Founders Letter – January

Dear Parents,

We are incredibly excited for the launch of our Summer 2012 season. Each Fall, our team pours over parent surveys from the past summer, interviews dozens of Parent Advisory Circle (PAC) members, designs new activities with our museum partners and brainstorms new programs with summer staff. We do all this with an unwavering commitment to making each summer better than the last. Here’s what we’ve focused on for before summer:

• 21st Century Life Skill Development: Whether it’s our curriculum, our outdoor recreation games, our Edmo Vibe Game, our new EdTech Challenge, our new LEGO® After Camp program or our staff training; we are emphasizing the development of life skills. Skills that help kids succeed in this changing world: creativity, critical thinking, cooperation, confidence, kindness, initiative and of course, our favorite…curiosity!

• Deeper Enrichment Experience: In Camp Edmo, we’ve added a fourth week of curriculum and paired our Arts & Science and Animation weeks under the same themes. Entering 2nd-4th graders can take what they learn in Arts & Science and apply it to the sets, characters and plots of their Animation movies. In Camp EdTech, we’ve introduced new 2-D and 3-D Video Game design sessions, a new Fashion Graphics course and new four-week Media Pack bundles. EdTech campers can now get a more in-depth graphic design, movie making or video gaming experience than ever.

• More Convenience: We’ve added two new Camp Edmo and Camp EdTech locations, Burlingame and Los Altos, in addition to our existing San Francisco, Marin, East Bay, South Bay and Peninsula locations. For those families who need camp in August and want more nature, we’ve added two new Edmo in the Park camps in Oakland and Cupertino. Plus, our convenient healthy lunch delivery service is available for all camps, includes snacks and a beverage…and costs even less!

• Bigger Savings for Lasting Impact: We know choosing a quality summer camp is just as big a priority as sticking to your budget. Getting more out of camp and less out of your bank account this summer is as easy as 1-2-3.

1. Enroll Early
2. Enroll in 3 or more weeks
3. Refer-a-Friend

If you do all three, you’re guaranteed to save money, and ensure the skills your kids build at camp last long after their last, Family Friday show.

Please join us for a fantastic Summer 2012 season! We look forward to seeing your kids’ eyes light up with wonder and excitement.

Sincerely,

Ed Caballero & Sharon Mor
Edventure More Co-Founders

Our Vision

We are inspiring the playful pursuit of enrichment in the next generation.

Our Mission

Edventure More exists to inspire the playful pursuit of enrichment in the next generation. Our programs provide a playful place for kids to nurture their innate curiosity, confidence and kindness through hands-on learning. We create motivational enrichment programs that:

• Unite the talents and specialties of like-minded local organizations
• Serve as a year-round resource for parents
• Foster leadership and growth opportunities for our staff
• Inspire a life-long curiosity and desire to learn in all kids

We are part of the national movement to:

• Eliminate Summer Learning Loss
• Save hands-on learning in schools

Our Services

Summer Camps

• Camp Edmo: A Pre-K–Entering 4th Grade summer day camp featuring hands on Arts & Science, Animation and Recreation activities designed by Edventure More in partnership with the Bay Area’s top museums: the California Academy of Sciences, Museum of Children’s Art and Children’s Creativity Museum.
• Camp EdTech: An Entering 5th-9th Grade digital media arts camp featuring Video Gaming, Movie Making, Music, Animation, Digital Photography and Graphic Design courses designed in partnership with the Children’s Creativity Museum and professionals in the field.
• Edmo in the Park: A Pre-K— Entering 4th grade camp, Edmo in the Park gives kids MORE camp through August and MORE outdoors! Edmo in the Park offers more weeks of summer camp fun – all hosted in a park for maximum summer recreation. Campers get unique themes exploring different aspects of life for their particular area, designed in partnership with top museums (like the Children’s Creativity Museum, MOCHA and more).

School Year Programs

• In Class Program (ICP): A school year program featuring Edventure More guest science presenters leading K-5 science experiments (that correlate with CA State Science Standards) in partner elementary schools across the Bay Area.
• After School Program (ASP): Looking for after school enrichment providers? We offer 5-week after school hands-on science programs for kids in K-5th grades. We also offer a 10-week animation program for 3rd – 8th grades and a digital photography program for 5th – 8th grade.
• School Events:  Edventure More School Events range from hands-on science & technology programs, like science fairs, to our PTA fundraiser booths and workshops.

Charitable Foundation

• Give Camp to Kids Program: Give Camp to Kids awards “camperships” to families who have the most to gain from our hands-on enrichment. GCTK has granted over $300,000 in camperships since its inception in 2004.

Donate to Give Camp to Kids today to counter Summer Learning Loss for an under served child.

Our Philosophy

Our philosophy is in our name. Those feelings that come with an adventure; “excitement”, “wonder”, “anticipation”, “curiosity”, and “self-discovery” are the same emotions we elicit through our activities. When kids experience an Edventure More program, they build 21st Century Skills that extend far beyond 3pm. We call this “The Edmo Vibe.”

• First: Get kids curious. Start by asking good questions, presenting a challenge, or doing a demonstration that makes them say “Wow! How did you do that?”
• Second: Get kids doing. Through hands-on projects kids actively learn. Like an old Chinese proverb goes: “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”
• Third: Get kids laughing. Humor creates positive associations with learning. After we make something, we figure out how to turn it into a game. When you play, you laugh. When you laugh, you want to learn more.
• Fourth: Get kids cooperating. Helping others builds confidence, self-esteem, and teamwork skills, reinforces concepts and teaches them about being good people.
• Fifth: Get kids inspired. Challenge kids to try new ways to experiment or create at home. Give them and their parents resources so they can continue the exploring on their own. Our programs last only a short time. Inspiration lasts forever.