School is officially out for summer for most kids in Nebraska! The hardest part for parents can be finding programs and day activities to enroll your children in over the summer to keep them active and learning.

The Importance of Summer and Day Programs!

A summer program is more than just a babysitter. It is a place for children to keep active, be creative, and keep using materials they learned during school. Summer and day programs are important to kids for a number of different reasons ranging from keeping structure and making new friends.

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These programs give children the opportunities to explore more of their interests outside of the classrooms. A classroom has strict teaching guidelines in place. A summer/day program allows children to pick their programs or field trips they are interested in. This allows for kids to dive deeper into interests!

2.

A summer/day camp allows children to develop lifelong skills. For example, if a child is working with other kids in a team setting this develops a number of needed characteristics - team building, leadership, strong communication skills, and the ability to solve problems.

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This can help more dependent kids become more independent each and everyday! This is a benefit for the child and their family members.

4.

It keeps kids off their phones, tablets, and computer. In 2014, children were spending four-and-a half hours a day in front of a screen. Can you imagine the statistics now? With the kids being out and about for the day doing fun and new activities, they will less likely want to be on their phones and more active in the moment.

5.

A summer/day program can give children a sense of purpose! This is because they will be involved in something bigger than themselves. They will understand the importance of their local community and city and want to make a positive impact on their community. Plus, it gives kids the mindset that change can happen within themselves.

At the end of the day, summer/day programs help children build a number of physical and mental characteristics! For more benefits of summer/day programs follow this link.

This is why at DREAM Foundation, we are offering a number of summer programs through our partnerships with local Omaha businesses. We currently help over 450 children everyday through after school programs and 100% of these programs are free to all the youth participating!

These are some of the field trips will be taking this summer!

-Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
-SAC Museum
-El Museo Latino
-Mahoney State Park
-Lauritzen Garden
-UNO Planetarium
-Film Streams Movies
-Upland Splash Park
-McLean Ice Skating Rink
-Arbor Day Farm
-Joslyn Art Museum

We understand that kids who sit all day long are going to get antsy when they’re not on the field trips! We always try to get the kids outside whether it be with a movie, the funplex, Benson Splash pad or other places. At DREAM Foundation, we have the Hot Shops Art Center come in for activities like crystal forge, burning sculptures, pottery and more artistic classes.

Finally, we offer robotic classes and tournaments for the kids to enjoy during the day. This is just a small list of what we are offering every single week and day for the children participating in our summer/day programs.

We will be offering a week long baseball camp from July 9th to the 13th with the Omaha Storm Chasers.

At DREAM Foundation, provides a life-changing team mentoring programs to at-risk youth in Omaha, NE and Springfield, MO! We love our summer programs and the kids do too.

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Want to learn more about the excitement going on this summer? Join our mailing list to make sure you have all the needed information.