Afterschool Adventures Keeps Kids Active and Engaged

Afterschool Adventures Keeps Kids Active and Engaged

ENFIELD – There are many new opportunities for kids in grades K-5 to be active and engaged this Fall after school—right in their own school.

Enrollment is now open for Afterschool Adventures, a program operated by Educational Resources for Children, Inc., also known as ERfC. The fall Afterschool Adventures schedule is posted online at www.erfc.us.

David Meizels, ERfC Director of Operations, said the short-term six to eight week classes include Jumping Clay, KidZ Sports, KidZ Write and Mad Science.

Meizels said, “We are listening to parents and providing a variety of enrichment and recreational activities that keep kids safe after school while they work.” All activities begin directly after school with a snack in the cafeteria. Meizels said early enrollment is important for processing of all the applications. Some activities have a limited enrollment, he added.

Every Afterschool Adventure offers unique enrichment opportunity for students.

Jumping Clay owner, Aime Liggett, said each participant will create their own 3-D jungle display including landscape and jungle animals such as a jaguar, monkey, and crocodile while learning about basic shapes and color mixing. The air-drying polymer clay is 100% safe and non-toxic, said Liggett. This workshop is for beginners and advanced users.

Jumping Clay will be held at Eli Whitney School on Mondays beginning October 17th and at Crandall School on Thursdays beginning October 20. Classes will run for six weeks.

This year, the popular ERfC KidZ Sports will feature the BOKS (Building Our Kids’ Success) fitness and nutrition program, an initiative of the Reebox Foundation.

Meizels said KidZ Sports will provide a non-competition and fun environment using the BOKS model for fitness, play, and importance of good nutrition. According to research from the Reebox Foundation, “physical activity is recognized as the key to kids’ success”, both in school and in the community.

“ERfC is excited to incorporate the BOKS program in our KidZ Sports Adventure”, said Meizels. KidZ Sports provides a safe environment for kids to learn to work with others by introducing and reinforcing the fundamentals of sportsmanship, he added.

The 8-week KidZ Sports program will be led by Amanda Harris, a certified and trained BOKS instructor and KidZ Sports leader since 2014.

KidZ Sports will meet at Parkman School on Tuesdays beginning October 18th; Henry Barnard School on Mondays beginning October 17th; Enfield Street School on Fridays beginning October 21st; and at Hazardville Memorial School on Thursdays, beginning October 20th.

Led by locally published author J. Monkeys, KidZ Write will again be offered to students interested in writing, illustrating and publishing a book.

Meizels said KidZ Write is a literacy program where kids become published authors. Children work in a small group to develop, write, and illustrate a book that will be published and available for purchase on Amazon.com. Since the KidZ Write Afterschool Adventure began three years ago, students in grades K-8 have published 18 books, including the book, A Friend for Ellie, written by students enrolled in JFK After School that was distributed to over 200 First Readers in Enfield in the last school year.

KidZ Write will meet for 8-weeks and will include a book launch signing celebration for families and friends at the end of each session. Enrollment is available for KidZ Write at Eli Whitney on Fridays beginning October 21st.

Mad Science of Western New England will join the line-up of Afterschool Adventures with 8 classes featuring LEGO Bricks. The Brixology workshops will explore aerospace, carnivals, towers, bridges, boats, machines and vehicles.

Meizels said the Mad Science STEM activities will also include nature’s engineering secrets. Students will learn about efficient designs by observing plans and animals. Join in building a walking insect machine, then test different ways to help it climb up the steepest branch.

The Mad Science Brixology activities will be held on Wednesdays at Edgar H. Parkman School beginning October 5th; Prudence Crandall School on Tuesdays beginning October 11th; and at Eli Whitney School on Thursdays beginning October 13th. Registration for Mad Science is available at register.madscience.org/westnewengland.

Registration for Afterschool Adventures is available online at www.erfc.us. For more information, call 860-253-9935 or email info@erfc.us. The ERfC Administrative Office is located at 119B Post Road, Enfield.

###