CHIMACUM — More than 60 children have participated in a free YMCA program that offers both meals and lessons.
“Kids are getting nourished in two ways, said Jefferson County YMCA Executive Director Erica Delma.
“During the summer, some kids don’t get school lunch, so they don’t get much nutrition, and they aren’t going to school, so their brains aren’t getting nourished either,” she said Wednesday.
“This helps us close the achievement gap, because if there is less learning during the summer months, it can be aggravated by a loss of nutrition.”
The program is aimed at stopping a summer “slide” in scholastic skills.
The children got something extra on the eve of the Fourth of July.
An ice-cream social offered soft ice cream, strawberries, cherries and whipped cream as a pre-holiday treat.
The meals are funded by a $5,000 federal grant administered through the Washington’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction with the YMCA implementing the program.
The program began on June 17 and continues through Aug. 23 at Chimacum Creek Primary School, 313 Ness’ Corner Road.
Delma said children read lessons in the morning and afternoon, with study bracketed by a free lunch.
The program operates from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and is free for children from preschool to age 12.
No proof of income is required, and participants can just show up.
The YMCA also is running programs in Quilcene, tied to the Tuesday bookmobile visit to the Quilcene Community Center, 294952 U.S. Highway 101, and in Port Townsend at Mountain View Commons, 1919 Blaine St., where the program centers around the daily open swim.
“A lot of the kids don’t have any exposure to books during the summer,” said teacher Dawn Hildebrand, a Head Start employee.
“This gives them a boost, and it’s really neat that the parents are bringing the kids here so they can get something productive done over the summer.”
While part of the day consists of Hildebrand’s teaching conventionally, the real learning takes place in small groups that are supervised by volunteers, she said.
The children form the groups where they read to each other, or the volunteer reads to them.
They also learn about books and often go to the adjacent Jefferson County Library to check them out.
“I tell them about books and their different parts,” Hildebrand said.
“I tell them the difference between an author, an illustrator and the title, which helps them understand books makes them better readers.”
Delma said that the success of the program is a group effort, from the preparation of the food, the volunteers and the school’s custodial staff, which makes sure the kids have everything they need.
The program is recruiting volunteers either in food preparation or as a teacher’s assistant, with an application and packet available at the YMCA office in Mountain View Commons.
Applicants will be subject to a background check.
For more information, call the YMCA at 360-385-3511.
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
