FRIENDS
FRIENDS is held at Park Village Elementary School in Rancho Penasquitos on Monday and Thursday afternoons from 4:00 to 5:30PM. Each FRIENDS session is approximately 8 weeks long, and sessions are held in the Fall, Winter and Spring. Park Village Elementary School is located at 7930 Park Village Rd 92129, just off of Black Mountain Rd and the 56 freeway.Introduction:
The FRIENDS Program is an after-school social skills group for school-age boys and girls (1st through 5th grades) who are struggling to be successful at school, on the playground, with peers, or at home. Children in our program are those who try very hard to make friends or keep friends but often find themselves unsuccessful in doing so for a variety of reasons. Often, due to impulsivity, attention deficit, or simply not identifying and responding to the social cues of their peers, these children fail at something they desperately want, much to the disappointment and discouragement of themselves and their parents, coaches, or teachers.FRIENDS helps children succeed - through practice and feedback in naturally occurring social situations. It's a terrific program that has helped many children make and keep lasting friendships, some for the very first time. Philosophy:
FRIENDS is an experiential social skills program. We use games and discussions to facilitate social skills in the moment as situations occur and feelings arise. Our counselors lead structured and unstructured activities which provide the children with opportunities to give and receive peer feedback in a supportive and fun manner. They learn to handle frustration and articulate their feelings more clearly, helping them in turn to experience more success in difficult situations.
Activities:
FRIENDS is FUN! We play lots of camp games: scavenger hunts, dodge ball, relay races, & many other outdoor activities. We enjoy indoor games as well including board games, partner games, group challenges and more. Role plays sharing circles are also a part of the afternoon. Children are placed with partners, small groups and large groups throughout the day, which provides them with many varied opportunities to learn effective skills in different types of social situations.
Staff:
FRIENDS is directed by Kelly Jones, M.A. Kelly holds a Master's degree in clinical psychology and is currently completing her Ph.D. She has worked in a variety of settings with elementary-aged children and is currently completing her doctoral dissertation on peer conflict among young children. For the last few years, she was on staff at the San Diego Vet Center as a readjustment counselor for combat veterans and their families. She also co-facilitated the BLAST social skills program in Pasadena, CA, a similar program serving children who need assistance experiencing success in social settings.
Candy Grant is the FRIENDS Assistant Director. She is also the Outpost Day Camp Director and has been with Outpost for eleven years. Additional Outpost directors and counselors work the FRIENDS program on a rotating basis. The child to counselor ratio is 3:1. Click here to read more about Outpost's Directors.
Now Enrolling:
Spring Session 2013: Monday April 1 to Thursday May 23
(8 weeks, 15 meetings - no meeting on Thursday, April 11)
Fee = $500
The program fee includes 15 total afternoon meetings (90 minutes each) and 2 ninety-minute parent meetings, along with all program activities and a daily snack. We enroll on an ongoing basis - it is not too late to begin a session at any time, unless the group is completely full.
Please note: your child must be accepted into the FRIENDS program by the FRIENDS Director. We work hard to create an age-appropriate "mix" of kids and if one session is not appropriate for your child, another session might be. Call our office for more information regarding this.
We strongly encourage interested families to call us for a free phone consultation regarding the program and its appropriateness for your child. Our office number is (858) 842-4900. You can also email Kelly Jones, Director, at kellyjones@outpostsummercamps.com. During the school year our office is open on a limited basis, but we return all calls promptly.
If you have spoken to our office staff and have received instructions to enroll your child in FRIENDS online, click here. If you already have an Outpost account, log in using your current username and password. If you are a new family to Outpost, follow the instructions for creating a new account. Contact us if you need any assistance with this process.
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