After analyzing a giant painting at the Tweed Museum of Art in Duluth, fifth-grader Madison Beardsley made a decision.
"I want to go to Niagara Falls someday," she said.
It's a revelation this Lake Superior school district student made on a day off school: a Friday outside of the classroom.
"My dad thinks ... we should have a five-day week and my grandma does, too," Beardsley said.
Friday marked the first day off of the school district's four-day week, which was enacted due to budget problems. The decision to go to a four-day school week called community and child care groups into action, said Jody Zastera of the daycare program Kids & Company.
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At Kids & Company, there are plans to take children on field trips every third Friday, expanding a service the day care had offered before and after school.
"Fabulous Fridays was just kind of an extension of our summers," she said.
But the dropped Friday has not increased program enrollment.
"Maybe once the weather changes we'll see some more children," Zastera said.
But parents might start eying the group as a way to keep kids' brains working on their early weekend.
"I am a teacher, an elementary teacher by profession, so I think I'm trying to teach them a little something every day, every trip we take," Zastera said.
School administrators say the opportunities do not end with Kids &
Company.
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"It's dependant on the organization that is partnering with us, the age-range that they set," said Lake Superior school district community education director Chris Langenbrunner.
Langenbrunner said the district began coordinating Friday events for students in March. A list is quickly growing, but the district still searches for chances to get kids involved.
"No one wanted to go to a four-day [school week]; it was a necessity rather than an option," Langenbrunner said. "The more we can offer, the better opportunity it is, and it's a great way to connect kids with the community."
To pitch a Friday idea for Lake Superior school district students, call the community education department at (218) 834-8201.
