Star Beacon
July 31, 2006 07:53 am
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By LISA DAVIS
Staff Writer
ldavis@starbeacon.com
ASHTABULA It's a special five week summer camp where autistic children take field trips and participate in activities ranging from arts and crafts to group games.
On Tuesday, 14 children from the Reach N Teach Summer Camp took a field trip to the Chalk Box on Main Avenue. The children, ages 3 to 16, experienced some gymnastic moves on the equipment.
The children jumped through large hoops on the floor, rolled down and crawled under a mat that was set up as an obstacle course. The children then tried their hand at the gymnastic equipment including a trampoline.
Sheila Dunn of the Easter Seals, who was visiting the camp on Tuesday, said the program started about 15 years ago after a group of parents formed a foundation for their autistic children.
Parents wanted their children to experience the same activities their peers did, Dunn said. The parents of the Autistic Children Foundation raise the funds for the camp through golf outings and reverse raffles.
Monday through Thursday the children and 13 staff members meet at Assembly of God Church in Austinburg.
Jamie Parker, a sixyear volunteer, likes the camp because its a teaching experience. Volunteers are able to have fun and teach the children to have fun, she said.
Daily activities include a morning opening of the days schedule, said Jodi Fowler, director of the camp. Then the children are placed into groups and do three activities. The activities are arts and crafts, cooking, where the children make their afternoon snack and a theme activity.
Every year the camp has a theme, Fowler said. This years theme is transportation and many of the activities focus on transportation.
After lunch the children break into small groups and are taught indoor activities that can be done on a rainy day, Fowler said. Children play games, put puzzles together and read books.
Then its large group activity time and the children go outside and do relay races or play on the playground. Once a week, Wednesdays, are water day and the outside activity is water fun with wadding pools, water balloons and sprinklers, Fowler said. Along with the daily activities, the children also took field trips to AC & J Train in Jefferson for a train ride, visited the Chalk Box several times, went swimming and visited Saybrook Township Park. The annual field trip, which includes family and signals the last day of camp, is to Waldemere Park in Erie, Fowler said.
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