Elementary school children (5-10 years old) are looking for new and exciting experiences. They are exploring their own abilities physically and intellectually. They have a strong sense of fairness and enjoy rules and routines. After school programs should offer lots of choices and expose them to new ideas within a structured environment.

Look for programs that offer:

• Low ratio of students to adults with lots of interaction with adults
• Outside and active experiences as well as quiet time
• Opportunities to use imagination and creativity
• Projects that apply to their every day lives in school, home or in the community
• Exposure to other cultures
• Projects that encourage kids to read, do math or experiment to solve every day or real problems
• Opportunities to do a mixture of hands-on, social, active and quiet activities
• Activities that encourage communication and writing
• Games, activities or chores that students do regularly