Summer has been in full swing at the I AM Learning Partnership; our summer programs commenced on June 21, serving primarily rising first graders, as this group is under-represented in PPS special 2021 summer programs. The children are thriving and excited about learning.

During the course of their day, students are engaged in practicing various literacy, handwriting, math, and problem-solving skills. Some activities are conducted in small groups specific to current skill levels and others are group games and activities where all students augment their knowledge around parts of speech: adjectives, verbs, and nouns. The varying levels of interaction keep the students motivated and connected to the learning process.

Academics are intermingled with a variety of enrichment and physical activities for the students. A weekly dance/movement class from Emerge Movement helped students practice the simple art of becoming aware of their bodies and experience firsthand the ability of movement to improve both body and mind functioning.

The group also wholeheartedly enjoyed their twice weekly “sports training” with Coach C, who taught the students the importance of warming up prior to exercise, hydration, and improving strength by training our muscles. They were so inspired by Coach C that we plan to end our summer session with our own “mini Olympics,” where students will display their newly acquired football skills in a scrimmage with their parents.

Finally, without easy access to a playground this summer, the group took daily walks in the neighborhood. We seized the opportunity to transform our walks into discovery journeys, where we learned directions (north, south, east, and west), about trees/tree identification, and about differing architectural styles in the neighborhood.

We want to give a shout out to two local restaurants that assisted in providing consistently healthy and delicious meals delivered for students and staff during this summer session: The Better Half Restaurant and Laughing Planet. It was a joy to work with them – your support would be much appreciated!