Rock It Learning June - August, 2011 Newsletter

Well, once again we were caught up in the calendar! I began the newsletter for June, but started gearing up for our busy summer and BAM... it was July!

With my toes in the water and @$$ in the sand, Chris began the July newsletter. Oddly, we came back home and our feet never stopped pedaling! Ugh! Now TWO months gone and no contact with our RIL family!

Now it's August! AUGUST! How in the world did it become August? Have we been busy you ask? Yes! Not only have our camps been completely filled, but we've also strengthened our relationships with the Kerr and Finley YMCAs as well as Hope Valley Country Club and added Bay Leaf Baptist Church! Thank you all for allowing us to support your summer offerings.

Personally, it's just as crazy. Soccer has never really ended for my family and Chris recently calculated that her boys have slept in eight different states in the past month and a half and one more to add next week!

So... again I say... how did it get to be August already?

A DELAYED THOUGHT FROM CHRIS

We are in the throes of summer - and I love it! You'll never hear me complain about the heat - comment but not complain.

As I write, I'm on the deck of a cabin on Pomme de Terre lake in southern Missouri, enjoying a great week with my brother's family. This is the first time west for my boys, and we thoroughly enjoyed the drive through North Carolina, Tennesse, Missouri, and a small part of Kansas (Mike lives in Overland Park just outside of Kansas City). Most of us think of flat prairie for the Midwest, but we've yet to see it. My brother assures me that it's just west of us - for miles and miles and miles.

With this trip I realize that I've short-changed my boys. While we have had some great trips to the beach, and to the Caribbean, they have not had the chance to see the rest of the United States. I grew up in California, and my parents took us camping all over the West. Three kids (my little sister missed out - sorry Jen) crammed in the back of the Jeep, pulling a camper smaller than my minivan - and my parents trying to get as much in a week's vacation as possible. Our big trip was in 1978 when they loaded all six of us (and the dog) into our big orange van, packed the tent, and took off for the East Coast. We were gone over a month, travelled all through the South (hello humidity!), up the Atlantic to DC, New York, Boston, visited family in Pittsburgh, and stopped in Chicago to buy a house! We raced back west to get my sister to college on time, and moved to the Midwest in December. What a memory.

I hope all of you are enjoying summer, and are creating some great family memories.

P.S. I took the picture above at the Kansas City airport on May 22. By the time we landed in St. Louis a couple hours later, Joplin, Missouri was devasted by a killer tornado.

Be safe.

Chris

ENDEAVOR AFTER SCHOOL OPPORTUNITY

So sorry for the short notice, but Rock It Learning will offer an after school class called Junk Yard Science, beginning this Thursday, August 11th. The class will run from 3:45-4:45 for the next eight weeks. If you would like more information, please view their information at Endeavor After-School Enrichments. There is limited seating available.

STORM CHASING MAKES CHANGES

You all know how kind the staff at NBC17 has been in supporting our Storm Chasers. Last SC camp, we made some changes. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a tour at NBC17, but Bill Reh was nice enough to come to us. It was exciting for all of us as we had the opportunity to share our side of weather prediction with him. He also saw his shrine for the very first time!

Later in the week we made our first trip to the National Weather Service, which just happens to be located on NCSU's Centennial Campus. Chris was thrilled to be back on her old stomping grounds! We recieved a wonderful tour from Ryan, getting our first look ever at an actual weather balloon (which is the size of a school bus by the time it reaches the top of the atmostphere!) and all of the instruments that they use to predict the weather all day long.

Lastly, Chris and I felt the need to utilize the sun's heat for some new activities so we made solar ovens. Neither the nachos nor the hot dogs were on our diet list of foods, but boy were they delicious!

FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES...& MOMS!

Summer break allows us to catch up with many families that we haven't seen for quite some time as well as welcome new families into our own RIL family. Regardless of new or old families, we so appreciate the kind words and thoughts about RIL. Now with most of the summer behind us, we've had some really special comments that we wanted to share.

Comment #1 came from Zander, a fourth grader from St. David's, on how RIL could improve camp for future campers:

I'm sorry but you guys run your camp with passion and huge hearts so nothing can be improved.

Comment #2 came from Melissa after her son, a fifth grader from Trilogy, finished Rippin' Rockets a few weeks ago:

Patrick has been talking about his rocket camp experience since the launch. We sat down on the couch and looked at his book and I said, "Patrick, what rating would you give the camp overall now that you have finished the whole week?" He said, "A 10!" He has been telling his grandparents (both sides) and aunts and uncle all about how he assembled the rocket and lots about what he learned. I wanted you to know that Patrick has happy recollections and we all feel very satisfied that his camp experience was awesome. You all do a great job with your science and engagement. Great job! You are providing an excellent summer experience.

There are many more, but these two just stood out. Thank you all for your support of Rock It Learning.

FALL CALENDAR

Our Fall Calendar is now on the website. It should be a busy fall, so make sure to sign up and send in your deposits early.

YEAR ROUND SCHOOL BEGINS

Schools that have requested our support in the past are already securing their Rock It Learning presentation dates. Please let your new teachers know about us, and the fact that we would love to come out for a classroom science demo or in-school field trip. If you could forward this newsletter to them or give them our email, we'd so appreciate it.

RIL HOURS OF OPERATION

Please note that since our move, our hours of operation are 9am - 4pm. We also leave the office for recess from 1-2pm (generally). Anyone needing before or aftercare should contact Right Time Kids. Make arrangements with them, let us know, and we'll be glad to retrieve your child at 9am and deliver them at 4pm. Click HERE for RTK's information.

PAST NEWSLETTERS ARE ARCHIVED

If you'd like to see past newletters, we have a link on the right side of our home page to the archives. View Past Newsletters