Our summer plan for Matty

The summer is a wonderful time when your young because it is a time to enjoy the break from school and a time to take advantage of finding relief from the heat at the pool or at the beach. I remember the summertime when I was a kid as being a time for enjoying the vacation from school and a time of swimming at the Tottenville pool in Staten Island or at the Riis park beach in Brooklyn with my family. It was also a time of doing fun things at the day camp program at PS 208 and playing baseball. It was a great time being a kid during the summertime and I remember enjoying all my summer breaks. They seemed to go fast because I remember having so much fun in the summer months.

Now I get to enjoy the summer through my son's experiences. I wish to provide him a summer filled with fun activities and structure. For the past 5 years my son enjoyed going to day camp at Camp Kehillia which we always found a positive and enjoyable experience for him. This summer will be a little bit different for him because instead of going to camp which has become increasingly more expensive and a bit out of reach unfortunately we are enrolling him in a summer school program where he will benefit with a 7 week extension of school that will help him keep up his academics and also an opportunity to also participate in fun activities in art and music and some planned day trips. I believe this will also be a positive experience for him and he will have the opportunity to make friends, continue his learning and have fun. The summer program is less structured then the regular school program but is a wonderful idea because it keeps kids on track with their studies and in a successful program launched 10 years ago which promote continuation of academic training and participation in fun activities.

After the class session ends our son will then have time to swim at our local community pool to cool off from the summer heat. So I feel he will have a good balance between school and the pool and some planned weekend trips to the beach, amusement parks and aquarium. I want our son to stay busy during the summer months and to be in a program that will help him prepare for the upcoming school year where he will be in middle school attending the 6th grade. The years just seem to fly by as I still recall his very first day of school.

My wife and I were fortunate to attend the orientation program for Matty's summer class and we were very impressed with the philosophy of the program and the teachers and school nurse actively involved with the program. We also had the opportunity to hear about the school program from the 2 teachers who started it and they are now 10 years into it and have a wonderful track record with it. We are very hopeful and very encouraged and we are wishing that Matty will enjoy it and thrive in it.

We also try to plan a family vacation towards the end of the summer but I'm not sure if I will have the opportunity to plan one this year but certainly would like to try as we always enjoy spending a week in Virginia. A Virginia vacation is always fun because there is so much to see and do and it is perfect for families with young children. We love the beach and the parks. We usually spend a few days in Virginia beach and a few days in Williamsburgh. We have been going down to Virginia almost every summer for the last 5 years. Last year we actually went to Hershey, Pennsylvania for 4 days and that is a fun family place to go too as we have been down there on two separate occasions and our son always has a great time there and so do we. I just love to see my son smile and say what a great time he is having as that is music to my ears.

Before you know it the summer will draw to a close and the start of the school year will be upon us so we certainly wish to do all we can for our son this summer and am glad he has a program to attend. As each summer comes and goes we are a little bit sad but we know it is the normal passage of time and we have to adapt and get used to the change in seasons and the passage of time.

Happy Summer to all of you and especially to my wife and son who I love dearly.

Edward D. Iannielli III