The Vacation Vacuum : Winter break: Some Valley students will be away from the classroom from Dec. 20 to Feb. 13. But intersession programs are in the offing.
The time was when winter vacation offered a mere two-week breather between fall and spring semesters, a chance to visit the grandparents, play with Christmas or Hanukkah toys and maybe enjoy a ski weekend with the family. But this year, for the many San Fernando Valley students in track A schools, winter break will be a great big yawning stretch from Dec. 20 through Feb. 13, right in the middle of a season when camps and other fair-weather programs are normally closed.
While some parents--especially those with healthy incomes--will use the time for extra travel with their children, the majority of working couples are now facing the novel dilemma of what to do with kids suddenly at large and unsupervised during this quiet time of year.
Luckily for them, other people have also been considering the problem.
“The big concern in the community now is to gear up to meet the need,” says Conchita Puncel, director of the Child Development Division of the L.A. Unified School District. “Our policy is for the district to cooperate with various agencies to provide child care and enrichment during vacations.”
In addition to what’s available through the schools, groups such as the YMCA, the city’s Recreation and Parks Department and various Jewish community centers have developed programs, based on their customary summer activities. These programs will run during the winter intersession. Camps that don’t usually operate during the cold months are getting into the act too, with modified versions of their summertime offerings.
Most intersession programs are aimed at elementary and junior high school children and feature traditional camp-style fare: arts and crafts, sports, singing, storytelling and cooking. Field trips to amusement parks and museums are also common, though often more frequent for older children.
At this point, alternatives for academic enrichment are still few and far between. A number of local institutions such as Pierce College and L.A. Valley College, which normally offer summer enrichment classes, will be using all their classroom space for their own students this winter. In the future, however, as the demand grows, it’s likely that more options will emerge.
While it’s impossible to present a complete list of intersession programs for Valley residents, the following represents a sampling of what’s out there, both public and private, to suit a variety of interests and budgets.
CHILD CARE
* The Child Development Division of the L.A. Unified School District runs a number of low-cost child-care programs that will be operating during intersession. The district also leases public school sites to outside agencies, which use them for child-care and enrichment programs.
For information on care options close to home, parents should call their children’s school first. There might be an intersession program there.
Also, L.A. Unified Children’s Centers, which normally offer extended day care on a sliding fee scale for qualifying, low-income preschool and school-age children, might have extra spaces available during winter break.
For information on Children’s Centers or on private agencies offering care or enrichment programs at school sites, call the Child Development Division, (818) 997-2300, Ext. 6506.
* Since 1982, the nonprofit 31st District PTSA (Parent Teacher Student Assn.) Latchkey Project has provided before- and after-school care for elementary-age children at selected schools in the Valley. From Dec. 23 to Feb. 13, the program will offer full day care from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at a cost of $85 for a five-day week and $70 for a four-day holiday week, with subsidized rates for qualifying families. Activities will include arts and crafts, indoor games and outdoor sports. For information, call (818) 996-2668.
* All L.A. Unified elementary and junior high schools have Youth Services After-School Playground programs, which give students between two and four hours of extra supervised play at the end of the school day. The program will operate at all sites from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 6 to Feb. 13. And at selected schools for an additional two hours, until 6 p.m., kindergartners through eighth-graders will be welcome at no charge for a planned schedule of organized sports, table games and arts and crafts. Participants must be able to take care of themselves, since the program is permissive and allows children to come and go freely. For information, parents should consult the principal or the Youth Services playground supervisor at their children’s school.
CAMPS and RECREATION PROGRAMS
* Already the largest private provider of school-age child care in Los Angeles, the YMCA is playing a leading role in the development of engaging winter activities for vacationing students. Each of the Y’s four Valley branches will offer intersession day camps from Dec. 23 to Feb. 13 for a fee that ranges from $75 to $110 a week and includes extended hours of care--from 6:30 or 7 a.m. until 6 or 6:30 p.m. The programs--mainly for children from kindergarten through junior high--will blend the traditional camp staples of crafts, games, singing and storytelling with regular field trips as well as opportunities for weekend outings at Camp Whittle, the Y’s winterized facility in Big Bear. Winter sign-ups will be held at all four Valley Ys on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m.
For further information on the Y’s programs, which vary somewhat from branch to branch, contact:
The East Valley Family YMCA at (818) 763-5126;
The North Valley Family YMCA at (818) 365-3231 (ask for Laura Mayo);
The West Valley Family YMCA at (818) 345-7393; The Mid Valley Family YMCA at (818) 989-3800 (ask for Ed Viramontes).
* The Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, which sponsors summer day camps through its local recreation centers, will also launch an effort this year to keep schoolchildren busy during their winter break. While offerings will differ from center to center, all sites will host some form of intersession program, according to John Maghakian, a recreation supervisor for the department.
Maghakian advises parents to call the recreation center nearest them for dates, cost, hours and content of the winter camps. “This is something new for us,” he said, “and there won’t be much uniformity. Some centers will start in December, some in January, and the ages (of children) served will depend on what registration we have.”
* The Valley’s Jewish community centers will also be featuring intersession camps based on their customary summer programs, which vary depending on the site, activities, ages of their campers and their prices.
The North Valley center in Granada Hills, for example, will host a “mini-camp” from Dec. 23 to Jan. 3 and a weekly camp from Jan. 6 to Feb. 13. It will offer drama, cooking, gymnastics and swimming, among other pastimes, for its elementary-age children. Junior high students will go on frequent trips to theme parks, museums and skating rinks, and senior high students will ski together for a week.
The Valley Cities center in Van Nuys will feature what its children’s services director, Stacy Orbach, calls “a mix between an enrichment program and a camp” from Jan. 6 to Feb. 7. Filmmaking, photography and dance will be interspersed with more predictable camp offerings, all tailored primarily to children from kindergarten through sixth grade.
West Valley center campers--ranging from kindergarten through fifth grade will swim, study nature, play games, learn to act and go on trips on a week-to-week basis, from Dec. 23 to Feb. 13. Prices differ for members and non-members, with extra charges for extended hours, and at the North Valley Center higher charges for older children’s programs. In general, fees start between $110 and $145 a week for members, and can reach $200 or more for non-members.
For further information, call:
The North Valley center at (818) 360-2211 (ask for Ellen Schachter);
The West Valley center at (818) 587-3322 (ask for Nancy Bellair);
Valley Cities center at (818) 786-6310 (ask for the Children’s Services office).
* Several intersession day camps will be held throughout the Valley for members of Girl Scouts in the first through fifth grades. Scouts in grades one through six may also go to a resident camp Jan. 13-17 in the Mt. Pinos Recreation area between Los Angeles and Bakersfield at a cost of about $125.
For further information on the overnight camp, or for dates, hours, activities, cost and locations of day camps, call the San Fernando Valley Girl Scout Council at (818) 886-1801.
* The Boy Scouts will be offering a similar mix of day camps and overnights for registered members during the winter break. Cub Scout day programs, for boys age 7 to 10, will be held Jan. 6-10 at Grandview School in Inglewood, Jan. 13-17 at Canterbury School in Pacoima and Jan. 20-24 at Hart School in Canoga Park. The hours will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the weekly charge will be $75 for a slate of activities, which will include sports, crafts, “group songs and yells” and “den skill training.”
One or two resident weeks at Camp Josepho in the Santa Monica Mountains will be open to boys from ages 11 to 18 at $100 per week. Offerings will include rifle-shooting and metalworking, as well as studies in geology and environmental science.
For information, call the Boy Scouts at (818) 784-4272 (ask for Louis Salute).
Some additional Valley-area winter day camps that will run throughout intersession, most with extended-hour options, include:
* Halsey Schools Vacation Day Camp in Woodland Hills. The school accepts children ages 5 to 12 for a program that emphasizes self-esteem and fun. It costs $89 for a five-day, 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. week. Call (818) 992-1942 (ask for Kris Beggs).
* Canyon Kids in Woodland Hills. For campers from kindergarten through fifth grade, daily activities include cookouts, park visits, science projects, skating, bowling and field trips. The weekly charge for a full 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. schedule is in the $100 to $125 range. Call (818) 346-0388.
* Cali-Camp in Topanga Canyon. This bucolic, 21-acre setting has ample space for tennis, fishing, hiking, miniature golf and dune-buggy riding. Children from 5 to 13 pay between $42 and $48 per day for a three-, four- or five-day, 9:20 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. program that includes round-trip transportation from drop-off points in the north, central and western San Fernando Valley. Call (213) 455-1305 (ask for Pam Hawley or Saul Rowen).
* Kidsville, U.S.A. in Northridge. From 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., three, four or five days a week, campers between ages 5 and 16 will engage in gymnastics, dancing, singing and art when they’re not bowling, skating or visiting museums. The all-inclusive cost is $85 per week or $20 per day for four days or less. Call (818) 886-3508 (ask for Bob Hulton or Carol Cook).
* Strictly Kids Day Camp in Van Nuys. Drama, dance, outdoor sports, crafts and computer education, along with optional field trips, are on the program here, at a cost of about $40 for an extended-care day (8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) for children age 3 to 12. Call (818) 989-1724 (ask for Jed or Michelle).
ENRICHMENT/REMEDIAL PROGRAMS
* The school of education at Cal State Northridge will offer two academic programs from Jan. 6-24. One, sponsored by the department of elementary education, is for students in grades one through six who will choose from such subjects as creative writing, math, computer science, robotics or photography. They will attend classes from 8:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. at a cost of $200. The second option, under the department of secondary education, will offer junior and senior high students classes in journalism, playwriting, psychology and science, among other subjects. It will run from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., also for $200. For information on either program, call (818) 885-3333.
* The 4-H Youth Program for intersession will feature a science theme using a curriculum developed under a National Science Foundation grant. Several as yet undetermined sites in the Valley will accommodate kindergarten through sixth-grade children from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 23 to Feb. 13 at a cost of $75 per week. For information, call (213) 744-4888 (ask for Catherine Speer).
* Remedial classes for single-track junior and senior high students with failing grades in such subjects as math, English, science and social science will be offered at no charge Jan. 2 to Feb. 5 at 20 sites throughout the city through the Wintersession program of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s office of instruction. Students wishing to pre-enroll should consult their academic counselors at their schools.
For additional information:
* Call (818) 908-5110 for United Way’s 1991-92 Guide to Intersession Programs.
* Call (213) 985-5781 for the American Camping Assns. complete directory of L.A.-area camps that will be open for intersession.