The Hot Springs Family YMCA Successful Children Out of school Recreation and Education program at Lakeside Primary School plans to use video to finish the final two "7 Habits of Happy Kids," a socio-emotional learning series, to help its students continue to learn life skills.
Jennifer Moore, S.C.O.R.E. program director, said they decided to use video to finish the social-emotional learning lessons at the request of a parent, after the coronavirus pandemic forced schools to end on-campus instruction.
"(The video) shows the community we are committed to helping to develop the character development of our youth. The youth is our future, and we want to make a positive impact on their lives. We want them to remember these skills and pass them on to their own children one day," she said.
The "7 Habits of Happy Kids" are "Be proactive," "Begin with the end in mind," "First things first," "Think win-win," "Seek first to understand, then to be understood," "Synergize!" and "Sharpen the saw," she said.
The S.C.O.R.E. program is a joint after-school program funded by the YMCA that is located on the Lakeside Primary School campus. Lakeside Primary School Principal Julie Burroughs developed an after-school program that would allow the families to have their children stay on campus from 3-5:30 p.m., Moore said.
The YMCA partnered with the school to provide high-quality service for the families by hiring Lakeside certified teachers and college students and adults to assist with the activities, she said.
Moore said that, by providing the videos, YMCA is teaching the students that they complete what they started.
"We have a license under Better Beginnings, so at 3-5:30, we are no longer a school service, but a DHS day care service provider serving Pre-K to fourth grade. We can have 87 enrolled children. In March, we serviced 70 children," she said.
Moore said that the program provides the school family with a safe after school and day care environment for the children. It teaches them responsibility, leadership skills, team building, social-emotional skills and learning about enrichment programs such as global learning, art education and STEM projects.
"When we provide a good, quality after school program that concentrates on homework and enrichment skills, it allows our parents to get off of work and spend quality family time with their children," she said.
"This joint program exists to accommodate our school family parents who don't want their children going somewhere else after school," Moore said. "They want to continue the structured educational environment provided during the day."
She said that YMCA is still here for the students, and while they may not be able to see each other each weekday afternoon to help them with homework and teach them important life skills, they can still communicate through Google Classroom and continue teaching them the skills they need to learn.
Local on 04/27/2020