The approximately 220 students in the Beyond School Time’s CARE Summer Camp will wear many “HATS” over the next six weeks.

Lessons on being chefs, dancers, carpenters and scientists are all part of the summer program that started on July 10, and the theme is HATS – honor achieved through service. The CARE program, which stands for Community, Academic, Recreation and Enrichment, serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade and runs weekdays. It is funded through the national 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant.

In the morning, classes are focused on academics. After a break for lunch, students tackle a variety of activities.

On Thursday, instructor Kathleen Martin provided a hands-on pancake making lesson during a cooking class. Martin explained that her class teaches cooking basics to students in fifth and sixth grade, such as measuring properly and how to follow a recipe.

For that day’s lesson, the eggs were taken fresh from the few chickens students care for that live in the Wareham Middle School courtyard. Martin joked that perhaps it was time to add another animal.

“We should keep a cow out there for the milk,” she said.

“That would be awesome!” said student Cameron Manchester.

Students then measured flour, baking powder and other dry ingredients. Then it came time to crack the eggs. Josiah Andersen said he’d been practicing.

“This is the third time I got to crack an egg,” he said. “The first time, I got some shells in there. The second time I had the tiniest bit of shells. This time, there were no shells.”

Down the hall, younger students in Marie Ferriera’s “Hands in the Dirt” class dissected lima beans. Using magnifying glasses, students examined the different parts of the seed, such as the coat and embryo. They then drew what they saw on worksheets.

In the auditorium, students got moving in the “Step it Up” dance class, taught by Marion Weatherspoon.

During the school year, Weatherspoon teaches the class as part of CARE after school programming. On stage, students who had been taking the class for some time practiced before showing newer students the moves.

In addition to offering enrichment classes, CARE partners with nonprofits, such as the Buzzards Bay Coalition. On each Thursday, the environmentally-focused organization sends staff over for science lessons and outdoor excursions.

At the end of six weeks, everything students have learned comes together at the CARE Fair. The end of summer bash showcases skills learned and displays of student projects on art, woodworking, science and engineering.