By RONDA GREGORY
News & Journal Staff Writer
Learning Options, Inc. will be presenting its 2015 Summer Camps four-week program from Monday, July 6 to Friday, July 31. The weekday sessions are from Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for full-day campers.
Two age range groups of campers (6-9 and 9-14) will attend separate classes that run simultaneously. Students come from Marion, Harrison, Monongalia, Taylor, Preston and even other counties to learn in a hands-on educational environment, with an emphasis on art.
For example, in the “Mosaic Mural Project” class students are actually creating art that will be a part of the community for future generations to enjoy. Participants will have the chance to leave their lasting mark in the community in this camp. They will help design what will become a highly visible, permanent piece of artwork with tile mosaics. Murals will be installed at the local East Side park (located directly behind Learning Options). Community beautification is at the heart of this hands-on artistic experience.
“The more dimensions you include in the topics, the more the students get out of it,” reported Mary Ellen Sullivan, Learning Options Executive Director. “Multi-dimensional learning results in greater retention.”
Some other classes involve poetry, other creative writing, and exploring science and technology.
Sullivan lauds the roster of instructors, all professional artists and teachers. “We’re always looking for people to teach what they love to the students,” she stated. And she added that they always have fresh talent come on board each year, since the camps began in 2009.
Sullivan reported that the campers have said they love attending and look forward to returning the next summer.
“The students who have participated in the past have always been happy with the results,” she said. “The classes are stimulating, educational and fun.”
Full day campers attend from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with educational sessions in the morning, a break for lunch and then swimming-play from 1-4 p.m. at the East Marion Park Complex/Wave Pool located behind the Learning Options facility. Registration is $130 for full-day campers, who must bring their own brown bag lunch.
Half-day campers attend the morning (9 a.m. to noon) educational sessions and then return home. Their fee is $85.
Space is limited, so you must pre-register; and classes are conditional based upon sufficient enrollment.
For more information about the camps and a full roster of class offerings and to register, call (304) 366-3722, or visit LearningOptionsInc.Org.
Learning Options camps operate with support from the Marion County Parks and Recreation Commission.
Learning Options, a nonprofit established in 2002, is dedicated “to promote and expand in-depth study and exploration focused on the needs and interests of learners in our region,” Sullivan said. “On a shoestring budget and with the assistance of numerous volunteers, we have gradually built our program offerings.”
