Summer Camp for QC Learning
Welcome to QC Enews Empowerment
QC Learning, our adult day program, is based on the Montessori method, the main principals of which are self-directed activity, hands-on learning, and creative collaboration.
Another core pillar of Maria Montessori’s educational philosophy was that nature was an important extension of the classroom and provided endless possibilities for experiential learning.
Which is why we are so pleased that our members are enjoying our Summer Camp at Fort Tuthill County Park. From late May through late August, our classroom moves outside, invigorating both mind and body with the natural world. Check out the story below to discover how our QC Learners are spending their summer.
We hope you enjoy this edition of Enews Empowerment.
– Armando Bernasconi,
Co-Founder and CEO
When Nature Becomes the Classroom
Every summer the students of QC Learning turn the great outdoors into their classroom and gather at Fort Tuthill County Park for lessons as part of a Summer Camp. Each weekday they stake out an available ramada (often one near the park’s equestrian arena), and use all the elements of nature to ground their lessons in reading, writing and math.
The outdoor classes are a boon for students who had to stay inside a lot during this particularly snowy winter, said QC Director of Learning Vicki Barber.
“They’ve all been studying and working so hard on scholastic work and job training inside,” she said. “And they are still working hard on those skills, but we get to enjoy the extra space and oxygen, the touch of nature. It helps us to be better learners. It’s just the way our minds work.”
Lessons tend to focus on the expertise of the nine QC Learning instructors who work with Vicki at the camp. One instructor whose passion is forestry helps the students measure the changes in trees from summer to summer. Another helps them with bird-watching and identifying various species. A third instructor with an expertise in photography assists them with equipment as they take pictures. All the students also keep journals to document what they have learned.
Being out in a 621-acre regional park also provides plenty of recreational opportunities. There are long walks, playing horseshoes and volleyball, and – more recently – disc golf.
The QC Learners have been playing every week with Discing4Kids, founded as a nonprofit in 2015 by Eddie Diaz.
A former trucking logistics coordinator, Eddie started the program after a skiing accident led to a shattered ankle. Advised by a sports doctor to take up a hobby to rehabilitate, he began hiking in the desert which led to discovering disc golf. He thought that as a “low-impact” physical activity, the program would benefit kids who might not have the ability to play sports like football, basketball, or soccer.
He also uses the game as a platform to explore soft skills, healthy habits, pro-social behaviors and life values. He added that working with the QC Learning Summer Camp has been particularly fun.
“I tell anyone affiliated with the program. If you are having a [bad] day, come do a QC event, “The interaction of every one of the participants is so cool. The positive encouragement by each individual is amazing.”
And everyone gets to participate.
“There’s one lady in the class, she isn’t able to stand on her own and her left arm doesn’t work so well – but her right arm is fantastic,” he said. “So we set her up in a chair, and instead of just watching the action, she gets to be a participant. That’s priceless.”
Learn more https://www.discing4kids.org/
Thank you Mother Road Brewing Co.
for Community Pint Night!
Many thanks to Mother Road Brewing Co. for hosting a Community Pint Night on June 21 to support Quality Connections. For every pint of Daily Driver purchased between 4 and 7 pm that evening, $2 was donated to Quality Connections. It was a perfect evening in downtown Flagstaff and a wonderful way to mark the start of summer.
We need Quality Connections . . . like you!
You can help individuals with disabilities become independent and productive members of our community. There are many way to be a ‘Quality Connection’ and get involved and all of them are important:
Every purchase from QC Office equals employment and job training opportunities for a person with disabilities.
Enable a person with disabilities to become a productive member of our community.
You’ll be doing good. Plus, you’ll get a dollar-for-dollar credit on your AZ state taxes (up to $800!)
