You’ve built a circus tent in the middle of your den and filled it with imaginary trained lions, you’ve walked countless trips to the neighborhood pool, and you’ve supervised the completion of a lengthy summer reading list. This experience has led you to one simple and unavoidable truth: keeping your kid entertained over the summer is a full time job. Fear not, tired parents, fun and educational summer programs are headed your way.
The Rockdale 4-H club brings a wide range of inventive classes and camps that focus on learning. The Junior Master Gardener Day Camp lets kids learn about the natural world through hands-on experimentation and field trips. The upcoming Messy Science event will also take a few hours to explore common household product reactions, and it serves as an excellent way to introduce young minds to the marvels of scientific discovery.
As always, The Nancy Guinn Memorial Library provides shows every Thursday and frequent workshops that teach new skills, and The Sketching Pad hosts a wide variety of classes for all ages so you can tagalong.
If you’ve got a little one whose artistic interest leans more toward the performance, then check out one of two local drama camps. The CRCA will be holding its annual drama camp in Olde Town at the Rockdale Auditorium. This camp runs for two weeks and emphasizes the musical aspect of theatre performance. The Theatre Camp at Rockdale High School runs for the same two weeks, but places the majority of their efforts on perfecting acting skills with special workshops in creating characters, improvisation, and scene building.
Since it’s the Fourth of July weekend, it only makes sense to get festive and head out to the Children’s Museum of Atlanta’s Fourth of July Extravaganza. General Admission price gets you access to the museum and this special event. The indoor parade includes the opportunity to make your own flag to wave, a mini-concert and sing along, and an indoor fireworks show (also known as swarm of tiny children dancing on bubble wrap).
Ah yes, let us applaud the wonder of fireworks. What could entertain a child more than magical explosions in the sky? First there’s the whiz, followed by the much anticipated pop, and then the final the burst of multi-faceted sparks. A good pyrotechnic show sets the mood for merriment. Luckily for you, there’s a wide array of local celebrations set to light up the sky with dazzling displays of fireworks. Check out the festivals and fireworks happening in Downtown Covington, Porterdale, Snellville, Lenox Square Mall, Stone Mountain Park, Monroe, Downtown Decatur, and Centennial Olympic Park. Don’t feel like setting up a lawn chair? Buy yourself a pack of sparklers and let the kids shower your backyard with light. Whether you’re watching a professional show or cozying up on the couch with your family, take some time out of your Fourth of July weekend to celebrate your independence with something beautiful.
