Summer vacation 2008 spans May 23 to Aug. 26, and parents of school-age children have few options as to where they can park the kids while Mom and Dad are working.

At age 5, most children have outgrown their regular daycare and spend time at one of two places the Boys & Girls Club of Brookings or the Great After School Place (GAP) if they need supervision during summer days.

The Children's 1st Step Learning Center on Brooklawn Drive is licensed to care for children up to 12 years old, but the oldest children the Center has cared for have been age 6.

"Even with the 6-year-olds , they've been here so long they need something new," said Amber Breitbarth, director of the Brookings center. "What I hear from parents is that they're looking for socialization more than curriculum (for their school-age children)." 5-year-olds ready for change

Working with children daily, Breitbarth can vouch that 5-year-olds nearing their first day of school are at a natural transition point and are ready to move on.

Dan Stluka, director of Kid's World Learning Center (available only to children of First Bank & Trust employees), said his facility will sometimes take in kids who are age 6 or 7, but most parents find a new childcare option for their school-age child.

Stluka said the center's location is usually a determining factor when parents decide to send children to other care facilities. During the school year, children can attend a GAP location based at the school or get bused to the Boys & Girls Club.

The local Boys & Girls Club has more than 1,200 members, and at least 300 of those kids go to the club daily in the summer. Three GAP locations

The GAP can take in a maximum of 157 kids, the population divided among three in-town locations : Hillcrest and Medary elementary schools and First United Methodist Church.

Both GAP and the Boys & Girls Club care for school-aged children who have typically outgrown their daycare. That's not to say either can be lumped in with daycare facilities, as both center on programs and activity. "We're a youth development option, a safe place for kids when their parents are at work," Executive Director Vanessa Merhib said of the Boys & Girls Club.

To accommodate extra kids in summer, Merhib says the programming and staff has significantly.

"Everything just expands," she says.

Members can choose to go to the pool every day from 1-4 p.m., join the running club, work on art projects, help grow a garden or get involved in teen programs. If they are signed up for city summer recreation activities, it's the parent's job to provide transportation, but kids sometimes rely on the Brookings Area Transit Authority buses. Just for fun

Mostly, the Boys & Girls Club is a place for kids to have fun and interact with their peers, Merhib said.

Kids in first- through 12th-grade can join the club for an annual membership fee of $20, and once signed up, members can stop by at any time. Summer hours are 7:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. and will revert to after school until 9 p.m. once school starts again. Hours at GAP vary by location, with the Medary site open from 6:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. and the Hillcrest and Methodist sites available from 7:30 a.m. 6 p.m.

Once there, kids going to GAP have options to get involved in programming structured for the kindergarten through fifth-grade age groups.

"We try to have programming child-directed ," said GAP Coordinator Jan Stange. "The kids said they wanted to go to the pool, so we go three times per week." Theme changes weekly

Morning programming is based on a child-chosen theme that changes every week.

"We get all of our themes from the kids. It's based on children's interests," Stange said.

In the afternoon, the kids and staff head for the pool, get involved in children's reading programs at Brookings Public Library or take field trips bowling or minigolfing .

GAP also designates a few sessions of park and recreation activities to which they agree to bring children. If enrolled at the Hillcrest site, a child can easily get to soccer or tennis lessons, Stange said. The older kids usually bike to their activities and kept on schedule with help from staff.

Staff-to-student ratios provide the flexibility to get out and go every afternoon. There is a teacher for every eight kindergarteners and a 1-to-10 ratio for school-aged children.

GAP is state-licensed and boasts a nationally accredited program. It operates with sliding fees, at the high end charging $85 per week in the summer (or less depending on ability to pay). Prices during the school year start at $90 per month. Just ask for help

"If the program is what their child needs, we would be able to care for them. They just need to ask," Stange said.

While working parents put in full days, their school-aged kids have safe places to go to socialize, have fun and get involved in activities .

"It's really an opportunity for those children to mix in with their peers," Stange said.

"It's a fun age they're growing all the time."