The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

17 · Wednesday, February 24, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com Keep students motivated during March break (NC)--Oxford Learning recommends that while taking breaks from school, children of all ages engage in activities that keep their minds actively learning. The activities don't have to be complicated or academicbased, but should require mental activity, so that students will stay on track and motivated to learn...while still having fun and enjoying their break. · Read a book together. Take turns reading out loud. You can even help your child develop better reading comprehension skills by discussing plot points and talking about the characters. · Buy a new board game. Board games can help your child learn to be organized, to plan, to be persistent, to think strategically. These games can also develop problemsolving abilities, memory skills, and teach children the value of teamwork. Games that use money, such as Monopoly, can teach essential mathematical skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and even concepts like estimation. · Keep busy. School downtime is often the time when good school habits start to slide. That's why it is important that students maintain their academic momentum during school breaks. There is always schoolwork or review that students can work on, even if they don't have formally assigned homework. Appleby College March 15 to 19 · June 28 to August 23 Appleby College's March Break and Summer Camps offer girls and boys ages 4 to 16 opportunities for discovery, excitement, friendship and, above all else, fun! Options include: Arts Camps Dance, Theatre, Visual Arts, Percussion and Passport to the Arts. Stay home and put on a show March Break is a unique opportunity during the year to spend some quality time as a family. Rather than spending your hard earned money going out to a show, why not put the creative talents of all the family to work and prepare your very own show... to celebrate the week's vacation! Organizing a family show calls for a lot of discipline and planning. On the very first day of the vacation, choose a director who will be in charge of all aspects of the show. Each member of the family will have a part to play. If Dad likes doing impersonations, he'll have all week to prepare, same thing for Mom who loves singing and the children who adore gymnastics. Next comes the work of coordinating everything to be done: preparing the set, the costumes, make-up, lighting, rehearsals... If you're not sure how to do all this, you could always go to a bookstore or a library, where you're sure to find plenty of books and practical guides about putting on a show and which are written for adults. To motivate yourself, keep in mind that a family show is a great way of boosting selfesteem, of bringing you all closer together, of firing the imagination and of encouraging team work. On the big day treat yourselves to a delicious meal as a reward for all your hard work or... tickets to a children's show at a local theatre. You could even be daring enough to make your own invitations and distribute them among friends, family and neighbours so they too can enjoy your performance. Discovery Camps For 4-7 year olds; Sports, Arts and Camp Discovery. Sports Academies Basketball, Exploring the Sports, Golf, My Fitness, Soccer, Tennis and Try Triathlon. Experience Camps Adventure Pursuits, Camp Millionaire, Wealth Rules, Outrigger Canoe and Robotics. A cultural March Break March Break doesn't mean that your brain has to remain idle. Why not take advantage of this week to learn while having fun? How? Simple, just visit places that sharpen children's critical reasoning and fire their imaginations. The first destination: the museum. Every region is full of beautiful expositions waiting to be discovered by the public. In a few hours, youngsters can learn a lot about the history of their community, or many other entertaining subjects. Very often, because the facts are so bizarre, they remain imprinted in the memory of children forever. Later during the week, why not head to the municipal library? Invite the kids to research the subject they explored at the museum, or help them choose a good storybook so they can practice reading as they entertain themselves. For a grand finale to this cultural week, why not drop by the movie theatre? A good movie for the whole family is always a popular treat. With a bag of popcorn to top it off, what could be more pleasant? To learn more about our programs and to register, visit www.appleby.on.ca