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DREAM Program

Our programs keep our foster children and staff going from morning until night! We have a core program that introduces the children to STEM/STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). We participate in STEM/STEAM Saturdays where we may do Lego building, or take a visit to one of the learning facilities where we have an annual membership: Arizona Science Center, Pima Air and Space Museum, or the Phoenix Zoo. In addition to our core program, the following are also integral to our DREAM Program:

Academic

  • Regular communication with children’s teachers and school administrators
  • Tutoring (after-school tutoring through the school)
  • Homework Help (homework review and correction with staff in the evening)
  • Use of technology (tablets for studying)
  • Monetary Incentives (Monetary bonus for children earning Cs and above, but encourage and expect academic achievement to the extent of their capabilities)
  • Award Ceremony Gifts (Candy Bouquets and balloons for Honor Roll and character award achievement)
  • Purchases from Scholastic Book Fair at the end of each academic quarter

Athletics

The children of DREAM Group Homes, Inc. participate in athletics programs through the city of Maricopa, Arizona if they would like to. All children get the opportunity to participate in taekwondo lessons up to six days per week. Children may also participate in soccer in the fall and spring. In addition, the children may choose to play volleyball or flag football in the winter. Children can also participate in basketball in the summer. Also during the summer, the children may participate in swimming lessons at Copper Sky Aquatic Center. At the start of each season a child wishes to play, each child receives a new pair of sport-specific shoes, athletic clothing, and all athletic equipment needed to play the sport. This is provided by one of our partner agencies (Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation). The children select the items based on their likes and personalities, and they get to shop at major athletic and shoe stores.

College Days

It is important to help our children visualize their future. We stress the importance of higher education and learning daily. We frequently visit the local college/university campuses and visualize their attendance at the educational institution of their choice.

College Days

At DREAM Group Homes, Inc., we encourage appropriate conversations, especially at the dining table. During dining times, we do our “grateful/thankful table” where we talk about what each of us is grateful for at that moment. We follow up on the question to really help the children think about what they are grateful for and why. We also encourage discussions on what we’re excited about/what we are looking forward to and goals we are setting for ourselves.

Exercise

Children exercise daily to help with their mental and physical health. The children may do yoga, obstacle courses, bike riding, swimming, etc. Our children have previously completed the Foam Glow 5K race.

Family Fun

We are all family here at DREAM Group Homes, Inc. We do family activities together like watching movies under the stars, backyard camping, bike riding, and fishing. Together, we come up with our activities for the month, and have fun doing as many as possible!

Fiscal Responsibility

Children in our care choose their own piggy bank, which encourages and stresses the importance of saving on a regular basis, giving to those less fortunate, and discussions on money, saving, and fiscal responsibility. When they go home from our facility, they take their piggy bank, and what they have saved with them!

Key Chains - Unlocking Your DREAMS!

Every time the child experiences a new place or new activity, they are able to select a key chain as a keepsake. The keychain serves as a reminder of the activity and an encouragement to do well in the future.

Language

We conduct daily study of the Spanish language through the use of Rosetta Stone.

Leadership Training

Our leadership training is conducted through the American Taekwondo Association.

All children have the opportunity to participate in leadership training up to six days per week.. In these classes, the children study special life skills, advanced techniques, and advanced karate weapons training.

Reading Program

Readers are leaders! It is important for each child to enhance his or her skills through daily reading. Children are expected to read two to three times per day, and are encouraged to choose their own books from the Maricopa Public Library. Each summer, the children of DREAM Group Homes, Inc. participate in a reading challenge with the library, and receive prizes and an end-of-challenge celebration. Also to encourage reading, each child gets to choose their own bookmark from Barnes and Noble to hold their place in the book they are reading. DREAM Group Homes, Inc. encourages individuality and growing their personality through the books they read.

Summer

Summer at DREAM Group Homes, Inc. is about bridging the educational gap experienced by foster children, having fun, and living our DREAMS!

  • Church of Celebration bible camp
  • Entering grade level preparation
  • Family vacation to Disneyland, Six Flags, and Hurricane Harbor
  • Summer pass to Amazing Jake’s
  • Summer pass to Sunsplash
  • Youth Haven Ranch bible camp

Typing

It is expected for all children to learn how to type. We have a lot of fun here at DREAM Group Homes, Inc., but we also want to send them home with additional life skills that will help them in their future. Learning to type is another one of those important skills.

Volunteering

It is imperative to show our children the importance of giving back to others in need. The children and staff of DREAM Group Homes, Inc. currently volunteer to be guests at children's birthday parties. Their attendance brings joy and satisfaction to home schooled children, new to Maricopa children, or any child who may not otherwise have any guests at their birthday party. We bring up to 11 children with just as many gifts! Please feel free to contact us if you would like to donate brand new toys that serve as the birthday party gifts. Also, please feel free to reach out to us if you would like us to be guests at your child's birthday party.

We have previously volunteered with the Church of Celebration in Maricopa, helping to pack meals for the church’s PowerPack-Copa Ministry, a ministry providing meals on the weekends to children who wouldn’t eat otherwise. We have also volunteered with La Estancia Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The children have spent quality time with the patients by reading to them.

Having the children volunteer allows them to gain new experiences and insights, allows them a chance to give back and help others, allows them to create appropriate connections with people, and also allows them to feel a sense of accomplishment. The children build character by helping others as others have helped them.

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