The Little Medical School

This Summer Camp was one class I as a mother was ecstatic Jaxon had chosen.  On his first day of class he brought home materials all with the Little Medical School logo.  Once I researched this amazing program I truly wish more locations in our area took advantage of their curriculum and services.  The Little Medical School has a list of programs available for children to learn within the medical field.  Such as, Little Veterinarian School, Little Nursing School and Little Pharmacy School being just a couple examples.  

The program includes all forms of learning.  The children do bring home worksheets and crafts everyday, along with adventures of conducting surgeries.  Through exciting entertaining play Jaxon was learning all about the human body.

Each day when they arrived to class they had a list of words of the day.  They covered new topics such as, organs, the brain, the lungs, the heart and bones were just a few that they covered over the course of a week.  Not once did Jaxon ever complain about the work load.  I heard only positive things coming from pure excitement each day.  As we drove home he would tell me stories of his medical adventures.

On the Thursday before the camp ended Jaxon brought home an invitation that he had written to us inviting us to his Little Medical School graduation.  

Along with his diploma Jaxon left for home medical coat in hand, stethoscope around his neck, smiling ear to ear.  The knowledge he picked up was unprecedented.  As a college medical student even I was impressed at the knowledge he absorbed.  When we were children it was unheard of to teach a young child any form of medical training. The future holds so many educational possibilities I can not wait to see what we might embark on next.

What's Cooking, Kids

When choosing summer camps this year I let Jaxon choose from what was available at the Walnut Creek Recreation and Center for Community Arts.  In the past I have really enjoyed the variety they have to offer along with the commitment to running well educated classes.  He has always had a passion for cooking and spends a majority of his time in the kitchen with his nana.  So I was not surprised when he decided to take cooking.  Nor was I going to discourage him when I found out that they taught him how to measure out ingredients during this one week camp.  We had touched base on it during our school year but he had not fully caught on to the concept so I welcomed any assistance in this area.  When we arrived on the first day his teacher was well prepared with letters for all of us to take home and examples of all the recipes they would be cooking during the week at camp.

Mrs. Josephine Evonc was an amazing teacher and if she offered a class every semester we would be there!  

Each day the kids would grab an apron and a hat that was designated to them for the entire week and get to work on their daily creations.  All the recipes she included were very basic, some even took me back to memories of my own childhood cooking experiences.

Mrs. Josephine Evonc succeeded in teaching Jaxon measurements in one week.  He was even administered a test and passed.  He now uses his new measurement vocabulary quite frequently when he is in the kitchen. 

At the end of the camp the children were sent home with a packet that included pictures taken of them through out the week and all the recipes they had created.  I would add that the recipes did not include the exact ingredients.  This is the one thing I found to be a problem once class had ended.  Jax's was so excited to cook his own food and expand his palate only to find out that he had no idea what tomato sauce was used on their pizza.  

At the end of the day it is such an amazing feeling to hear all the stories that come home each day and then be able to see pictures of your child enjoying themselves in moments just as you had hoped for.