Arnold CLC students catch fun learning experiences at summer enrichment clubs

July 30, 2025

Alayna burst out into a wide smile as she realized a bluegill had transferred its home address from Bowling Lake’s waters to a hook on her fishing rod.
 
Those types of memory-making moments were the norm for students during this year’s Expanding Horizons Summer Clubs Program. Based at the Lincoln Community Learning Centers (CLC) site at Arnold Elementary School, the free summer enrichment camps featured a wide array of options for children. They could learn about subjects ranging from inventions to insects over the course of three weeks in July.
 
Alayna’s decision to come to the weeklong Outdoor Explorers Club gave her a chance to beam while holding her bluegill. She doubled her excitement less than ten minutes later when another fish found its way onto her hook. She said later that she would remember catching a fish for the first time in her life.
 
“It was really fun,” Alayna said.

 
Students like Alayna, who will be a sixth grader at Schoo Middle School, have been reeling in educational opportunities for the past 23 years through the Expanding Horizons program. Arnold CLC School Community Coordinator Dayna Krannawitter has built a vast network of community partners to help children make dynamic discoveries. This summer’s lineup has included arts and crafts opportunities, engineering experiences and trips to Pioneers Park Nature Center, Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center and Bowling Lake Park.
 
Krannawitter said it is rewarding to watch students learn life lessons through activities like the Outdoor Explorers Club.
 
“That’s the impact that kids get when they explore their interests,” Krannawitter said. “They get to sign up for the clubs they want, and these kids love being outdoors, so it’s something they really want to do. They just have a great time doing it. It’s all very hands-on, and that’s the best way to do it.”

 
Braden and Aleah nodded when asked if they liked being outside. Braden will be a fourth grader at Roper Elementary School this fall, and Aleah will be entering fifth grade at Arnold Elementary. Braden said he had been having fun learning about animals, looking at insects and figuring out where to cast his reel on the lake.
 
“I caught bugs yesterday and I’m trying to catch fish today,” Braden said.
 
Aleah attended clubs all three weeks of the Expanding Horizons program. She was happy to spend time with her friends while snagging new information about different topics.
 
“It’s pretty fun,” Aleah said. “It’s fun to try new things.”

 
Krannawitter partnered with Lincoln-based Big Gumdrop Outdoors for the Outdoor Explorers Club. Lincoln High graduate Kyndal Hudson is operations director for the nonprofit organization, which is dedicated to teaching youth about Nebraska’s natural environment. She leads after-school programs for CLC students throughout the academic year and guides children at summer programs and field trips.
 
Hudson said she is passionate about sharing her love of nature with others. She encouraged each student by the lake and helped them attach their worm to their hook. She cheered when Alayna began hauling in her fish and gave her a happy high five on the shoreline. She said those celebrations are why she chose outdoor education as her career.
 
“This has been a cool way for me to connect kids with nature and get them outside to do something different,” Hudson said.
 
Hudson attended Roper Elementary School and Park Middle School before earning her Lincoln High diploma. A Dean’s List student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Hudson grew up near Denton and spent many hours fishing and boating with family members. She said teaching students like Alayna, Braden and Aleah is a way for her to pass along that outdoor knowledge to the next generation.
 
“When I was a child, I was definitely outside all of the time,” Hudson said. “We didn’t have phones when I was a child because my parents were against it, which I’m grateful for. A lot of kids now are surrounded by screens and don’t necessarily have the same access to being outside, so this is a good way for us to connect them with the outdoors.”

 
In addition to the enrichment camps, Expanding Horizons students also received free breakfast, lunch and summer reading activities this year. Lincoln Housing Charities and the CLC Interlocal Program Fund covered all costs to ensure all area students could attend.
 
Some Outdoors Explorers Club students like Aleah had fished before, but many had never tried the activity until their trip to Bowling Lake. Hudson said it is exciting to watch students of all experience levels develop a deeper appreciation for nature at camps like the Arnold CLC one.
 
“Sometimes at first, they’re like, ‘I don’t want to go outside. It’s hot and there are bugs everywhere,’” Hudson said. “But yesterday, we went bug hunting, and they were catching the bugs and examining them. It takes a little bit of time sometimes, but it’s awesome when it starts to happen.”
 
Want to learn more about Lincoln CLC enrichment opportunities that are available year-round? Visit clc.lps.org to discover information about after-school programs available at more than two dozen LPS sites.
 
Do you have a story idea? Share it with the LPS Communications Team by filling out this form!

---