Kids In College

Sweet Briar College will host its sixth annual "Kids in College" program June 16 - 20, 2008 from 9 am - noon. The "KIC" Program is a summer enrichment curriculum for current 3rd - 8th graders offering an invigorating exploration into topics in the arts and sciences.

Led by Sweet Briar faculty, staff, and alumnae, and other members of the Sweet Briar community, KIC classes provide an in-depth, fun-filled educational summer experience. Students from Lynchburg, Amherst, and Nelson counties participate in two classes of their choice each morning throughout the week. With small classes, between 10 and 12 students per class, participants get personal attention and guidance through a variety of fascinating topics.

Classes are beginning to form and thus far include the following:

Download the full brochure: 2008 Kids in College

1) Chess
Learn to play a great game of chess. Beginners and up are welcome. Learn the four-move checkmate and the mystery of the en passant move! Become strategy rich, and cash in your pawns for queens.

2) Soccer Fun with Coach Fabulich

You will explore the basics of soccer in an entertaining "team-oriented" environment. Individual skills of dribbling,

passing, shooting and ball control will be addressed... as well as team skills of ball possession.

3) Imaginative Improv
Through games and role playing, this class will explore the creative process of theatrical improv. (Grades 3-5 students only.)

4) Page to Stage

Through exercise work, students will explore the creation and performance of original dramatic material. (Grades 6 - 8 students only.)

5) Learn to Tap Dance!
How do tap dancers make so many sounds with only two feet?! Whether you have already taken lessons or don't even know what a tap shoe looks like, this class will teach you to love all that is tap. Bring tap shoes if available, but all you really need is your feet. Come learn the basics and feel the rhythm!

6) Introduction to Golf
This class will include an introduction to the fundamentals of golf with emphasis on safety and fun. Fundamentals include grip, posture, alignment, balance, golf course etiquette, and golf club design. Students will be given drills to take home and practice. Please bring a #7 iron with you to class.

7) Fun Jewelry

Make beads of your own design - they can be big or small, round or square, even shaped like plants or animals. Beads will be made of polymer clay by the student, baked and cooled by the teacher, then brought back for the student to sand and paint. The students will choose glass beads from a mixed batch and string them along with their own creations to make a piece of jewelry.

8) Pinhole Photography
Somewhere between art and science is something that seems like magic. Make your own working camera from an empty box and develop pictures in a real darkroom.

9) Storytelling

In Africa, many folk stories are about animals and how they came to be as they are. How did a zebra get his stripes? How did a cheetah get his spots? In Storytelling class, you will hear an African story about how a porcupine got its spines. Then you'll choose an animal by going through pictures and learn how to make up a story about how the animal came to be so unique. There will be books to help you, but your imagination is all you need.

10) The Art and Science of Sword fighting

An active introduction to the sport of foil fencing, including: skills, history and the basics of competition. All equipment is provided. (There is an additional $5.00 fee due the first day of class.)

11) Fun with Flight: Airplanes and Rockets

Come learn how to make paper planes that swoop, loop, and glide. After creating our amazing airplanes we will move on to building and launching rockets! The sky is the limit as we create our own flying ships.

12) The History and Science of Catapults

Join us in studying the evolution of catapults, onagers and related weapons of war from Ancient Greece through the Middle Ages. The scientific principles underlying these different types of projectile weapons will be explored. Each student will have the opportunity to complete a model catapult kit to take home at the completion of the class. (5 - 8 grade students only.)

13) The History and Science of Trebuchets

Join us in studying the evolution of trebuchets, onagers and related weapons of war from Ancient Greece through the Middle Ages. The scientific principles underlying these different types of projectile weapons will be explored. Each student will have the opportunity to complete a model trebuchet kit to take home at the completion of the class. (5 - 8 grade students only.)

14) Beginning Quilting

Students will learn simple hand-sewing techniques to make a quilt square, potholder or small wall hanging. Basic geometric shapes--triangle, square, rectangle, diamond--will be used to design your block using a variety of fabrics. Previous hand-sewing skills are not required.

15) Scenic Painting Techniques

Students will participate in a scenic painting workshop that will cover the basics of painting scenery for the theater. This workshop will explain the how's and why's of scenic painting practices. Techniques include wood graining, crumbling, wet blending, marbling and spatter processes. If you like to paint and like to get messy, then this is the workshop for you!

16) Hands-on Science

Are you interested in making your own ice cream or turning a soda bottle into a speed boat? This class will help you learn more about the scientific method using fun investigations. By the end of the week, you will be creating your own experiments like a real scientist.

17)_Nature's Notebook

Learn to use your digital camera to take nature photographs. Throughout the week favorites will be printed and put into a decorated nature booklet. Participants will need to bring their own digital camera, a water bottle and wear comfortable shoes--we'll be outside quite a bit.

18) Make Art with Nature

Come join us for a week of crafts and adventure in nature! We will build a shelter made of sticks and leaves. We will take a hike and collect natural materials to make art and make our very own "dirt shirts." We will also experiment with our senses by listening to sounds in nature and using our senses of smell, sight, and touch to inspire some of our creations. The art will be in collaboration with nature, so some of our work will stay in place outdoors while other art pieces can be taken home. Be ready to play outdoors, so wear sneakers or closed-toed shoes and come dressed for the weather.

19) Hands-on Economics

Learn about scarcity, supply and demand, money, resource allocation and move through a variety of fun games and hands-on activities. (4 - 8 grade students only.)

20) Yarnworks

Enjoy a week of fun learning to knit, crochet and weave. Beginners and students with past knitting experience are welcome. Project ideas will be presented for those who are just starting out. Whatever you want to make--a scarf, a hat, a dog sweater, weave a table mat--we'll have fun figuring out how to do it together. We'll have a vast array of yarn colors for you to choose from or you can bring your own special (fuzzy, sparkly, or bumpy) yarn for your project. If you bring your own yarn, please be sure to bring the matching size needles and hook as well. Please feel free to sign up for one or both sessions by marking this class twice under class selections.

21) Russian for Kids

Let's take a walk through Russia! We will learn how to speak and understand some basic Russian words and phrases and will learn the Russian alphabet. We will also learn about the Russian nation, including its geography, seasons, traditions and holidays. If you ever meet a Russian person you will have a chance to impress them with your knowledge!

22) Science-fiction and Fantasy Writing

Have you ever wondered what life will be like in the year 3000, or if there is life in far-away galaxies? Then, this class is for you! Looking at examples of the best science-fiction writing, we will learn from the pros how to create new worlds and imagine the future. (6-8 grade students only.)

23) Nature Writing

Do you like to play outside? Do you like to write? Well, this class is for you! We will take a series of short nature hikes, learn about the animal and plant life of the Sweet Briar campus and write stories about what we find on our adventures. (3-5 grade students only.)

24) Learn to Play the Harp

Whether you have musical experience or not, here is your chance to take a harp in your arms and learn to play! We will talk about the history of the harp and perform for you on different types of harps. You will learn the basics, have fun with rhythm and meter, experiment with harmony and improvisation, and play a melody. If young harpists sign up who can already play a little, one of the classes may become a harp ensemble and have a chance to learn the basics of stage presence. Classes limited to eight. Harps will be provided unless you bring your own.

Registrations are then due by the end of May.
Registration Form: KIC Registration

Program cost: $80.00 which includes a choice of two courses, a KIC t-shirt, and classroom supplies.
For more information, please contact

psimpson@sbc.edu or ksummers@sbc.edu

For an application for financial aid, please complete the form below

and submit it to the Office of the President; Box C;

Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar, VA 24595:

Kids in College Assistance Application

2006 K ids in College Program featured on Virginia's ABC's WSET: WSET

News Archive:

5.27.05

“Kids In College” Gives Children a Taste of Higher Education at Sweet Briar. Children curious about the collegiate experience can get their academic feet wet with Sweet Briar College’s “Kids In College” program on June 13-17. The third-annual campus program for third- through eighth-graders offers 21 courses encompassing science investigations, German, music, acting, dance, poetry, photography, sign language, golf, fencing, and athletic training.

SBC faculty and staff members and their spouses volunteer their time to teach KIC classes. This year’s event introduces two alumnae teachers, Lynn Martin ’95 and Samantha Angus ’05, who will lead classes in “Poetry Adventures” and creative choreography and dance, respectively. Several children of faculty and staff members provide volunteer assistance to the instructors.

Jill Granger, SBC associate professor of chemistry, conceived KIC as a way to keep a summer learning program for kids in the area after “New Horizons,” a similarly structured Amherst County Schools program, was canceled for budgetary reasons. Led by Pam Simpson, SBC chemistry lab manager, KIC has grown from offering 12 classes at its 2003 inception to the current 21, with student enrollment increasing from 129 to 154. The program was originally advertised only in Lynchburg and Nelson and Amherst counties, but now draws students from around the region, including home-schooled students, and kids from as far away as North Carolina.

The seed money for KIC came from the SBC President’s discretionary fund. Sweet Briar alumna Lucy Kimbrough ’77 of Farmersville, Texas, has donated approximately $1,000 to the program over the past two years for scholarships. The funds benefit students who show a financial need and who would not otherwise be able to attend the program without the scholarship.

For more information on “Kids In College,” please contact Pam Simpson at (434) 381-6443 or psimpson@sbc.edu.