Activity Rocket was an official sponsor at last weekend’s Tots2Teens Expo, a collection of the best vendors for families in the greater DC area.

On Saturday, April 20, the Washington Convention Center was bustling with parents and kids alike, looking to see the best of the greater DC’s vendors for families. Naturally, Activity Rocket was in the building. Nestled between the booths of partners Bricks4Kids and Bach To Rock, the Activity Rocket booth piqued the interest of many a curious parent.

As parents discovered the features and functionality of Rocket, they were impressed.”This is a GODSEND!” one mom remarked, ecstatic that the frustration of booking her kids was soon to be ended by Rocket.

Families were greatly entertained Rocket partner booths by My Gym, Bach to Rock, and Bricks4Kids.

Another mom mentioned how she had been putting off the headache of summer activity searching until the last possible minute; now with the ease of Rocket, there’s no more need to delay!

Kids were equally excited about the new possibilities Rocket would bring. Their worlds were about to be expanded to include the diverse activities listed on Rocket’s site. Upon hearing that Activity Rocket’s site included the option to search for Archery programs, one little girl immediately begged that mom sign her up!As parents at Tots2Teens discovered, Activity Rocket is a revolutionary new service that’s taking the entire activity experience to new heights! Come experience the Rocket power first hand at Celebrate Mama! this Saturday!

What does your kid dream of being when he or she grows up? A dancer, an athlete, or a firefighter perhaps? Whatever your little one’s ambitions may be, statistically speaking, American kids show a relative lack of interest in STEM fields, despite our economy’s immense need for these career skills.

Indeed, much attention has been given to how to solve our student’s math and science lag and the importance of STEM fields to progress. A new movement is finding that a key component is missing from the mix. Championed by Rhode Island School of Design, the STEAM movement seeks to emphasize the importance of creativity in innovation by adding art to the science, technology, engineering and math mix.

STEAM initiatives are popping up all over the country, across the country, including H.R. 51, a bill advocating the integration  of art and design to Federal programs targeting the STEM fields.

Read more about the case for STEAM here, or visit stemtosteam.org.

What do you think? Is arts education just as important as traditional STEM fields?

Luckily, Activity Rocket connects parents to a diverse range of classes and camps to inspire the budding artist or engineer.

We add new businesses and classes EVERY DAY! Check out the list of businesses below who are new to the site (in bold) or have recently updated their classes. 

METRO DC

Shakespeare Theatre Company 

MARYLAND

Aristotle Circle Peers

Ascendly, LLC

Brit-Am Soccer Academy

British Swim School

Donte’s Boxing Gym

Excite Soccer Programs

Imagination Stage

Kidball Baseball

Montgomery County Parks Dept – M-NCPPC

Montgomery County Recreation Department

Music Together with Miri

My Gym Bethesda

My Gym Kentlands

My Gym Potomac

Romp n’ Roll of Germantown

TLC – The Treatment and Learning Center

Traveling Players Ensemble

NORTHERN VA

4 Star Tennis Academy

Art in Hand

Artworks Studio B

Bach 2 Rock – South Riding

Encore Performers

Engineering for Kids – Northern Virginia Southeast

Every Body Golf School

Fit Kids

My Gym Chantilly

The Little Gym of Alexandria at Van Dorn 

All parents have heard it before, but can we blame them? With the strenuous March MSA testing, and the last school vacation three months in the past, kids need a break too! I love waking up for my job everyday; that doesn’t mean sometimes I just need a break! Learning and school is our kid’s job. It only makes sense they want time off too!

This spring break, challenge yourself engage your child in thinking critically. Critical thinking skills, outside of reading, will improve a child’s comprehension skills. Learning is most effective when we don’t know we are doing it!

“But the family is going on vacation” (EVEN BETTER!)

Here are some ideas to challenge your children’s literary skills this spring break!

While Out to Eat …

Writing style: Know your audience! Authors know who their audience is. Menus are made differently for children and adults.

-Present both a children’s menu and an adult menu to your child.

-Ask why they think the author used a different style?

- How does the style of the menu catch the attention of different readers?

Text Features: Menus are full of text features! Pictures, captions, and headings, a menu has them all! Bring some crayons and plain paper.

-Read one menu item to your child and ask what text features might be with it.

-Challenge them to make three text features for the chef to sell this meal!

-Ask them to draw a picture of what they think it might look like.

This seems like a simple task, but they are using comprehension skills to make an image in their head of what their menu would look like!

Text Structure: Text is written in different structures to best present an idea.

-Ask your kids why the restaurant has put the food in sections.

- The soups and salads are together and the desert is separate?

-Wouldn’t it be easier in alphabetical order?

-A dictionary isn’t separated into word categories, why is a menu?!

And they thought they were on break from school!

By Deidre Sonner, Thoughtful Literacy Book Club

See Related Posts by Deidre: How to Make Your Kid a Lifelong Reader 

Find Great Spring Break Camps on Activity Rocket NOW!

The success of television shows “Glee” and “Smash” has catapulted the appeal of musical theater in recent popular culture; our favorite entertainers are headlining shows on the Great White Way. Of course, we can probably sing a line or two from “High School Musical”, “Annie”, and “Chicago”. Want to experience the glam and full-fledged numbers without the travel and expensive tickets? Take the family to see a musical in your community, by way of middle schools and high schools.

Springtime is around the corner; performers in our area are putting in countless hours, on and off stage, to produce an enjoyable product – a play or musical. Unfortunately, they do not always receive the audience they deserve. Seats are not filled and the energy is not given back to these individuals. Let’s do our part and support these enthusiastic performers by attending a musical!

You might be thinking, “How can I see one? Where can I find shows?” It’s easy!

- Check your local school’s website for times and dates.

- Look for fliers at your local supermarket, Starbucks, or library lobby.

- Ask neighbors who have children in the production.

Tickets are very reasonable – most children’s tickets range from $5-$12. For a 90 min-2 hour show, that’s pretty good! For adults, tickets are in the $8-$15 area.

Make a night out of it by going out to dinner and seeing the show afterwards. If you know someone in the cast, bring some flowers to show your support.

Enjoy local talent in our schools – who knows, you might catch the musical bug yourself!

By Melanie Barber, President, Washingtonians for Young Performing Artists

Preparing Young Performers For The Next Stages of Life!

www.wypaonline.org

COME FIND GREAT PERFORMING ARTS ACTIVITIES ON THE ROCKET!

Finding the right summer activities for your child isn’t always easy – especially for those transitional aged pre-teens. They’re too independent for kids camp, and too young to start working or volunteering. So how do we keep these pre-teens busy throughout the summer months?

A well-established summer day program is a great way to give kids at any age the freedom they long for while also keeping them social and active in a controlled setting. While deciding on the perfect summer program for a pre-teen is a bit more complicated than selecting a day camp for a younger child, it is important to remember that the rewards are often much greater. Below are a few questions to ask yourself as you embark upon your search for the perfect summer excursion for your pre-teen.

Is this program reputable? What kind of organization is managing this program, and how will that have an effect on my child’s overall welfare if they should attend?

Who is in charge? What is the staff like? Are activities supervised by trained and certified instructors?

Is it active? The last thing we want our kids doing on a beautiful day is inactively sitting in front of a television or computer for hours on end. Try to find a day program that offers obscure outdoor adventures like kayaking, climbing, boating, and hiking.

Is it educational? Just because kids aren’t in school doesn’t mean that learning should come to a halt, right? Finding a program that is committed to exercising children’s minds as well as their bodies allows kids to challenge themselves without even realizing it!

Keeping these questions along with your pre-teen’s particular interests in mind will help narrow down your summer excursion search. For example, environmental education organizations provide great summer day trips for pre-teens that include countless adventures and hands-on learning activities.

By: Living Classrooms of the National Capital Region.

For more information about what Living Classrooms has to offer as well as answers to any further summer program-related questions, visit www.livingclassroomsdc.org.