Painesville Schools Summer XP enrichment program worked to bring students learning, fun

Though they still had a couple more weeks of summer break, students showed up to the Chestnut Elementary School gym on Aug. 1 to pick up school supplies and learn using items like Skittles and pipe cleaners.

The activities were part of the final week at Summer XP, a Painesville City Schools enrichment program that ran throughout the summer at the district’s three elementary schools. The program’s online flier noted that each week included a new theme and various activity stations, while the district’s Lunch Box program provided a meal.

“We strike a balance between the level of academics and fun, because we want kids to be engaged, but we also don’t want to make it feel too much like school,” said district Director of Teaching and Learning Wendy Camper.

She noted that the program included guests or activities that tied into each week’s theme. It also offered art, science, reading and math activities, and students were encouraged to learn new “words of the week.”

“We really reinforced just expanding vocabulary, to kind of bring more words into our kids’ lives,” Camper said.

The theme at the Aug. 1 session was “back-to-school.” After eating lunch outside, students went to the gym to pick up notebooks, folders, pencils, headphones and other school supplies.

“Students will have the opportunity to get their own little book bag, and then they get to ‘shop’ for school supplies that they need to start the school year off,” Camper said before the event.

After that, they had an opportunity to visit the four academic stations.

“Solvent” was the word of the week at the science station. Chestnut fourth-grade teacher Jennifer Gerred led students through an activity where they placed Skittles in a bowl of water, watching as the food dye dissolved.

The event also included art and reading activities. Students learned the word “unique” and made pencil toppers out of pipe cleaners at the art station, while they learned the word “successful” and could browse the available books at the reading station.

Finally, the math station included addition and word problem challenges.

“We focused on a series of counting activities,” Camper said of the math program. “We know that our kids are really struggling to just come to school ready with a base in mathematics.”

Students also learned skills related to counting money and telling time. While younger learners may have less exposure to cash, coins and traditional clocks, Camper noted that these items help students learn counting.

Camper noted that the program “averaged between 60 and 70 children per day,” which she called “pretty exceptional.”

Summer XP has its roots in the district’s Book Box program, she noted.

The Book Box began alongside the Lunch Box in 2016.

“Summer XP evolved after COVID, and we really needed an opportunity for kids to get extra practice,” Camper said. “So, that’s where the ‘XP’ comes from, it’s just a chance to have some extra practice in a really fun, engaging environment.”

The 2023 program was offered for students from pre-K through grade 12, noted the flier posted to the district’s Facebook page. It ran on most Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from June 5 through Aug. 2.

“We got really positive feedback from families that these little additions – particularly, adding the words and then the hands-on science – really got kids excited and kept attendance very high,” Camper said. “This was, by far, our best attended summer program we’ve held.”

“We hope to continue to grow it and do it all again next year,” she added.

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