Self Development Academy and Self Development Preschool/Extended Summer Program (SDA/ SDP) are proud to announce, Explore the Silk Road, their summer day camp program. The program will be offered at SDA/SDP Mesa and Phoenix campuses.
The program will address learning loss during the pandemic through the use of a fun, hands-on program designed with the student needs in mind. The activities will integrate math, literacy, and STEM enrichment in an adventurous and exciting environment, honing students learning skills.
The program has been developed by the leaders of the SDA network of schools and Self Development Preschool, which has served the Mesa community for more than 30 years. SDA-Mesa, the founding K-8 charter school, has been in operation for more than 20 years and has been consistently nationally ranked, and has won numerous awards.
The students began their exploration of the Silk Road during the summer program last year. This year the program will further enrich their experience. The programs at both campuses are open to students who are entering kindergarten to 8th grade in the upcoming 2022-23 school year. Current SDA students, as well as students interested in attending SDA or other Arizona public schools, are encouraged to sign up.
During the program, the students will have the opportunity to travel to Sumer, Egypt, Greece, and other lands along the Silk Road. The program will be multifaceted as students participate in multiple subjects all focused on areas visited along the trade routes of the Silk Road.
As the students travel through time, they will participate in hands-on activities centered around ancient folklore and the origin of knowledge in math, art, engineering, music, and astronomy. The students will learn new material and participate in new knowledge-based projects in the morning and will work toward a culminating activity in the afternoon.
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM
With so much time having been spent behind the screen, SDA brings back the focus on hands-on, in-person learning. The summer program’s activities will allow the students to use their knowledge in a fun and creative way to recreate and explain ancient discoveries, as well as create works of art. Many of the art designs will incorporate math concepts, patterns, and geography that lead to the students creating jewelry, tapestries, and other objects through their designs.
The culminating activities will be a STEM-based project related to a civilization along the Silk Road. The projects will include using math and science to devise methods to move large stones, how to erect large buildings, and ship building to name just a few of the possible projects the students will participate in.
Students will also participate in a reenactment of the ancient civilizations utilizing the art they create throughout the summer. The students will set up a bartering system where they trade as the ancient people did along the trade route. This will allow them to use what they learn about the ancient civilizations in a fun, interactive way
MESA CAMPUS
The Mesa summer program will operate in partnership with Self Development Preschool (SDP). SDP has been serving the Mesa community for more than 30 years and, each summer, students return to attend the amazing camps at the SDP summer program. This year we will continue our ultimate trip down the Silk Road, visiting the lands of the origins of knowledge.
The program for the Mesa campus will run weekly, Monday to Friday, beginning May 23 and run through July 29. The SDA Summer Program is offered to Pre-k to Grade 8. The Mesa program will include Fun Fridays with different weekly themes and activities.
If you are interested in enrolling your student in the summer day camp in Mesa at Self Development Preschool, please contact Vernetta Madsen at (480) 396-3522 for the types of programs and the associated fees.
Self Development Academy-Mesa and Self Development Online Academy are currently enrolling for their accelerated programs for school year 2022-2023. Please contact SDA at (480) 641-2640 for more information.