聯(lián)接與跨越Bridging the Gap 【連載五】

本專欄以《聯(lián)接與跨越》為題，以一位華裔美國中學(xué)生的親身體驗(yàn)，提供常識性的對美國小學(xué)和中學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)環(huán)境與學(xué)習(xí)方式、校園生活、課余活動、升學(xué)準(zhǔn)備、交友與聚會等中國學(xué)生和家長感興趣的話題，提供短小精悍的中英雙語介紹。

本專欄分“小學(xué)篇”和“中學(xué)篇”，分別在我刊《小學(xué)教師》與《中學(xué)教師》中以連載的方式刊出。下文為“小學(xué)篇”的第五篇文章。

作者簡介：王若桑，出生于美國康涅狄格州?，F(xiàn)為美國羅德島州南郡高中3年級學(xué)生。

Connie R. Wang is currently a junior student of the South Kingstown High School,

South Kingstown, Rhode Island, USA.

五、美國小學(xué)生的暑假活動

在3個(gè)月的暑假期間，美國的小學(xué)生會像學(xué)期中一樣有很多事情去做?；叵胛业耐辏铋_始的記憶就是暑假；例如和鄰里的孩子們玩球，去海邊，在澆草坪的噴水中跑來跑去。暑期有助于兒童成長的活動通常包括從純粹的玩樂到教育項(xiàng)目。

在純玩樂方面，孩子們的活動包括從游藝到節(jié)日?；顒油ǔＳ薪佑|寵物動物，去玩有趣的游戲，觀看娛樂表演，去游樂場乘機(jī)動游戲機(jī)等。你或許會感到很多活動在強(qiáng)調(diào)享受大自然。海洋、湖泊、河流都是家庭聚會、垂釣、拾貝、劃船等游樂的地方。在大自然的主題下，隨季節(jié)而來的采摘水果很受歡迎。采摘的水果主要有草莓、藍(lán)莓、桃子等。諸如此類的活動詮釋了童年生活的無憂無慮。

美國小學(xué)兒童享受自由的暑假，直到中學(xué)以后才開始有暑期家庭作業(yè)。但是這并不意味孩子們沒有學(xué)習(xí)的選擇。很多家長都熱衷于把孩子送到可以學(xué)習(xí)各種主題內(nèi)容的夏令營?？梢哉f，任何題目都可以找到與之匹配的夏令營。首先，夏令營是培養(yǎng)孩子們課外興趣的好地方，比如音樂、足球、美術(shù)等。其他也有學(xué)習(xí)方面的夏令營。我見過的主題內(nèi)容就有海洋生物、數(shù)學(xué)、科技，甚至文化夏令營等。夏令營可以讓孩子們感到學(xué)習(xí)可以是有趣的。參加夏令營通常是要付費(fèi)的，家長們要早送晚接。有些夏令營是由校車把孩子們送到指定的地方，孩子們可以與專業(yè)人士交流，問問題，或探索某個(gè)領(lǐng)域。例如，海洋生物夏令營會把孩子們帶到海灣，在那里見到海洋生物學(xué)專家，了解其工作內(nèi)容，得到關(guān)于海灣的第一手有關(guān)資料和初次嘗試的經(jīng)歷。另外的夏令營或許就在固定的地點(diǎn)，例如校園或營地。參加夏令營是個(gè)很好的選擇，因?yàn)樵谀抢锖⒆觽兛梢杂斜舜私煌?，學(xué)習(xí)生命中重要的技能。

暑假雖然只是一年中的一個(gè)部分，但并不意味孩子們要整天悶在家里看電視。當(dāng)外面有那么多選擇時(shí)，很明顯，為什么暑假是孩子們最喜歡的時(shí)間。除了享受歡樂外，學(xué)習(xí)方面的夏令營可以使學(xué)生們拓展興趣。童年期是嘗試不同興趣的最佳時(shí)間，因?yàn)橛腥绱酥嗟倪x擇，可以啟發(fā)和培養(yǎng)孩子們在中學(xué)階段和將來去進(jìn)一步追求感興趣的內(nèi)容。

英文原稿

Article 5：Summer Time of American Elementary School Students

During the 3-month summer vacation in America, children have just as much to do as during the school year. When I think about my own childhood, the first memories that come to mind are from summer; playing ball with the neighborhood kids, going to the beach, and playing in the sprinklers to name a few. The common activities in the summer range from pure hearted summer fun to interesting educational programs that allow children to grow.

Starting with the pure hearted summer fun, kids activities from fun carnivals and festivals. These often have petting zoos, fun games for the kids to play, fun entertainment to watch, and amusement rides. As you can see, there is a big emphasis on enjoying nature. Oceans, lakes, and rivers become the common meeting place where families like to fish, go clamming, or spend time on personal boats. In the theme of nature, fruit picking is also very popular as many of the produce become their best at this time. Popular picking fruits are strawberries, blueberries, and peaches. These activities are what make summers of childhood seemingly full of worry free bliss.

Elementary school children have the luxury of a summer free of school work as American children begin to have summer homework assignments later on in middle school. That does not mean, however, that children do not have the option to learn. Many parents are enthusiastic in sending their children to day camps where they can learn about various topics. There is literally a topic for everyone. First you have your camps on extracurricular activities to enrich the children's interest. Some examples include music camp, soccer camp, and art camp. There are also many scholastic camps as well. I've seen topics on marine life, math camp, technology camp, and even culture camps. These camps are a great way for children to realize that learning can be fun. Generally parents pay a fee and drop off children in the morning and pick them up after work. For some camps, a bus will take everyone to a designated location where the children can talk to professionals, ask questions, or explore the area. For example a marine life camp would take children to a local bay where they could meet a professional marine biologist, learn about their job, and get first hand experience with the bay. Other camps may be simpler and stay in one designated location, such as a school campus or camp site. Camps can be a great experience for some because they allow children to socialize and learn important life skills.

While summer vacation is only a portion of the year, it does not mean that children have to stay home and watch TV. When there are so many activities to do, it is clear why summer is an obvious favorite of children. Among the many to enjoy, there are also many enriching educational camps for children to further develop interests. Childhood is a great time to experiment with different interests because the resources are so readily available and it will set up the children to further pursue these interests into high school and beyond.