Auburn University's Early Childhood Summer Enrichment Program begins June 8

"Summertime in Alabama," the Auburn University Early Childhood Summer Enrichment Program, begins June 8 and runs through July 16. The program is open to children preschool-age 8; a few spots are still available.

"Within the structure provided by our pre-service teachers the children guide their own projects, whether it is within this year's theme of 'Summertime in Alabama' or emerging from children's interests such as testing the material and design properties that make paper airplanes fly," said Program Director Sean Durham, program coordinator for Early Childhood Education in Auburn's College of Education.

"By playing with materials like blocks, ramps, marbles, sand and water, the children are building their own cognitive foundations for future experiences with engineering, physics and general creative problem-solving that will be used throughout their lives," Durham said. "We see their developmental process when the teachers work closely with them during their activities. Rather than 'testing' the children we listen to their ideas and hypotheses, write down their predictions and allow them to experiment and observe the results of their actions. Really, it's an exercise in the scientific method - for preschoolers!"

For registration information, go to http://www.education.auburn.edu/outreach/summer_enrichment.html. For more information, contact Sean Durham at rsd0007@auburn.edu.