By Sam Pausback, Mackintosh Academy Class of 2017

(Note: Sam and all of the other students mentioned are Mackintosh Academy alums from 2017-2020.)

When I was in 7th grade I had a rather silly ambition; I wanted to hike from the front door of my house in Littleton to the front door of my grandparents’ house in Snowmass. For a good many years this remained more or less an idle dream that I’d bring up every once in a while but never act on. That is until this summer.

I texted my dear friend Quinn, and together we began to plan. Over the course of two weeks we scraped together the outline of a backpacking trip, we planned meals, determined our route, and coordinated with friends to join up with us along the way. After two weeks of preparation, we were prepared, we took up our packs, and set off for the great unknown. To put it simply, we had no clue what we were getting ourselves into.

The first few days proved far more challenging than we’d originally anticipated. As we hiked up Waterton Canyon, we bumped into a group of several other hikers. It was lucky we did, it turned out that Bear Creek, the one reliable water source for the next 12 miles, was bone dry. We loaded up on water, bracing ourselves for a dry couple days. With nearly 10 pounds of water weight each we staggered off. At Bear Creek we got a tip off from a random guy on a bike that we could access water after a ten minute hike. The next day we passed the South Platte; it was a truly brutal day. The sun was hot, we were passing through a burn scar, and we each had to take 10 pounds of water again. From there the going got easier, we entered Lost Park and water became much more plentiful. The distance began to fall away as our bodies grew stronger, we slowly got our trail legs beneath us.

In no time at all, we were hiking down the switchbacks that lead into Breckenridge. It was the first hard day since the South Platte, Quinn and I were tired and it’d been a hot long day. It was also the day Gillian was planning to join us. After she joined us, we hiked another three miles into camp. This, it turns out, was lucky, as the next day we were set to go over a pass and it would’ve been an incredibly difficult day at its original 13 miles. The next day we were up bright and early to hike Walker Pass and camped that night in the Copper Ski Resort. Two days and 20 miles later we arrived at Tennessee Pass. Gillian left us and Henry and Ember joined our crew of merry folks. We had entered our final day on the Colorado Trail. It was on the shores of Turquoise Lake (more of a navy in my opinion) that we were set to make our first fateful steps into the unknown away from the well marked Colorado Trail. At least that was the plan.

Our next move was to follow a winter trail up to Skinner’s Hut. The one problem, we couldn’t find it. We had traveled nearly 10 miles that day and we were all exhausted, so we decided to make camp for the night. That’s when we encountered our second “spot o bother.” Turns out, teenagers eat a lot. Seated there, our plans already awry, Quinn and I realized we didn’t have enough food. After some frantic attempts to contact my parents, a brief hitchhiking trip, and a lot of discussion, we finally got an emergency restock planned. The challenges did not end from there, but we trail hopped our way through the backcountry of Aspen.

Several times we didn’t have a trail and had to bushwack our way, relying on instinct as much as map and GPS to guide us. It was in this way that we finally entered Lenado, Colorado  (a town of approximately 5 people), a band of tired wayfarers. In Lenado we were met with hospitality and kindness, meeting unexpectedly with a few old family acquaintances. The next day we were in Aspen, eating in our first restaurant after nearly 20 days on the trail. We camped on the Buttermilk Ski Aria (semi-legally), and in the dead of night Ember saw our first bear of the trip! After many hard days of travel, our goal was in sight. Hemmed in with flames, our schedule had to be moved up a little. It was that afternoon that we finally entered Snowmass Valley, re-tracing familiar ground. And finally, with tired eyes, we saw our goal. The finally few steps simply flew by as we walked up the driveway to my grandparents house.

Sitting in the car on the drive home, I reflected back on what we’d done. This had been a trip I had been dreaming about for nearly four years, and I had just finished it. Now, after nearly 20 days of continual walking, we finally had a chance to sit and reflect. All of us sat there in our separate worlds. I can’t speak for my companions, but I found myself dwelling on the first day of the trip, the excitement I had felt, as well as the uncertainty. We had all grown so much from that first day, both in strength and character, and even as I began to drift off, I smiled a little to myself content in what we had accomplished.

The post Mack Alums Make Epic Hike from Littleton to Snowmass appeared first on Mackintosh Academy.

Lila, an 8^th grader, completed Outward Bound Costa Rica’s Scuba & Sea Turtle Adventure Destination. On this 14-day course, she volunteered in Panama in conservation efforts to protect endangered sea turtles and explored coral reefs while learning to scuba dive. Lila participated in a multi-day service project in the wetlands on the Caribbean coast of Panama to help the endangered leatherback sea turtle population. Her group then traveled to the remote island of Solarte, located in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, where they learned about the local ecology and marine life and scuba dived. After completing and passing the NAUI Open Water Certification training, Lila and her course mates are all now scuba certified. “My best memory of this course was drinking coconut water (cut by a machete and from the coconut) while laughing with friends on the beach late at night,” Lila said.

Fiona, a third grader, decided that she wanted to support a clean water project in Kenya. She gave a presentation at an adult Sunday school on the challenges people can face in accessing clean water and how that can impact the ability of girls to attend school. Fiona’s original goal was to earn $10, which would have raised enough money for one clean water kit – but through her presentation and by selling her drawings over social media and at an outdoor stand, she raised enough to buy a whole well. This well supports 159 students and their teachers in Kenya in having access to clean, safe drinking water in their school. Fiona said, “My two favorite parts were drawing the pictures and hearing how many people I gave clean water. When I heard how many people I helped, I felt proud of what I did.”

7^th grader B. traveled with his church to a work in the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma for a week. Oklahoma is one of the hungriest states in the nation, and the food banks distribute 68.6 million pounds of food per year. B. and his companions packed, labeled and weighed 27 pound boxes for distribution to families. They also bagged potatoes and worked in the food bank’s gardens. B. was willing to get his hands dirty for the cause! He said, “The first day there were hundreds of bags of leaves that had been stored for a year. We had to put into piles for compost. Some of the leaves were wet and rotted. When you opened the bags, you would get wet and gross. Once I was wet, I just decided to get really gross.” As a large operation, the Regional Food Bank brings in thousands of volunteers each year; B.’s church group was selected as top volunteer group for the quarter.

7^th grader Aidan traveled to Costa Rica with Education First to volunteer. While in Costa Rica, Aidan’s group of 17 Denver area middle schoolers visited a school and gave them some much needed supplies and spent some time with the students.  They also helped plant trees in the mountains to help with the deforestation issue. Before leaving for Costa Rica, the group served at a local horse rescue facility, cleaning stables. Aidan said, “To help pay for the trip, I walked dogs, did yard work and chores around the house, asked for donations in place of presents for Christmas from family.   I also held a garage sale and made over $300 selling my stuff.  Letting go of my stuff was the hardest part.”

Mackintosh students are never at a loss for ideas on how they can contribute to their community. Whether on or off campus, Mack students embody the profile of open-minded, caring, principled global citizens.

~ by Kristi Holmes Espineira, Director of Advancement, Mack Littleton

The post Global Action: Student Summer Service appeared first on Mackintosh Academy.

Oh, and I start to experience low-level panic as all of the summer camp flyers begin arriving in the mail.

“Summer? ALREADY?” I think incredulously. I don’t even have any vacations or travel planned yet… how am I supposed to know which weeks I should be signing the kids up for camps? And yet the word on the street is that some camps are already filling up. This routine happens every year. (You’d think I’d, I don’t know, anticipate it.) And, just when I decide to get my scheduling act together or else, I get the camp registration email from Mack.

Good news! Mackintosh Academy has expanded their summer camp offerings at both the Littleton and Boulder campuses. The offerings will allow kids to explore current passions and perhaps expand their willingness to try something new.

New this year are Mack-Boulder’s Macktastic Camps which will have a different theme each week and will run from 8am-4pm. Macktastic Camp will take full advantage of Mack-Boulder’s 23 acre campus that includes a pond, a creek, a grove, and large outdoor play spaces.

Click here for a full list of Mack-Boulder’s offerings and registration information and here for Mack-Littleton’s.

Now that I have summer squared away, I suppose I should finish planning spring break. ::sigh::

The post Sweating Summer Planning? Mack Camps to the Rescue! appeared first on Mackintosh Academy.

We are so excited to offer summer camps for our Mackintosh families, their friends, and our surrounding neighborhood community. Summer camp programs are being scheduled to be held on our campus late July-August. (Dates and timing TBD. Tentatively July 30-August 17/24.) Ages per camp will be specified, but scheduling will be available from age 5-14 from 7am-6pm.

Individual camp flyers are in production. Call or email us for more details.

frontoffice@mackintoshacademy.com

303-794-6222

Registration and payment information are pending.

So sign up for fun filled activities and spread the word to all!

If attending, student must bring sack lunch and snacks

Dates and Time coming soon for Mackintosh Summer Olympics, which will be held in August.

The post Mack-Littleton Summer Camps appeared first on Mackintosh Academy.

But it wasn’t! The kids barely noticed. It wasn’t a big deal because of my Amazing Road Trip System.

I’ve always loved road trips. (When you grow up in a large state like Oregon, you tend to view a four-hour trip as a walk in the park.) And it used to be that all I needed was some great music and a bag of Corn Nuts, and I was all set for hours on the road.

Then kids happened.

For a while, we managed five-hour trips to Grandpa’s just fine with some board books, a dvd player, and an unlimited supply of Goldfish crackers. When we moved from Oregon to Michigan, however, life changed. We could get to my husband’s parents in under seven hours of driving if we cut through Canada, but my side of the family was several states away. My husband worked most of the summer, so if I wanted to take the kids for a nice, long visit in Oregon, I needed to either fly solo with my children (then two, seven, and nine), or drive with them across 3/4ths of the country. I hate flying anyway—and solo with young kids? No, thank you. (Additionally, paying for airline tickets plus a rental car at our destination, when I crunched the numbers, always came out to be significantly more than the gas for our vehicle plus a couple of nights in a reasonably priced road trip hotel.)

But if I was going to road trip with children and without another adult, I knew I needed a System.

It’s now five years (and at least twice that many road trips) later, and the System has evolved to the point of, dare I say, perfection. As I wrote above, when I inadvertently added 2.5 hours to an already long day of driving, the only negative outcome was a major case of Tired Butt Syndrome.

There are many aspects to the System. While they all work together for my family to create a glorious symphony of road trippery, feel free to pick and choose what makes most sense to you.

Pre-trip Planning-

If children are going to spend 10-13 hours riding in the car with minimal complaining, the least I can do is find lodging with a decent pool and some sort of slide or play feature. (I seriously take this into consideration when I plan the driving route.) I always make sure there is at least a mini-fridge in the room and that breakfast is included in the price of the room. (Our favorite “road trip hotel” is ClubHouse Hotel & Suites… the two we’ve visited—Sioux Falls, SD and Pierre, SD—have good pools, nice rooms, and our dog stayed for free. Plus, they have s’mores kits for use at their outdoor fire pits.)

Once the route is established and the lodgings are booked, I plan the pit stops. I shoot for every 3.5 hours of driving, or roughly every 250 miles. I evaluate the possible stops for: distance off of the highway, amount of gas station options, and coffee/food options. (The latter only comes into play if I’m dying for Starbucks or if it is near dinner time and the kids are clamoring for Jimmy John’s, one of the lesser evils of fast food options.) Even if we don’t need gas, I fill up at every pit stop. Yes, I will make an unscheduled stop if there is a bathroom need, but it is a pretty rare occurrence. Occasionally, if nobody has to use the bathroom and we’re cruising along happily, we’ll blow throw a scheduled stop (which is possible if you’re filling up at all the other stops). Having a System doesn’t mean you can’t be flexible… it’s just there if you need it.

I print out a map of each day’s driving route. I mark the starting point, each projected pit stop, and the day’s destination. Each person in the car will get his own packet of the maps. This limits the amount of time I have to hear the most dreaded road trip questions . . .  “When are we stopping?” “How much farther?” “Where are we?” It also creates anticipation.

My whole road trip system is based on the Theory of Anticipation. Okay, so maybe that isn’t an actual theory, but do you remember listening to the radio for hours, hoping to hear a favorite song? Or waiting ALL YEAR for the Easter showing of The Wizard of Oz? We’d sing the songs and act it out for months while we waited. Anticipation is better even than the reward. So, with that thought in mind, I try and create as much anticipation as possible during a long day on the road; it seriously helps the time pass quickly.

Another part of the planning process (and creating anticipation!) is acquiring and wrapping road trip presents. This doesn’t have to cost a lot of money—the most successful presents I’ve purchased to date were the used Far Side anthologies I bought from Powell’s for a few bucks each. I use newspaper instead of wrapping paper. The idea is that you wrap up things like books, a dvd, a pack of gum, Mad-Libs, a water toy for the hotel pool, or other small items that can be enjoyed in the car . . . the kids get to unwrap something at intervals throughout the day. I indicate the “unwrapping” times on their maps. It’s fun to time those for moderately significant moments like entering a new state.

Clothes- I have small duffel bags for each person. The duffels contain some clothes for the destination, but they also contain road trip outfits rolled into bundles with rubber bands or tied with string. Each bundle contains a t-shirt, underwear, and socks.

I pack a separate reusable grocery bag that contains swimming stuff: trunks, a life-jacket when needed for the youngest kid, and goggles.

Toiletries– I find it easier to pack one large family toiletries bag.

Electronics– All charging cords, etc. live in one bin or bag. Devices are stored in there when not in use.

Backpacks- Each child has a backpack filled with a couple of books, personal items, and a draw box filled with paper, pencils, pens, and markers.

Everyone has a large, re-fillable water bottle.

Sundry bin- Baby wipes, hand sanitizer, bags for garbage, small cutting board and sharp knife, napkins, extra drawing paper.

Food- I hate wasting good daylight driving hours waiting for and eating food, so that rules out restaurants. I also despise almost all fast food, and nobody feels good after eating crap for three meals a day several days in a row. The answer is to plan ahead and pack food… not EVERYTHING you’ll need for the whole trip, but enough to help you make good time and not feel terrible while doing it.

In a plastic bin with a lid I pack:

Granola/protein bars, fruit leather, individual serving sized baggies of dry cereal, individual serving sized baggies of crackers, individual packets/containers of peanut butter, individual serving sized baggies of trail mix.

In a towel-lined reusable grocery bag I pack:

Bananas, apples, clementines.

I pack a small cooler that contains:

Sandwiches for the first day, hard-boiled (and peeled) eggs, tubes of yogurt that I’ve frozen, string cheese, Mini-Babybel cheese wheels, individual serving sized baggies of grapes, individual serving sizes baggies of baby carrots.

We always eat a quick breakfast at the free hotel breakfast bar before hitting the road. For dinner, we either grab a quick sandwich at Jimmy John’s, or I’ll order pizza and salad to be delivered to the common area of our hotel. We’ll eat it before or after our evening swim. The food listed above gets us through the rest of the day. Not stopping for sit-down meals helps us make great time during the day and enables us to have time in the evening to enjoy ourselves in the hotel pool.

Entertainment-

One year, I really went overboard and wrote down a schedule of the day, including entertainment blocks. It was largely ignored, not surprisingly. What I have found that works really well instead, is having a loose cycle. Video games are fairly “high interest” for my kids, but since it says right in the Nintendo manual that they shouldn’t play for more than 30 minutes at a time, we use that as a guideline. The video game sessions provide the structure for the cycles. For instance, as soon as we’re on the main highway each morning, they get a 30ish minute video game session. Once that is finished, the next video game session can begin two hours later. In between sessions, there are many choices:

Read

Listen to audiobook

Listen to music

Listen to comedy

Draw box

Math

Writing journal

Movie/tv

We usually have times where everyone is doing something quietly on their own, and then there are other times when we’re all listening to something or watching something together. Before leaving, I make sure to download at least one audio book for each kid (and one for the whole family to listen to together). I also make a fun playlist or two. Usually at some point during each day, we have a round of “DJ,” where we take turns picking songs to all listen to together. The music is loud, and we all get silly. (“Boogie in Your Butt” by Eddie Murphy is a frequent pick, and, for some reason, “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” by Alan Jackson.)

In addition to music, I make a playlist of different comedians… it’s not too hard to find bits that are moderately appropriate. Listening to comedy together is a nice alternative to audiobooks and music on a long trip. Plus, it makes for excellent inside jokes. Just ask my kids about Pig Newtons.

I also make sure to have some different viewing options. We have an old portable dvd player on which they can watch movies together, and I make sure to have some options on iTunes for each kid. Usually, though, with all of the other options, movie/tv watching is just a small part of each day. It can really save those last, long two hours of each day’s drive, though.

Each child is encouraged to spend some time free-writing and doing a little math review. My children enjoy reading, so I don’t have to bribe them to do that. As for the math and writing, their next gaming session is usually a good enough carrot. (Your kids will thank you in the fall when they realize they didn’t succumb to the dreaded Summer Slide.)

The key, again, is anticipation. If you give the day a little structure… and throw in some “good for your brain” activities… there is more anticipation for the screen time. Having a predictable flow makes the day go smoother, and the kids don’t get tired of the “fun” things.

Lodging Logistics-

When we arrive at the hotel in the evening, I spend five minutes loading a reusable grocery bag with an outfit “bundle” from each person’s bag. (Unless the shorts were spilled on, they just wear the same shorts two days in a row.) We also bring in the electronics bin, toiletries bag, personal backpacks, swimming bag, and the small cooler. Food is put in the fridge for the night and ice packs are refrozen. Since we only bring in a few things, we only need to make the one trip into the hotel. (I developed this aspect of the System after feeling so annoyed about dragging in all of our bags each night to the hotel… and basically having to repack the car each morning.)

After swimming and showering, the kids sleep in the t-shirt and underwear they’ll wear the next morning. In the morning, I grab a plastic laundry bag from the hotel room closet for their dirty clothes from the day before, and when we get back in the car, the dirty clothes goes into a larger reusable bag in the car.

Combatting Tired Butt Syndrome-

The worst thing about long hours of driving is TBS. At each pit stop, we spend a few minutes running up and down available green space or an empty edge of a parking lot. Jumping jacks work, too, if you don’t have room. Once at the hotel, no matter the time, we always swim. The kids need that time to move, and they can always doze in the car the next day if they’re tired.

Random Helpful Hints-

*You’ve noticed I mention reusable grocery bags a lot. I make sure to have at least ten or so in the car. The larger, sort of stiff ones are perfect for just about any road trip need.

*Pass around the citrus after hard-boiled eggs are eaten—the orange peel scent eradicates the egg smell!

*Every day, each kid gets to pick out one Junk Treat at one of the afternoon pit stops. Everyone looks forward to their Junk Treats–anticipation! And a piece of candy or a bag of chips, if you’re otherwise eating pretty healthful foods, isn’t going to do much harm. (Corn Nuts still make the best Junk Treat in my book… Red Vines are a close second.)

*You can always play the license plate game or other road trip favorites. Put together a road trip “scavenger hunt” where the kids can cross off items as they come across them.

*To keep myself from going crazy, I encourage the kids to keep their drawing stuff and books and such in their backpacks when not in use. The same goes for electronic items—devices and charging cords go in the bin when not in use. If food is eaten, the trash goes immediately in a garbage bag. That way, everyone knows where their items are at any given time; plus, clutter in a crowded car just makes everyone grumpy.

*Each person begins the trip with a reusable water bottle that is rinsed out each evening and refilled throughout the day. Drinking fountains are usually available at gas stations/travel centers.

*Try and be on the road by 8am so that you don’t have to drive in the dark in the evening. It is crucial to have time for some good swimming at the hotel each evening—it gives the kids something to look forward to and, as mentioned above, combats TBS.

*I always schedule the longest driving day for the first day on the road when nobody’s road weary yet and our butts are fresh.

This summer I have only one major road trip scheduled with the kids and without my husband. It will only be twenty hours of driving and 1,250 miles each way, which seems like a breeze compared to other trips we’ve taken. The trip isn’t for another six weeks, at least. But I’m already thinking about play lists, road trip prezzies, and route options. The Amazing Road Trip System actually enables me to look forward to the time on the road with my kids instead of dreading it.

It doesn’t hurt when you’re able to schedule a pit stop for a gas station next to an In ‘N Out Burger. One of their shakes makes a great Junk Treat.

Don’t forget to ask for a hat.

The post The Definitive Survival Guide for Long Road Trips With Children appeared first on Mackintosh Academy.

The large, hand-written number 27 is visible from all the way down the hall. 27 school days left in the year. Tomorrow it will read 26, and the next day 25. The second grade class has created and posted a giant countdown calendar in the hallway for everyone to enjoy.

Well, perhaps not everyone.

While the calendar might be a source of ecstasy for students and teachers, that particular countdown has been known to elicit panic in parents.

(Perhaps you are the type of parent who reacts like this: “Oh, I LOVE every moment of having my kids home all summer, tra la, they never bicker or get bored or get on each other’s nerves.” Maybe you share Leo’s zest for summer. Good for you, I say. You may stop reading now. The rest of you, press on.)

Sure, the onset of summer break does bring relief from the pressures of homework and a certain rigidity of schedule, but it can add a whole host of other issues. For parents who work outside the home, there is the stress of finding care/supervision. For work-at-home parents, their “office” will be invaded by beings who can be more demanding than any coworker or boss. For stay-at-home parents, the regular routine of the school year will disappear and the responsibility of filling those long, summer days will fall to them. Parents with one child will have the pressure of becoming “playmate”, while parents with multiple children must assume the role of “referee”.

Well, don’t despair. There’s still time to put together a foolproof plan for a stress-free summer. Here are some tips to help you put aside the panic so you can greet summer with the same excitement your kids possess:

-Insofar as it is practical and possible, involve your children in summer planning. They will be more invested and excited about what they’ve had a hand in creating.

-Mix it up! Try to space out travel, camps, and (if you aren’t working) regular “at home” weeks so that you aren’t doing too much of the same week-to-week. If you need full-time care for your kids, try to find an organization that offers different kinds of camps so that your kids can try new things each week. If you have a great babysitter, add in a week here and there at home so that your kids don’t get camp fatigue.

-It’s nice to schedule weeks when all of the kids are at camps at the same time, but it can also be great to stagger camps so that you get some nice one-on-one time with each child and can host some play dates that might otherwise feel like “too much” with everyone at home. Plus, staggering the weeks at camp gives your kids more of a break from each other—that can go a LONG way in reducing bickering.

-For those (like me) with homebodies for kids, you might have a lot of weeks without camps or travel planned. You can plan a partial or full day outing to a lake or someplace and maybe a play date of some kind with another family to break up the week. That covers two days, and you can space them out if possible. On other “nothing planned” kinds of days, I like to have a regular rhythm of sorts. (Sure, some days they get involved in building a village out of cardboard in the basement and spend the whole day down there, and that’s great, but it’s nice to have a little structure to fall back on.)

For example, my kids don’t play electronics during the average school week; the same holds true for the summer, EXCEPT: if they want to earn 30 minutes of screen time (and they almost ALWAYS do) they (without arguing) do something for the family (a chore), do something good for their minds (some math review or writing), and do something good for their bodies (some sort of active exercise on their own or as a family). By the time they motivate themselves to accomplish all of that (inevitably interspersed with some leisurely Lego playing, bouncing on the trampoline, and such) and then play their electronics, it is usually lunchtime. After lunch everyone has some quiet time reading in their rooms. Aside from the quiet time, all of the other stuff is optional—that’s the key to making it struggle-free. After quiet time, we usually head out for an errand or something fun like swimming, a trip to the library, or playing at a park. By the time we get home, the kids are happy to play outside while I prepare dinner; the next thing you know, everyone’s in jammies for a round of spoons or a movie.

-Add something easy that can make home feel special! For example, put up a tent in the backyard. Pretend “camping” can keep your kids busy while they are having a ball. Go a step further and roast wieners and s’mores over a fire-pit for dinner. Your kids might even want to sleep in the tent overnight.

-See if any grandparents or relatives want to host your kids for a week. A week of bonding will be fun for all of them while giving you a little peace and quiet at home.

– The “summer slide” is real, people. And I’m not talking about the big shiny thing at the park. As a teacher, I can attest to the fact that when kids return to school in the fall, and they haven’t read or practiced any math facts over the summer, their self-esteem can take a big hit. I encourage reading aloud, independent reading, audio books on road trips, trips to libraries and bookstores, etc. to keep your kids reading regularly throughout the summer. If your kids are resistant to paper and pencil math review, there are lots of fun ways to get the practice in–games like Zeus on the Loose and Uno (with some variations added… such as, before you can play a card, you have to multiply it by the card on the top of the pile), and online programs like IXL Math, for example. Starting a writing journal or a family blog can be great for keeping their writing skills sharp, as well. This might seem too “programmed” to some and not worth the effort, but I have found that “all play and no work” can end up being more of a headache than having some loose structure. Of course, providing your children an easier transition back to school in the fall makes it worthwhile regardless.

If you have any “summer survival” tips to share, we’d love to read them in the comments section on Facebook. With a little planning and some structure, parents can join in the exciting countdown to summer.

Check out all of the awesome camps offered at Mackintosh Academy this summer! 

The post The Summer Countdown for Parents: Joyful or Panic-inducing? appeared first on Mackintosh Academy.

Gifted and creative students can have passionate interests and wild imaginations. Summer is a great time to feed and nourish those interests.

This summer Mackintosh Academy is launching a set of great camps for gifted and creative kids ages 5-14 – offering full roster for children who love to go fast, dive deep, ask big questions, get messy and have a lot of fun with their “tribe.”

Camps range from Camp Invention to Chess Club, Dragons to Druidawn, Sticky Fingers Cooking to Sports & Science Camp.

They will be held on both Mackintosh Boulder and Littleton Campuses.  Both campuses boast beautiful outdoor spaces.  Boulder’s camps will take full advantage of its 23 acre campus  – complete with pond, creek, grove and large outdoor play spaces.

Here is the complete list of Mackintosh Camps for Summer 2015:

• African Safari
• Around the World Art
• Awesome is Everywhere
• Band/Orchestra Camp
• Camp Invention
• Chess Camp (Wiz-Kids)
• Creative Writing
• Dragon Camp
• Drawing
• Druidawn
• Beginning Fencing
• Flute/Woodwinds Camp (Parlando)
• Invention Camp
• Rock Band Camp (Parlando)
• Sports & Science
• Sticky Fingers Cooking
• Wilderness Survival

Register for Boulder Camps

LITTLETON CAMPS

• Sticky Fingers Cooking
• Everything is Awesome
• Lazer Leaders Sport Camps
• Bricks 4 Kidz
• Challenge Island (STEM)
• Mackintosh Summer Art Camp & Summer Olympics (Aug 20, 21, 24)

Littleton Camps Flyer

We’ve also compiled a large list of other great camps for gifted kids that our parents have loved — both in the local Boulder/Denver/Littleton area as well as others nation wide.  These camps have been recommended by our Mackintosh families over the years.

Here’s to a summer filled with interesting adventures and tons of fresh air and fun!

The post Mackintosh Launches Great Summer Camps for Gifted and Creative Kids appeared first on Mackintosh Academy.

Segue Into Summer Details

This series of four Tuesday/Thursday evening workshops (6-7:30) promises to help you make the most of the summer months and to optimize this time for you and your family.

We are honored to have the following local professionals offer us their time and expertise on the following subjects, and hope you will join us:1.

• April 29: Susan Kracklauer, Certified Nutritionist, on Mastering Summer Nutrition
• May 6: Kerri Honaker, MS, MA, LPC, BCN, and Charity Finch, MS, LPCC, BCN on Brain Strategies for Summer – How to Best Serve the Gifted Child and How Neurofeedback can help
• May 8: Todd Barto, Youth Sports Coach and member of the Positive Coaching Alliance on The Lesson Gifted Kids (and Parents) Can Learn Through Youth Sports
• May 13: Catherine Zakoian, MA, LPC on Transitions:  How to Help the Gifted Child with Closure of the 2013/14 School Year and Segue into Summer

These events are open to the community and all will be free except for the last one on May 13 ($10 suggested donation).

Please RSVP if you plan to attend to amy@mackintoshacademy.

Workshop sessions will be held in the Performing Arts room.

We will offer childcare for a $10 per child fee (and will include pizza if there is enough demand!)  YOU MUST RSVP FOR CHILDCARE 48-HOURS IN ADVANCE.

More detailed information can be found below:
1. Topic:       Mastering Summer Nutrition

Who:         Susan Kracklauer, Certified Nutritionist
When:       Tuesday, April 29, 6-7:30 pm
Cost:         Free

Join Mackintosh parent and Certified Nutrition Therapist Susan Kracklauer for a presentation on “Mastering Summer Nutrition” – how to best support summer activities and developing brains through nutrition!  You will learn about foods that provide the best nutrients for growing bodies and brains, easy sack lunches and on-the-go nourishment for summer camps and activities and tools to help get picky eaters out of a rut before the next school year.  We will look at how to take advantage of home gardening and farmers market in ways that will support both your kids and family, and even take away some family-friendly recipes!  Plus, there will be delicious snacks to sample from a local-foods meal service, Back to the Basics Kitchen!

2. Topic:       Strategies for Summer – From Boredom to Overscheduling, How to Best Serve the Gifted Child Over Summer – and how Neurofeedback can help

Who:         Kerri Honaker, MS, MA, LPC, BCN and Charity Finch, MS, LPCC, BCN
When:       Tuesday, May 6, 6-7:30 pm
Cost:         Free

Join Neurofeedback professionals Kerri Honaker and Charity Finch for a lively and engaging discussion about how to make the most of summer for the your gifted child and family.   Kerri and Charity will also speak to how Neurofeedback can help address issues such as ADHD and anxiety in children and how summer can be a great time to “boost the brain” in preparation for the upcoming school year. Additionally, one lucky participant will get to experience neurofeedback during the workshop – and get to witness “real time” how neurofeedback can inform us of our brain patterns and how this powerful modality can help “reprogram” these patterns to create more desired outcomes.

Here is what past clients have said:

“The whole household feels more calm.”

“Subjects I thought were boring have become more interesting!  And sometimes, even fun!“

“My child has developed a confidence in herself.”

3.  Topic:     Beyond Sports: The Lessons Gifted Kids (and their Parents) Can Learn Through Youth Sports
Who:        Todd Barto, Youth Sports Coach and member of the Positive Coaching Alliance
When:      Thursday, May 8, 6-7:30 pm
Cost:         Free

Join Mack parent and Youth Sports Coach Todd Barto for a rich discussion on the value – and learning opportunities – sports can provide for gifted children.  Whether your child is participating in a summer sports league or sports-related camp, you will learn:

• A coach’s perspective
• What kids (and parents) can learn from youth sports
•  The parallels between sports, academics, and life
• Giftedness and sports
• How can we help our children navigate qualities such as perfectionism, over-excitabilities, and sensitivities through sports?

4.   Topic:       Transitions:  How to Help the Gifted Child with Closure of the 2013/14 School Year and Segue Into Summer

Who:         Catherine Zakoian MA, LPC, founder of Lumineux Institute Specializing in counseling gifted children families and organizations
When:       Tuesday, May 13, 6-7:30 pm
Cost:         $10 suggested donation

Join local gifted counselor and educational consultant Catherine Zakoian for a rich discussion about why transitions can be hard for gifted learners and how to help your child/children transition from the school year to summer, and back again in the fall.   Catherine will give suggestions for how to create meaningful rituals that help children and families honor anticipation and feelings of loss and uncertainty that can arise when endings or changes occur.   She will also provide tools for how to help children and parents create and live with authentic intention and integration when moving into a new phase in order to gain the most benefit from these life experiences. Catherine has been active within the Boulder gifted community since 2005, most recently offering the three-part salon series, Sanctuary for the Gifted Empath Child for Boulder Valley Gifted and Talented.  We are honored to have her share her wisdom with our community.

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