Program Spotlight

Summer Camp Fun at The Thinking Child Academy in Homestead

Published Monday, June 22, 2009

Sporting broad-brimmed cowboy hats, dungarees and boots, the boys clamber down off the shaded platform onto the dance floor, an outdoor basketball court. The girls are waiting for them, wearing crisp white blouses and long blue or orange flowing skirts.

Partners bow to each other. The music starts, and the kids link elbows and begin the square-dance steps they’ve been practicing all week long.

The hoedown dance, under a sizzling morning sun and just blocks from Main Street in Homestead, is the culmination of “Wild West Week” at The Thinking Child Academy’s summer camp. For 10 weeks during the summer, 75 children, ages 5-12, explore a different theme – theatre, medieval times, under the sea, amazing artists, Native Americans, rainforests, among others.

Dressed in "Wild West" garb, partners show off their
fancy square-dance steps

“I love camp,” says Ashley, 9, grinning from under her cowboy hat. “The dance is a lot of fun, but it’s a little weird.” Ashley attends camp with her older sister Griselda, but spends most of the day with teammates from her “Super Duper Loopers” group who include Maliehya, Jose, Kevin and Ernest, Dilsia, Travon and Maria.

Many are children of migrant farmworkers, some are in foster care and all come from low-income, working-class families who attend the summer camp for free thanks to funding support from The Children’s Trust. They spend each day in a range of fun activities that boost their reading and math skills, improve their awareness of social skills, appreciation of arts and crafts, and foster fitness. For the end of “Wild West Week,” ponies have been brought in; many of the children are enjoying their first ride ever.

The Thinking Child Academy is a family-run center headed by Executive Director Noelia Montaner, Program Director Angela Pinaglia and Site Director Cristina Vera, Montaner’s daughter. Thinking Child operates at three sites in the South Dade area. The family assumed management of the program two years ago and has continued to align the curricula and activities with evidence-based, best-practice models.

Children at The Thinking Child Academy enjoy a break
together, part of summer camp fun.

“We’re a small place so everybody here knows everybody,” explains Pinaglia, Montaner’s sister. During the school year, the center operates as a private school. Forty children, all with scholarships from Florida PRIDE (Parental Rights in Deciding Education), a private foundation, attend during the year and then the summer camp.

The children start each camp day with a nutritious breakfast followed by jumping jacks, stretches and other morning warm-ups. Then, separated by age or grade level, they move to different learning blocks. The program uses Project Smart Activities and the Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids (SPARK) curriculum. SPARK, based on 24 core fitness activities, improves agility, coordination, rhythm and balance, and especially encourage kids to enjoy physical activity outside the classroom.

Each group spends an hour daily in KidzLit. The K-3 group is reading “Hey, Little Ant” and their teacher uses a book study guide to broaden their thinking and critical skills. “FRY” words – a list of 10 new vocabulary words are posted each week in their classroom for them to learn. As part of their daily social-skills session, they remind each other of the rules and guidelines they’ve drafted, talk about respect and how to get along with each other.

Visiting artists from Arts4Learning visit twice weekly to engage the children in arts activities. This week they taught the kids square-dancing steps and showed them how to make their cowboy hats and sheriff badges, part of their outfits for the dance finale.

Everybody, let's dance! Cristina Vera leads the
line-dance fun with stomps, spins and lots of hip
shaking

Field trips expose the children to learning environments they generally would never experience outside the camp. In the coming weeks, the children will tour the Adrienne Arsht Center and see several short plays, visit Vizcaya Museums and Gardens, the Miami Art Museum and the Miami-Dade County Main Library, Miami Seaquarium and see a production of Stuart Little at The Actor’s Playhouse.

A few of the children in the camp have special needs, both learning and emotional, yet the close personal relationship nurtured between the staff and the children help ease any potential problems.

“We know what’s going to trigger their behavior in those students and watch out for the signs. We know what to look for,” Pinaglia explains. “Maybe we’ll have the kids come in the office and help – usually the behavior is just a sign that they want attention.”

After a short break for animal crackers and cold water, it’s time for another dance. No fiddles or banjo for this song, the selection is the line dance Cha Cha Slide. Everyone – boys, girls and teachers – scramble onto the basketball court so they don’t miss the fun. With some 20 children visiting from another site in addition to the regular kids, the court fills up quickly. The boom boom of the bass line starts and everyone starts to bounce and turn with the music. “Move it on back, now y’all,” Of course, there are a few wrong steps, but that just brings big smiles and lots of laughter. The crowd on the court moves as one big happy family.

Article written by Michael R. Malone