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Make it a Summer of FUN! . . . and learning, and bonding, and . . .

Ready or not, summer is here, and I think after this past, very loooong winter, we are ready!

This year, thanks to the Utah Department of Cultural and Community Engagement, we get to kick off the Summer Passport Program with some major Summer Passport parties! In Tremonton they will be having a foam party and snow cones. In Cache Valley and Brigham we have opted for bounce houses, bubble balls, air archery . . . and snow cones. In the Salt Lake City area they are having a foam party, magician, face painting, balloon artist, air archery and BBQ sandwiches! At each location you will find a fun Summer Passport photo booth, summer fun scavenger hunt, and whole lot of FUN!

Most families think of the Summer Passport program as FREE Summer FUN that gives them ideas and opportunities to keep kids bodies active and their minds engaged . . . and it is definitely that! However, it's also a whole lot more!

The Summer Passport is built on the foundation of the Discovery Family Adventures, which are built on the foundation of building strong families and prevention: increasing protective factors and decreasing risk factors that can keep our kids from reaching their full potential!

In addition to prevention efforts, another purpose of the Summer Passport program is to help keep kids' bodies active and minds engaged. Summer can have a negative effect on learning for school-age children. Two months of reading skills can slip-- and if reading skills slip then everything slips. More than 2 1/2 months of math skills can be lost over the 10-12 weeks between the end of one school year and the beginning of another. It takes teachers about six weeks to play catchup in the fall. This phenomenon is somewhat-affectionaly called the "summer slide," or summer learning loss.

The Summer Passport program is the antidote for summer doldrums. Sponsored by My Discovery Destination! and the Discovery Family Coalition, this series of FREE family experiences will help kids have FUN while also learning. There are well over 100 fun, flexible, FREE Adventures that families can do on their own time.

All of these incredible family experiences are FREE to families because of generous grants from the Bear River Health Department and the Central Utah Public Health Department. Also, because of these grants, completing the Summer Passport Program Adventures comes with REWARDS. Families can earn FREE, fun experiences from multiple Family Reward Event Partners from the grant areas. Of course, the biggest rewards are the benefits that come to your family because you are spending time together.

Give your kids a better "shot" at healthy minds and bodies during June, July and August. You cannot hold back the changing of the season. Summer is here. But, you can avoid the potential retrogression that can accompany it-- the Summer Passport Program is the cure. In the process you'll come out of it with a stronger family and more resilient kids.


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