriculum, Growing to College is an early intervention and college awareness program. Students will learn about setting goals and gain a greater understanding of their skills and abilities, possible careers, reasons to attend college, ways to pay for college, and how to be successful in college. Students will have access to the tools that will help pave a path to a bright future.
• Arts Education: We believe that students who are exposed to art, and who are given opportunities to express themselves through different techniques and media will be more resilient, happy, and smart. Kaleidoscope encourages the frequent use of the arts to expand and enrich the experience of our students.
• Broader Academics: We also have an emphasis on Science, Nutrition, and Health. These enable our students to have a broader academic experience, which will directly impact other academic areas.
• Class Sizes: During the summer we serve students in 6 classrooms. We strive to keep our class sizes small so our students can receive the one-to-one support and attention they need to improve academically. We have an excellent 5 to 1 student to staff ratio when taking into account programming staff and volunteers.
• Healthy Lives: Students in our Summer Kids program have a wide variety of healthy and enriching experiences that make them better people. In addition to academics, the following areas are addressed as they arise: self esteem, conflict resolution, and social skills.
• Field Trips: Every Thursday we take our students on exciting field trips to places, such as, the Como Zoo, the University of Minnesota, Chutes and Ladders, and Bush Lake Beach. For younger classes we use the buddy system on field trips to ensure the safety of the students.

Photos of our Children’s Garden

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