All learn and some play at SAC

Photo By Pfc. Taiya Cuevas | Students at the Child and Youth School Services School Age Centerare busy making artwork to decorate their new facility at Fort Bliss, Texas, Nov. 15. The new SAC gives the students more room for activities like arts and crafts.  

FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

11.15.2010

Story by Pfc. Taiya Cuevas 

24th Theater Public Affairs Support Element

FORT BLISS, Texas -- Who says after school care has to be all play and no learning once school is out for the day? The coordinators for Child, Youth and School Services don’t think the learning process should stop just because the child is out of school and has arrived at after school care.

CYSS has new learning programs and activities schedule for the after school children at their School Age Center.

The center’s monthly calendar of events is busy with all the new activities being scheduled. Activities are held almost every weekday of the month, and some Saturdays.

Some of the activities include art, painting, computers and technology and cooking classes. These extracurricular activities give the after school children of SAC the chance to experience something new or make a mess doing something they love.

Coordinators at the center use a five step process called Assessing School-Age Child Care Quality that helps the center to evaluate their quality and adjust priorities to the abilities of the children. The center incorporates similar learning skills from national organizations such 4-H and the Boys and Girls Club of America.

The Bliss School Age director, Laila Soltero said, “A lot of the activities chosen here are child driven, the children ultimately decide what they want to do. We just give them the ideas.”

Teaching children the basic responsibility, leadership, citizenship and life skills are very important. The activities at SAC not only benefit and sharpen the child’s learning skills and abilities, but the skills and lessons learned benefit the community as a whole.

“We do encourage the students to do their homework before activities because it teaches them the responsibility of getting their work done,” Soltero said.

After snack and homework, the children can choose between several activities. Having a choice and day to day variety keeps the children active so they don’t get bored. The activities give the children a chance to feel free and be creative.

School age children are very vulnerable and much more apt to learning during this time in their lives. It’s crucial that children absorb as much as possible at their young age, because hands on teaching is an excellent learning tool that has proven positive results. When engaged in activities like cooking, the children have fun learning and use their brains at the same time by applying basic math skills while using measurements.

Students are encouraged to participate in community service as well. One activity for November is a canned food drive, which demonstrates to children how they can help out in their community.

The SAC staff takes to heart and understand the importance of young children continuing to develop and sharpen the vital life skills, helping each child to be a well rounded citizen.

“The center is brand new and we have a lot going on,” Soltero said. “It’s a good thing and says a lot about our center and the staff if the children ask their parents to stay longer at the end of the day,”

• Date Taken: 11.15.2010
• Date Posted: 11.23.2010 16:48
• Story ID: 60759
• Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US