Homework Room

CAC's Homework Room is the pulse of the education program during the school year, serving an 65-85 students each afternoon from a variety of schools and grade levels. The purpose of the Homework Room, under the leadership of Director Mike Wiedman, is to assist students in completing their homework and to encourage school attendance and achievement.  We are not alone in this effort.  A variety of America Reads workstudy students, Americorp volunteers, college students, and community volunteers participate in our daily activities.

Christian Activity Center Children’s Media Center
“The Evidence is strong that young people who are not fluent readers and writers by the end of the third grade may never catch up to their peers.”                                                                                                                                             - Children’s Literacy Initiative

Knowing the value of teaching children not only to read, but to love to read prompted us to create the CAC Children’s Media Center. The purpose of the Children’s Media Center is to give children access to quality children’s literature, developmentally appropriate reading instruction, and the opportunity to interact with adults who understand the value of books.

The Media Center houses of 2,000 books and other forms of media. Children ages six to 18 have weekly access to picture books, chapter books, books on tape, magazines, software, reference materials, and educational videos. Children also have the opportunity to attend story time twice weekly and to “buddy-up” with adult volunteers willing to share a good book and a hug.

Summer Learning Academy
“Education is no the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
- William Butler Yeats

During Summer Learning Academy 2007, classes were offered to 1st through 12th grade students. Classes were crosscurricular and covered a variety of subjects, including science, writing, reading, math, study skills, and ACT/SAT preparation.

Each summer, students inevitably lose some of the skills and knowledge that they have acquired throughout the school year. One of the main purposes of Summer Learning Academy is to keep that loss at a minimum. Throughout summer classes, students do a great deal of reading, writing, and arithmetic to keep their skills sharp. Students also experience frequent read-alouds to promote literacy and increase vocabulary skills.

Making learning fun was also a focal point of summer classes. School is often a frustrating experience for students. CAC wants students to be able to experience success in each summer class we offer. This is accomplished by offering a variety of hands-on activities that cater to a spectrum of learning levels and styles. Students build terrariums to learn about the water cycle, experiment with space ice cream, launch solar balloons, and construct Mars Landers to make science applicable - and fun! To extend learning, students travel to the Science Center to discover the wonders of weather forecasting, the Magic House to explore math puzzles, and parks to test their Mars Landers. We look forward to our Summer Learning Academy each year!