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Kids' Programs
Summer Camp
OH! THE PLACES WE WILL GO
Jessica Olmo, Kids' Club Director
This summer the Kids' Club had opportunities to travel all over Western Mass and CT. The campers went to: the movies, the ocean, a great waterslide park, a roller skating rink the Holyoke Children's Museum and Lake Compounce to name a few places. Our enrollment was at full capacity everyday! It was a summer full of "firsts" for many of our campers. For most of the campers, it was their first time at the ocean. I will never forget Malik (age 8) asking me "Why does the water taste salty?". It was at that moment that I realized that these children needed to see this great big world. Everyday we went somewhere On the way up to Bosquet Waterslide, many of the children wondered why their ears had popped - many had never traveled up a mountain before.
The children's summer was full of making sandcastles, searching for shells and riding on roller coasters - again, for many, it was the first time ever. Along the way we met up with some very special people from the Jewish Community Center, St. Catherine of Sienna Church and our wonderful volunteers - Deborah, Kristen and Terry. Rabbi Perlman and his Club 78 were magnificent hosts! The children of the St. Catherine of Sienna bible school were very welcoming to our campers. We went there for our final day of camp. We played games, sang songs and danced. Last but not least, our campers learned how to deal with their anger in a positive way as they completed a violence prevention program.
After School Programs
The Kids' Club is an after-school and summer program serving children ages 7-11. Our Kids' Club is always well populated and popular with the families of the immediate neighborhood. The children live within a quarter mile radius of the Gray House and usually several members of a family attend. They come to a safe, caring environment where they can be children and enjoy the activities of a childhood. They play games, do arts and crafts, receive homework help, read and journal, and take field trips to local and regional areas of interest.
