By Mary Owen
Soaring to outer space, exploring the depths of the ocean, swinging through jungles and traveling to faraway places are part of the theme for Aumsville’s summer program.
“Our theme this year is ‘Small World,’” said Lora Hofmann, administrative assistant for the city of Aumsville. “The kids will be learning about Australia, African, Mayan culture and why it is so wonderful to live in the United States. Our final theme day before the reading awards carnival is ‘It’s a Small World and We’re a BIG Part of It!’ We’ll touch on citizenship and responsibility.”
Children will receive with free books, healthy snacks and a craft time and outdoor games each week, Hofmann said.
“The kids will be asked to track their summer reading again this year,” she said. “Last year, we had a free summer carnival for the kids that did summer reading. The kids logged in more than 1,779 hours of summer reading and received some pretty cool awards in addition to the free books and carnival.
“Reading is so important,” she added. “If you can’t read, you will struggle in many different areas of life. Kids who can’t read cannot learn.”
A grant through First Books allowed the city to give away more than 2,800 books of 5,000 received, including distribution in Jefferson and Turner.
“We gave many of our duplicates to Marion County’s ‘Reading for All’ and to our local school,” Hofmann said. “All this was done through grants, donations and sponsorships.”
Leading into the summer program, in conjunction with Marion County’s Community Services Department, will be a six-week program at Aumsville Elementary School for adults and children. Adults will receive a free book, How to Talk So Your Kids Will Listen and Listen So Your Kids Will Talk, and can participate in a free book club on Wednesday afternoons.
In conjunction with the adult program, children will be able to participate in a six-week after-school program with free books, a snack time, gym activities and homework help.
“Aumsville teachers are volunteering their time to oversee the program, and we are recruiting volunteers to assist,” Hofmann said. “If the kids attend five out of the six weeks, they will receive a free pass to Aumsville night at the A.C. Gilbert House in Salem for their family, including pizza dinner, or, if they are in the third to fifth grade, a free day trip to Evergreen Space Museum in McMinnville. We are all about supporting families and literacy – and fun!”
An Old Time Fiddlers Concert is set for July 19 in Porter-Boone Park, sponsored by Aumsville Gas and FoodMart.
“And we are working on two additional free summer concerts in the park and a community potluck,” Hofmann said.
This is the fourth year of the summer day camp and Hofmann is pleased with how much the program has grown and how it has benefitted children.
“We started our first summer with a total of 30 children at four events,” she said. “Last year, we had more than 250 children that came at least once to the summer program, with an average of about 70 to 80 per week.”
With the Stayton Rotary’s help, the city purchased a movie projector two years ago that allows for Friday evening Movies in the Park showings. Listed on the city’s website, the movies are shown at 7:30 p.m. beginning June 22 at Porter-Boone Park. Bring lawn chairs and blankets.
“We are trying something new this year,” Hofmann said. “Our dedicated Drew Wright, Park & Recreation Commission commissioner, is heading up our movies this year and is going to put on a Saturday matinee in our community center for kids once a month and a Saturday family movie one evening a month. He hopes to start in April and just continue through the year. We want to add at least one ‘Park’ movie to the summer, because there is just nothing better than sitting on the grass and watching a free movie.”
Hofmann said many of the city’s leaders grew up in a small town and are “proud of their roots, knowing that so much of our character is developed while we are children. So many of us are old enough to remember when the first step was taken on the moon, and most of us are old enough to remember when the Challenger exploded.
“We can talk with authority about Martin Luther King, Jr., and when ‘organic’ wasn’t a special department in the grocery store, but was about the cow manure we used in our gardens,” she added. “We have found that children are sponges, wanting to hear about ‘the good ol’ days,’ and they want someone to listen to their story.”
The city is still looking for volunteers and donations to cover the cost for the nine weeks of day camp, which starts 10 a.m. to noon on June 17 at Porter-Boone Park, and the free end-of-camp carnival. For information on summer activities, visit www. Aumsville.us or contact Hofmann or Colleen Rogers at Aumsville City Hall, 503-749-2030. Donations may be brought to the city hall or mailed to City Hall, 595 Main St., Aumsville, OR 97325.
