Providing students and parents with information about what is available to them over the summer months can be most valuable. Researching organizations, such as the local YMCA for their summer programming, and local community and recreation center programs, can unveil a variety of summer opportunities for students.

Providing such information, including contact numbers and website addresses, is a great resource to give to parents. It might also provide the impetus for students to remain physically active during the summer break and foster the learning of new physical skills!

For more than 130 years the YMCA has offered summer camp opportunities for children. Y camp locations are provided throughout the United States. More than 80 percent of YMCAs offer summer day camps! Most YMCA summer camps are co-ed, but some are just for boys or girls. YMCA camping programs vary by location. Ages often range from 7 to 17, with lengths of stay from as short as 3 days, to a week, two weeks, or four weeks.

Kids Turn Central - This Web site offers a list of ideas for children to participate in during the summer months. Ideas range from learning how to tie knots, to kite flying tips. Check out their section on Summer Fun.

A Challenge to Challenge Your Kids this Summer - This article serves as a reminder of the importance of keeping the minds and bodies of children active during the summer months.

123Child offers some wonderful ideas for summer month activities. These easy-to-follow plans are ideal to recommend to parents who might wish to check out some ideas for things to do during the vacation. Ideas include:

Fourth of July - Great ideas for summer fun, but also listed are ideas for the end of the school year.

Summer Olympics - A page of very interdisciplinary activities, integrating the theme of the Olympics with art, music, science, and math.

Outdoor Activities - This page offers a ton of really fun activities for outdoor summer fun.

Fun-Attic offers a ton of novel ideas to keep children moving. Their Great Game List provides a multitude of games to play with both small and large groups. They also have Fun-Attic Relay Games with directions to more than twenty-five relay games for children to play. Includes Three-legged Race, Ping-Pong Relay, Balloon Head Race, and Egg Roll 500!

The warmth of summer is certainly something for us all to look forward to, especially those teachers and students who live in the more northerly parts of the country. However, the summer months can also bring about some other issues that are not quite so pleasing and comforting. Time spent at the beach, in the backyard, or at the local playground can also mean exposure to things such as bites, stings, sunburn, and heat exhaustion.

Knowing what to do when a child is bitten or suffering from too much sun is very important for teachers and parents. Here's an opportunity to brush up on the latest knowledge of how to be summer safe! Check out these sites for information on first aid, bite prevention, stings, poisonous plant reactions, and sun health.

First Aid - The Mayo Clinic's first aid guide has a list of first aid concerns, containing links ranging from animal bites and blisters, to sunburn. Each link offers a guide of what to do in each situation.

Bite Prevention - This site discusses mosquitoes and other insect bites that are common in the summer, and how to use repellents safely.

Stings - This site discusses bee stings, and what to do when stung by a bee. It also indicates times when it is appropriate to visit a physician.

Ticks - This site specifically focuses on tick infection and Lyme disease. It is stated that Lyme disease is a bacteria infection transmitted by a tick bite. The site also lists symptoms for identifying Lyme disease.

Plant Reactions - This site talks about how to identify poisonous plants, and treatment that can be self implemented if contact with poisonous plants occurs.

Sunscreen - In a Q & A format, this site offers basic information you need to know about sun exposure, UV rays, and tanning. It also provides information about sunscreen and how sunscreen works.

Extreme Heat - With summer coming up it will be easy to become over-heated. Read some FAQs from the CDC on various signs and symptoms of heat illnesses.

During the last months of the school year, our thoughts can often wander to the "relaxation" of the summer ahead. Unfortunately, with the hectic and sometimes frantic schedule of the end of the school year, it is all too easy to forget that the new school year is not really that far away!

Now might be a good time to consider what your professional development goals are. The fall is a time when many conferences are planned to support the professional development of teachers. By alerting the school administration of your professional development plans and hopes for next year, perhaps funds can be set aside for you, taking the pressure off of the action-packed, "never enough time in the day" dilemmas of the new school year's first months. Also, you might be able to take advantage of "Early Bird" registration rates!

Our national organization - The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) – is an excellent resource for finding out what is occurring across the country. The AAHPERD On-Line Calendar provides dates and contact information for all the scheduled physical education and health conventions and conferences throughout the U.S.

Check out one of the events nearest you, and gain some new knowledge, while networking with new and old friends!

Let Kids' Turn Central show you how to keep busy! There will be new activities added all summer long to give you some good ideas on how to keep busy. Pick one today and have fun!

Kaboose - For many kids, summer is the best time for exploring, biking, hiking, running and just being free. In our Celebrate Summer guide, get ideas to keep the kids—and you!—having fun. This site has an awful lot of great recreation options, so check it all out!

BillyBear4Kids - Visit a Zoo, try out a hands on museum, picnic at a park (or in your backyard, join in on a sport (baseball, soccer, golf), visit the library, go swimming (local pool, or at a beach!), go fishing, have a sleep over with friends (camp out in your backyard), summer camp, teach your pet new tricks, learn a new craft, start a collection (bugs, butterflies, seashells, stamps, coins). Lots more ideas where these came from!

MedicineNet - School's out, the long days of summer are upon us, and your kids are restless. Short of shipping them off to summer camp, how can you keep them happy and busy, and without letting them catch on, make sure they're learning along the way? LOTS of great resources here!