Learn by doing. It’s not just a phrase! Teachers have long known that when students use all their senses, they can quickly master skills. Summer is a great time for this kind of learning and at Pacific Ridge School’s summer program, students spend each day learning a specialized skill. Camps and workshops at the Carlsbad school range from photography and robotics to cooking, skateboard design and more, all for kids who crave hands-on fun.
Here are five reasons to enroll your child in a summer experience that wraps learning new skills in engaging lessons!
 | 1. EXPERT TEACHERS Working in small class sizes alongside expert teachers gives students the support they need to learn a new skill which they otherwise may not have time to explore during the school year. Working closely with an instructor, students can improve upon a new or existing skill with lightning speed. Photography students take photos and learn the best editing techniques, ranging from the Bokeh effect to portrait-style photos. |
 | 2. IMPROVED COMPREHENSION Interactive and problem-solving design projects help students learn and retain new concepts, according to a study by Purdue University. For example, in Pacific Ridge’s Animation and Filmmaking class, students can design characters, write a script treatment, produce their own shorts, and publish them on the internet, giving them the experience and confidence to create more. |
 | 3. THE GIFT OF TIME Summer camps that teach students specialized skills provide adequate time for a deep dive. To get really interested and pick up a new skill, campers need to spend several hours on it each day, not 30 minutes here and there. At Pacific Ridge’s week-long camps, classes meet for three hours every day, giving students plenty of time to build foundational knowledge and improve on their new skill. |
 | 4. IT’S FUN! Campers soak up information when they’re fully engaged. During hands-on activities, they’ll be so busy doing, they don’t even realize they’re learning something new! The more kiddos can “do it themselves,” the more fun they will have, increasing their appetite for learning even more new skills. |
 | 5. REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE Everyday skills aren’t usually taught in school classrooms. Summer is a great time to bridge that gap. In woodworking, students become comfortable using hand tools and power tools to build, fix and solve problems. They’ll leave the course with the confidence to build something useful. |
Other camps include coding, dance, blog writing, tinkering, improv theater and more! Pacific Ridge School’s Summer Program offers a great combination of discovery and fun. Go to www.pacificridge.org/SummerPrograms or more.
