School Age Program
Our school age program is provided for children ages 5-12 years of age before and after school, and in the summer. Program planning is based on the children’s interests, promoting an atmosphere where the children take a leadership role in organizing their experience, and thus have an increased sense of ownership over the process.
This program provides transportation to and from school, an after-school healthy snack, and (if requested) attendance when school is cancelled because of inclement weather or a professional development day. A typical after school experience includes being picked up from school and transported to Dreams, eating a healthy snack, doing homework or freeplay, and then going outside (or, in case of inclement weather, inside) for free play.
Please NOTE: Parents/Caregivers need to ask to be put on the waiting list for this program. Enrollment in the program is not automatic for those students currently enrolled in the preschool program and the goal of the program is always QUALITY over QUANTITY.
Have a gander at this video created by Ken, the School Kids Coordinator, to get a glimpse into his personality to see if it may be a fit with your child.
Summer Day Camp
Dreams offers an outdoor summer day camp experience for the students that is as unique as it is community-based and child-driven. Every year, Ken sits down with the children, asking them what are the things they would like to do. After a few months of planning, a 10-week calendar is developed and distributed to the parents/caregivers.
The summer camp will typically involve the following components:
- Bicycling (active transportation) - On a daily basis, campers bicycle to all of their Summerside activities, which fuels a passion for the children to see the benefits of life-long physical activity. Campers will bicycle between 10 to 20 km per day. so please make sure your child has the bike that fits their body correctly.
- Meet & Greets - Families open their backyard, home, place of employment, or a nearby outdoor park to our great group of school kids. These are a short 15 – 20 minutes relaxing time: The campers are served up a snack and drink, chat for a bit, and then the campers are off and bicycling. This is a wonderful time to relax and enjoy some time together, giving an opportunity to mix-and-mingle with multi-generations, showing everyone has something to share with each other.
- Community Engagement - Campers will learn how to safely navigate the wonders of the Summerside community by accessing various community services and local opportunities such as history, culture, art, theatre, literature, community helpers, beach, entertainment, bicycle park, outdoor exercise equipment, etc. And, yes, sometimes they may just get dressed up in their wardrobe customes and be a little silly :)
- Nature - Campers will spend every day outside (yes, even if it is raining)! Research shows a strong connection between time spent in nature and reduced stress, anxiety, and depression. From Leger Park to Memorial Park to Heather Moyse Park to the Rotary Friendship Park to the Baywalk and all parts in-between, the campers will spend plenty of time outside and discover joy, silliness, friendships, and discover themselves.
- Field Trips - There are usually three or four field trips we take the "big bus" in the summer. Some of our previous field trips have been to the following:
- Bedeque Bay Environmental Management Association in Emerald,
- Avonlea Village in Cavendish
- the Guild and the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown
- Rise & Climb Adventure Park in Cornwall
- the Jumping Pillow in Cavenish
- the Butterfly House in North Rustico
- the Island Hill Farm in Hampshire
- The Young Company in Charlottetown
- West Cape Lighthouse in West Cape
- Victoria by the Sea beach in Victoria by the Sea
- Sandspit in Cavendish
- Marco Polo Land (2 days of adventure) in Cavendish
- King's Castle in Montague
- Entrepreneurship (Foody Friday) - Every Friday, the campers bake and sell chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, and lemonade for $1.00. The Centre buys all the ingredients and 100% of the proceeds goes toward fundraising for their end of summer trip. The opportunity to ignite an entrepeurship spirit is an important principle -- some of our campers will become business owners and why not start getting their feet (and fingers) wet in cookie dough right now? In addition, offering a baking experience that is open to all children helps reduce gender stereotypes.
- Bodyweight Strength Training - According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, bodyweight resistance training has a beneficial effect on strength, bone mineral density, body composition, cardiovascular fitness, blood lipid profiles and mental health in children. Strength training also improves sports performance and reduces injuries among young athletes. Body weight exercises are a good place to start, because they are safer for young children and they don't require the use of equipment. In the past, campers have regularly performed pushups, squats, 1 leg balancing, planks, superman, and crunches.
- Sports & Games - Often children are a little nervious about starting something new that others in their peer group can already "master." In the summer, Campers will have the opportunity to participate in varied sports in order to get an understanding of how each game is played -- this may possibily kindle a future exploration of a particular sport. Some of the sports the campers have played in the past include soccer, basketball, baseball, soccer baseball, ball hockey, tennis, beach volleyball, baseball bean toss, pool noodle battles, wrestling, badminton, tug-of-war, bowling, running, potato sack races, relay races, croquet, golf, and frisbee.
- Splat-a-Lot - Splatalot! was a Canadian medieval-themed physical game show for kids, which premiered on YTV in 2011. Splatalot! featured a large, extreme obstacle course and three rounds of competition. Each episode featured contestants (known as Attackers) competing against not only the obstacles and the clock, but also the Defenders. The Campers at Dreams have been getting splatted since 2013.
- Dunk-a-Teacher - This is the moment all of Summerside hears Ken scream very loud. He maintains that he stops breathing during the activity, between blacking out and freezing, it is hard to say. In a carnival throwing game contest, Campers toss a ball to earn the various size of buckets to be thrown at a teacher (small, medium, or large). The Campers then dump cold water over a teacher. The event is open to all teachers as well as parents. We are still looking for our first parent to join. Wink. Wink.
- Beach & Water Play - Campers will have plenty of beach time and water play all summer long. We only request the campers come with water shoes for the beach and a pencil case to carry their shells to add to their summer-long collection.
- Candy Holiday - Shh! This has been a tradition since 2013. From bicycling to the Bulk Barn to buying candies, to baking and decorating a checkered cake, to world's best milkshakes, this is one magical day for the campers which, typically, is the final day of the summer.
- In Conclusion - The above summary briefly touches on some of the summer activities for the campers. Please keep in mind at the core of the school-aged program, we look at each child as an individual and aspire to help the whole child develop and learn the skills necessary to grow into a whole person later in life.
Year End Videos
Between 2011 and 2013, Ken produced an end of season summer video to capture the summer. Starting in 2014, Ken started to post the photos daily on Facebook to let parents see for themselves what their children did during the day. However, watching these videos will give you an idea of the types of experiences the school-age children have in the summer. If you are looking to get an idea of the attitude and energy every day during the summer, have a look at these videos: