This week, the Paramount Arts Center in Ashland hosted the first week of its 2018 summer camps.

The annual sessions, which take place at the theater on Winchester Avenue in Ashland, offer classes in theater, drawing, dance, improvisational comedy, sewing, pottery and other fine arts fields.

The highlight of the camps is the two-week production camp, which starts in July.

This is open to students of all ages and experience levels and takes participants through every step involved in putting on a production, from auditions, to costumes, to stage design to the final performance, which takes place before the community.

In addition to the Paramount’s camps, another learning option is available to students this summer, courtesy of the Tri-State STEM+M Early College High School.

A chemistry camp will begin at the South Point campus on Monday, open to grades six and up, allowing students to take part in hands-on experiments.

Both the Paramount and STEM+M camps also offer scholarships, so that students from lower income households can take part.

It is good that such opportunities exist here in the summer, so that the learning experience does not have to end when the academic year winds down. And the nontraditional classroom setting is especially suited for fine arts and science activities that could not be accommodated during a typical school session.

Whether its camps like these or activities like the Lawrence County Fair, we encourage parents to keep their children involved this summer and make the most of these months off.