Summer Scaries

San Antonio moms launch splashy summer program of fun and learning

A child in wet clothes and sunglasses stands on a splash pad in the sun.

Combating learning loss doesn't mean staying in a classroom; this series takes place at splash pads around town.

Photo courtesy of San Antonio Charter Moms

As summer break kicks off, parents may be facing a large-scale version of the Sunday scaries, coming up with months of activities to keep kids active and engaged. While encouraging kids to get out of the house with “Go play outside” is every bit as valid as it’s always been, a new San Antonio initiative comes pre-loaded with tons of ideas from local parents and experts.

The Summer of Play event series is anchored by three playdates: June 9, June 14, and July 14, taking place at splash pads around town. These get-togethers are held by the San Antonio Charter Moms online community, with over 9,000 members on Facebook, but everyone is invited, and attendees can come and go as they please.

A central goal of the series is to combat learning loss, or the way learning decays while away from school or while dealing with some major scheduling drain like the pandemic. This series focuses on hands-on programming that teaches, while also creating opportunities to play on splash pads around the city and socialize.

First up, at Yanaguana Garden at Hemisfair, is STEMulate Curiosity, which teaches kids about math and science. The activities are led by BASIS San Antonio, one of the top 100 charter schools in the United States.

Next is an exploration of “cyber parenting” at Voigt Park led by nextTalk, a podcast that discusses open communication around topics kids may consume on the internet, regardless of what parents would prefer to allow.

Finally, occupational therapist Jorge Ochoa will lead a fun finger bootcamp at Pearsall Park, developing pre-writing skills like using a pencil and drawing shapes.

San Antonio Charter Moms will send a team to answer education questions at each event, and Alamo City Moms will be on hand with ideas for family-centric outings around the city and a favorite summer camps guide.

The series emphasizes the effect of the pandemic not just on learning, but on kids’ habits. Parents can look beyond the Summer of Play to articles, video resources, and collaborations through the Charter Moms that can inspire year-round fun and growth. One resource, identified as the precursor to the Summer of Play, is a self-paced multimedia collection of activities to try at home called Charter a Voyage of Learning.

More information, including Eventbrite links, is available on sachartermoms.com. Don’t forget sunscreen and a snack! All three events run from 10 am to 12 pm.

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Movie Review

Jude Law hunts down white supremacy in real-life thriller The Order

Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Jude Law in The Order.

White supremacy has long been a stand-in for evil in movies, with the correlation easy to make with through well-known archetypes like those of Nazi Germany. Whether a film puts forth white supremacists as its main characters or supporting ones, their usefulness in a story is as people who are easy to hate and that deserve to be held to some sort of justice.

While that idea holds true in the new film, The Order, the nature of the group featured is somewhat muddled. The central figure is FBI agent Terry Husk (Jude Law), who essentially sets up a one-man task force in the Pacific Northwest to track a group known as The Order. Husk is convinced that the group, which is an offshoot of a larger white supremacist organization, is behind a series of bank robberies to fund anti-government schemes.

Husk recruits local police officer Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan) to help follow the group, which is led by Bob Mathews (Nicholas Hoult). The two, joined occasionally by FBI agent Joanne Carney (Jurnee Smollett), do their best to keep up with The Order’s increasingly bold crimes, which morphs from “just” bank robbery to murder.

Directed by Justin Kurzel and written by Zach Baylin, the film is at its best when it delves into the personalities of its characters. Husk’s monomaniacal nature is great for his job, but not so much for his family life. Bowen has a solid bond with his wife and kids, but his greenness in law enforcement leads to some questionable decision-making. Mathews, like many cult leaders, is a charismatic person with very misguided tendencies.

The filmmakers set up the plot (which is based on a real-life story) well, but the details get a little loose as the film goes along. While The Order has a hatred of Jews, a plot against radio personality Alan Berg (Marc Maron) doesn’t make much sense in the context of the film. The geography of the group’s operations is also confusing; they’re located in Washington, but they range out as far as Colorado and California to commit their crimes.

Still, the inherent appeal of good-vs-evil keeps the plot mechanics going, and the side stories of the main characters give them a depth that makes up for other faults. The filmmakers also make sure to demonstrate how the scourge of white supremacy has never been limited to one particular era, and continues to infect American society to this day.

Law commits fully to the lead role, giving a performance with a convincing American accent that is far from the suave British parts which have dominated his filmography. Hoult proves equally believable, giving his character a nuance that somehow makes him more detestable. Sheridan adds another interesting role to a career that would be enviable for any other young actor.

While The Order doesn’t rise to the level of an awards contender, its story is still relatively compelling with antagonists that, unfortunately, never go out of style. A great cast playing characters with engaging lives keeps the film watchable even when it goes into some odd detours.

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The Order is now playing in theaters.

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