With handwriting being limitedly taught in schools; high intensity, summer handwriting camps may resolve the numerous handwriting rehabilitation referrals of school-aged children. To improve handwriting, a 5-day (3-hr/daily session) summer camp was created for children (ages 5-9 years old). Thirty children (ages 5-9) were given manuscript…

Young children enter kindergarten with varying levels of readiness and abilities to learn. One factor that contributes to lower levels of school readiness is poverty. One timely, cost-effective, and feasible strategy to boost school readiness, regardless of exposure to high-quality preschool is to leverage the summer months prior to kindergarten…

Reading motivation declines across elementary school. Although a substantive body of empirical work exists specific to the reading motivation of older children, researchers have paid less attention to younger readers. Given that children's perceptions of school experiences shape motivation, and motivation impacts achievement, it is imperative that…

The K-12 population learning Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) has been increasing rapidly within recent years in the United States. Ruan, Zhang, and Leung (2015) state that summer programs are one of the most recognized forms of Chinese learning, cultivating immersion language environments in the United States. As CFL programs expand, there is…

Research on the effectiveness of STEM-focused (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-focused) schools and other learning experiences (e.g., short-term camps) on student outcomes is sparse. This study documented perceptions of STEM content and careers for elementary, middle, and secondary school students participating in…

Note taking applications for tablet devices offer the potential for meaningful integration of science and technology through the use of digital notebooks. This case study examined one pre-service teacher candidate's thoughts on using a digital notebook during a STEM methods course and how she transferred this knowledge and practice to a summer…

This study examines the effect of a summer science camp involved in explicit-reflective Nature of Science (NOS) instruction on Turkish gifted students' views of NOS. During the teaching intervention, six experienced faculties and two teachers taught six explicit-reflective NOS activities (90 minutes per day through a seven-day period) to 30 gifted…

Summer brings to mind the joys of vacation and spending time outdoors. The author looks forward to the summer months, particularly June--that's when they hold Junior Naturalist Camp at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, Florida. While she enjoys each day of camp, one in particular really brings out her inner student--Solar…

Elementary students find themselves engaged and learning at a digital writing camp. The authors find that such elementary students usually have limited access to technology at home and school, and posit that teachers should do all they can to give them more access to and experience in digital composing. Students were motivated and learned to use…

Research shows student participation in science programming can affect scientific interest, academic performance, college majors, and careers. This article reports a study where results obtained from questionnaires completed by participants, parents, and guardians assessed whether interest in STEM disciplines was advanced by a summer day-camp…

Arts integration in science has benefits of increasing student engagement and understanding. Lessons focusing on form and function of animal skulls provide an effective example of how handicrafts integrated with science instruction motivate students and support learning. The study involved students ages 9-12 during a week-long summer day camp.…

Research evidence suggests that summer breaks contribute to income-based achievement and opportunity gaps for children and youth. However, summertime can also be used to provide programs that support an array of goals for children and youth, including improved academic achievement, physical health, mental health, social and emotional well-being,…

4-H is the youth development program of the Cooperative Extension and has identified Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) as a national priority. Conducting STEM education during summer months for hard to reach youth can be a challenge. However, it is during summer when vulnerable students most often experience learning loss. During…

As much as play is researched and discussed by people interested in children and childhood, studies often fail to examine closely the ways that kids accomplish their play. This study sought to answer the question of how children sustain their play interactions. By making use of qualitative methods to collect and analyze data, the play of…

Faculty members from a university teacher education department partnered with a local school district to develop a summer camp program for children at-risk. This four week summer camp for elementary students provides reading and math intervention to rising first graders. This article discusses the math aspects of the camp, including camp lessons,…