KENT STATE TRUMBULL In session: College for Kids

The kids have so much fun, they don't know they are learning.
By NICOLE HUGHES
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CHAMPION -- College isn't just for adults anymore.
Kent State University Trumbull Campus is offering classes for children from kindergarten to 12th grade through its College for Kids program.
The program is sponsored by the Workforce Development and Continuing Studies Center, and classes like these have been offered for 15 years.
"Parents can register their child in person, over the phone or through the mail," said Marie DaBelko, program coordinator.
Classes are one week long, Monday through Friday. They are offered in the morning or afternoon and cost $60.
Pupils must be registered the week before, and classes are limited to 14 children for computer classes and 20 children for other classes, said DaBelko.
Classes are held in the Workforce Development and Continuing Studies Center and are taught by university professors and teachers from local schools.
"These classes are designed so that the kids are learning, but they have so much fun they don't know they are learning," DaBelko said.
When this program first started, the only classes were typing, computers, science and math, but now there are 50 to 60 classes each summer with 500 to 600 kids going through, DaBelko said.
Classes for this week will include computers, "Photo Album Fun," animation, art, "Cool School Science," Native Americans, beginning Russian and "Explorers of the Wild, Wild West," DaBelko said.
Classes for next week include "Dress Me Up," computers, cartooning, "Digging Up Dinosaurs, "Fun With Science and "Junior Crime Scene Investigation." To register or for more information call (330) 675-8809.
Junior engineers
The engineering class is for pupils going into the fifth to eighth grade and is taught by Ken McElravy, who also helps with the robotics classes.
"The class is designed to introduce the kids to technology," McElravy said. "Most kids don't know what it is or how to use it."
This year they are trying to teach a different type of engineering technology each day, DaBelko said.
"We want to be able to get them excited about technology and get them out of the routine of thinking things have to be a certain way," McElravy said.
The pupils get to build bottle rockets, mousetrap racers, model rockets, design T-shirts and solve puzzles.
"We are building a car so that when the mouse trap snaps, the car starts to move," said Chris McClearn of Howland, who will be in the sixth grade.
The class also experimented last week with cardboard.
"We took a toilet paper roll and strengthened it by putting sand inside or taping the outside and stood on it," said Ben Letson of Cortland, who is going into the seventh grade.
Household art
The "Art for Kids" class is for children going into kindergarten and first grade, and is taught by Koula Glaros, who will also be teaching the "Cool School Science" class.
"The children are learning to make things from everyday household items that we would normally throw away," Glaros said.
This is the first time for most of the children to attend such a class.
"This class is fun because I like painting rocks," said Bethany Hayes of Cortland, who will be a first-grader.
Mark Toncar, also of Cortland, who is going into the first grade, said he was painting an alien, spaceship and a robot head on his rocks. "We also get to paint a shirt, and I made a good luck charm out of egg cartons," Toncar said.
nhughes@vindy.com