Moving Day!

It takes a village to raise a child, and to run a summer program. And in that village, you will find a lot of......stuff! Craft supplies, indoor games, outdoor games, an ice cream churn, costumes, props and............

Thanks to our volunteers who helped transfer supplies out of storage to our temporary camp site home! In just over 3 weeks summer camp will be here!  If you're still looking for a great summer enrichment program, we still have a few spots available in our K-1 and 6th-8th grade classes.  FMI:  http://bit.ly/1VG5ptw

"Villagers" who came out to help! (L to R:) Suzene, Jaeda, Nikki, Michelle, Lillian, Mylissa, Wayne (not pictured)

2016 Summer Camp Registration Now Open!

Academic Enrichment | Arts & Crafts | Culinary Arts & Nutrition |  Field Trips | Games | 

History & Culture | Manners & Etiquette Lessons | Prep4Life (Asante Children's Theatre)| 

Reading/Storytelling | Team Building Activities 

Looking for creative and fun learning activities to engage your child over the summer break? Register now for the Freetown Village Summer Day Camp!

Dates:  June 13 - July 22, 2016, 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Monday - Friday

             Early check in available (7:00 a.m. - 7:45 a.m.) 

Location: Freetown Village Summer Camp will be held at Zion Hope Church

              (46^th and Arlington Avenue). 

Cost: $75.00 per week, plus one-time registration fee.  

Eligibility: Open to children between the ages of 5 and 14 (grades K—8).  

               Spaces are limited. Early registration ends April 8th.

For applications or additional information, please email: 

Marriam A. Umar, Program Director, marriam@freetownvillage.org. 

Applications available at www.freetownvillage.org 

  

  

Week 4: Honor

In the spirit of Independence Day, this week's theme describes a character trait that focuses around honesty, integrity and respect:

Our campers celebrated "Spirit Week" with an exciting field trip to the Crispus Attucks Museum and High School!  Crispus Attucks was considered the first killed in the American Revolution. He is remembered as a martyr for American oppression and “the first to defy, the first to die.”

When Crispus Attucks High School opened in 1927, it was the only public high school designated for Indianapolis' black student population until integration began in 1967. For decades, the photos of all their graduates are immortalized in the school hallways. Many of our campers and teachers founds parents, grandparents, and other family members that attended the high school. One of our teachers, Mrs. G, our Powerful Antelopes (K - 1st) Instructor tells us how she first found the pictures of her family on the wall.

"The first time I saw the pictures, I was in 6th grade. My mom, dad, aunts, and uncles all went there. My preacher went there too, but he wasn't a traditional student. He worked on a railroad, stayed at a boarding house and went to school 3 days a week."

We also learned that the original faculty consisted of highly educated teachers - all had at least a Masters Degree and some held PhD's.  While they were able to attend colleges and universities, they were not yet able to teach at the collegiate level.  

Due to segregation, these quality teachers were restricted to teaching on the high school level. On the bright side, students left Crispus Attucks High School with valuable college-level education. 

Today, the Crispus Attucks Medical Magnet High School includes a college prep program for students pursuing careers in the science or medical fields.

Posing in front of the main entrance.  The school was also known for its Gothic/Tudor architecture.  

Mrs. Ellen, our Brainy Badgers (2nd - 3rd) Instructor, created a scavenger hunt for her class. Every time they saw the word "Attucks", they would tally up the numbers and use them in a math game. She was thrilled that the kids enjoyed the experience and connected with the history of our community. 

Jordan R., points to the retired basketball jersey of his uncle, Willie Gardner #13.  

Go Tigers!

Posted by Raechel Amey

Week 3: Decisiveness

Decisiveness
We are building character, one positive trait at a time.  As we wrapped up our third week of summer learning, we discovered that decisiveness is the ability to make choices quickly, confidently and effectively.   From team building activities to conflict resolution our campers have ongoing opportunities to think through problems and determine solutions is the key message in developing our positive character traits.


It Takes A Village: Meet Program Partner Asante Children's Theatre (A.C.T)

Asante Children's Theatre (A.C.T.) brought their energetic, educational theater troupe to Freetown Village Summer Camp this week! Stories came to life as the A.C.T. performers became multiple characters to tell a story that teaches campers life lessons while being entertaining.  

For the past eight years, our campers have looked forward to working with the A.C.T. facilitators. Their Prep 4 Life program builds children's strengths by incorporating various elements of performing including singing, choreography and theater. 

"The campers here are like sponges, they are willing to learn and grow, eager to try new theater components.  Even the Stage Direction Game (theater basics) is learning but fun.  It's an honor for me as a performer/instructor, to share with them what I've learned - I remember being their age, and it's rewarding to be able to share my experiences to help develop and appreciation in them for the performing arts".  Tori G. , A.C.T. Prep Facilitator.

(A.C.T. Facilitators, Ms Tori, Mr. Jocque, Ms. Rochelle, Mr. Ryan)

Garden Project

Informing our kids of the necessities of life, such as growing food, is essential to educating the next generation. In a world gone to manufactured foods, it's vital to teach young people how plants nourish our bodies and our environment.

Working side by side our partners, Purdue University Cooperative Extension, our garden is looking super happy this week! The plants include kale, tomatoes, romaine, cucumber, green pepper, lavender, sunflower, and nasturtium. Don't they looks yummy? Mmmm!

Algebra Project

Knowing how to be confident in your decisions is very useful when applied to your education. As our math tutors put campers into groups, they hold up flash cards with math problems on them to see who can answer first. While campers are having fun competing with their peers, they are also learning how to quickly and confidently voice their thoughts.

Freetown Village is truly grateful for having such amazing partners and volunteers who put so much of their time, effort, and care into our campers lives. Many thanks, all!

Check back next week to see what positive character trait we will be learning about and what activities our campers will experience!

Posted by Raechel Amey

Week 2: Creativity

Campers have created their teams and our camp family is coming together! This week, we're focusing around our positive character trait of the week:

CREATIVITY!!


Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others.  Freetown Village Summer Camp thrives on the inspirational vision and team effort of our campers, volunteers and community. Our progress grows every day, with each activity and every positive influence, and we strive to motivate creativity within every week of camp.



It Takes A Village: Meet Program Partner Art With a Heart

One of our program partners, Art With a Heart (AWAH), is excited to team up with Freetown Village again this summer.  AWAH has developed art production lessons to support our overall theme, “It Takes a Village.” Last summer, AWAH guided our campers in creating a community quilt. This year, after studying the artwork of James Rizzi and his vibrant “dancing” buildings, campers will create their own structures and collaborate with one another to design a village made from a variety of materials.  Be sure to check back in a few weeks for the final project! 

Fingerprint Pendants


Campers rolled out their individuality on Tuesday with handmade clay pendants that carry their own stamp of approval! Clever Coyotes, Kayla O., explained the process behind making these simple keepsakes. 

 

"We rolled out the clay into flat squares, then we colored our finger with a marker and pressed our fingerprint into the clay. Then we decorated them with our own design. Before we put them in the oven, we poked a hole in the top so we could put a string in it." Kayla explains.

She's going to give her pendant to her mom as a reminder of her time at Freetown Village Summer Camp.

Volunteer Spotlight: Alumni Camper Rachel O.


Our volunteer staff are an invaluable asset to the growth and success of the Freetown Village Summer Camp. We are extremely grateful to have such an eager and dedicated group, helping to enrich the lives of our campers. 

After three years as a camper, Rachel O., is giving back as an enthusiastic alumni volunteer this year!
Rachel enjoys the friendly and supportive environment that camp has to offer, as well as collaborating with campers to bring them the same friendly, supportive experience. 

"I like working with the younger kids, helping them with reading and learning." says Rachel.

The most impactful character trait she learned at camp was initiative. At the age of 12, she learned that doing something without being told can be a very valuable and positive character trait to possess. Her initiative in camp has allowed her to grow as a student, a role model, and a goal-driven individual.

Rachel is currently a freshman at Charles A Tindley Accelerated School, and plans to go to college to become a pediatrician. She also plans to return next summer as a volunteer at Freetown Village Summer Camp. 


Posted by Raechel Amey

Week 1: Responsibility

Freetown Village Summer Day Camp brings campers and volunteers together at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church. Children in Grades K-8 can focus their energy towards history, culture, group activities, health and nutrition, math, theater, language arts, gardening, learning positive self-esteem and civic responsibility. 

We're off to a great start! We are excited to introduce new campers and new activities this year. Campers kick the week off with hands-on activities and summer learning focusing around our positive character trait of the week: 

RESPONSIBILITY

Team Shields

Each class starts the week identified as Class A, B, C, and D. As we begin to grow as a team and a camp family, each class will come together to create their own identity, complete with a team shield reflecting their positive character traits. Each shield includes 1) an animal, representing strength of character, 2) a team word, 3) a favorite place to go, and 4) a learning symbol.

This summer, our camp family includes the Powerful Antelopes (K - 1st), the Brainy Badgers (2nd - 3rd), the Brave Horses (4th - 5th), and the Clever Coyotes (6th - 8th)!

Homemade Ice Cream & Strawberry Shortcakes

Traditionally, our campers come together at the end of their first week to make hand-churned ice cream and homemade strawberry shortcakes. 

The Brave Horses made our ice cream, and half of the fun was in the process! From pouring ingredients, mixing the batter, and churning the ice cream, they learned how ice cream was made the old-fashioned way. It took about 45 minutes to thicken up, and the churn crank was not turning properly, but the Brave Horses pushed through with determination and made us some darn good ice cream!

Some of our Clever Coyotes were responsible for prepping strawberries from South Circle Farm, baking the shortcakes, and serving fellow campers the completed strawberry shortcakes topped with ice cream. YUMMY! Pausing to savor the flavors, campers exclaimed how much they loved their ice cream.

Together, our campers took on different responsibilities in order to create a favorite sweet treat for the entire camp to enjoy. We appreciate the hard work and care everyone put into making our Friday snack extra special! Again, we're reminded of the love that is part of the foundation of so many of the foods we eat.

Spelling Contest

The Brainy Badgers and Powerful Antelopes raced to be the first team to spell the word "responsibility." Learning what the word means is the first step in teaching young children how to be responsible throughout their daily lives. 

Kickball

We didn't let a little sprinkle of rain get in our way of having fun! Recess would not be complete without a game of kickball.

Come back next Monday to see what activities and positive traits we will learn about during Week 2!

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Interested in signing up your child for summer camp? It’s not too late!

Please call our camp at 317-828-1848 or email at freetown@freetownvillage.org for more information.

Camp hours:  8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Monday - Friday
Cost: $75/week per child (non-members)


Posted by Raechel Amey