Yippee!! Summer’s On!
By Ann Claffie
June 2009
“Ahh, Mom? My fifth grade graduation is coming up. You and Dad are coming, right?,” asked Robert, my eleven-year old son.
Gulp! What? No more elementary school! How can that be?!
“Earth to Ann. Come in Ann,” beckoned my husband. “Robert has grown up a bit, haven’t you noticed?”
Well, come to think of it, I guess we really do see each other eye-to-eye—no more bending over to pat him on the back.
I guess that means we’ll have to plan something special for him. (OK, Ann just let your fingers do the walkin’ and Berkshires.org will do the talkin’. Family fun, here we come!)
From the mild to the wild, we can go fishing in any of Berkshires beautiful lakes or ponds. We’ll dig up some night crawlers from the backyard and head over to Onota Lake, Pittsfield on a day late in the afternoon, usually a good time for hungry fish. Since Robert has mastered casting his line, with any luck, dinner will be on him. Hmm…an enterprising thought; grilled fish with marinated zucchini and brown rice.
And, depending on the winds about, Robert can try flying his very cool-looking nylon kite from our German friend, Carl. It’s shaped like a high-winged two-passenger airplane. 
All we need is an open field. (Yes!)
Biking all eleven miles on the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail also sounds appealing. We can pack a picnic lunch or supper and stop at one of the picnic tables along the route to enjoy dining alfresco. If we bring along a pair of binoculars, we might even spot eagles flying. (Oh yes, I should remind Robert that biking the entire trail is not a race to the finish; I want us all to be able to walk normally the next day.)
Okay, one more item for the mild side. It’s time for us to return to film another segment for his claymation video at the Museum of Animation, Lee.
I’m sure that our friend Eugene will be happy to see Robert. It’ll give Robert a chance to use some of his film-making skills recently learned 
from the Brain Boosters program at school. It’ll be two hours of the “Master” teaching the “master.” (I wonder what the second sequel will feature?)
I guess there’s only one big item left to decide and it’s all about summer camp.
Robert is already participating in a Boy Scouts overnight camp - Camp Invention and D.A.R.E. Camp, so we’re looking for one or two more weeks of fun learning. Our choices are unbelievable! Here, in the Berkshires we have a circus camp, educational and performing arts camp, sports camps galore, nature camps, museum camps, even non-traditional camps with a focus on engineering and robotics. Awesome!
About Ann Claffie
A Berkshires native, Ann grew up in Dalton as the oldest of five children who were encouraged to use their imaginations for fun and play. Today, married and living in Pittsfield, Ann and her husband enjoy family fun and adventure with their eleven year old son.