South Brunswick Teens Launch Free Online Activity Class For Kids

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — Is your elementary-aged son or daughter bored during summer break — especially since they've already been stuck at home since March?

Then you might want to check out a unique online learning group called South Brunswick Peer Pals, launched by a group of young women who are all rising juniors at South Brunswick High School.

SB Peer Pals was started by Dheeksha Sudhakar, Sumedha Kommaraju, Abhinaya Mukundan, Eshita Mehrotra, Isha Wagle and Amanda Tesar.

"We made this organization in our free time when the coronavirus began. We thought that during this time, children would not be able to socialize with their friends," said the group. "We wanted to help, and so the idea of SB Peer Pals was created."

The high school volunteers, called Buddies, lead a Zoom session five days a week with elementary school students, who they call Little Pals.

Every Monday through Friday, the older teens lead the younger children through games, crafts, interactive history, science experiments and music.

South Brunswick Peer Pals is totally free, and so far they have more than 40 "Little Pals" registered. The subject matter is appropriate for first through fifth graders.

"All of our sessions are held online via Zoom. Our sessions are every day at 3:30-4:00 p.m., each on a different topic," said the teens. "For every five Little Pals, we have 1-2 Buddies (high schoolers). Our mission is to provide a safe and friendly environment for children to learn and socialize during these difficult times."

And they are looking for more Little Pals (elementary schoolers)!

In order to sign up, South Brunswick parents can register their child on the SB Peer Pals website.

You can read about the six teenagers here: https://sbpeerpals.wixsite.com/sbpeerpals/about-us and even read their lesson plans for the next two weeks. They also have a Facebook page.

"We would love to reach as many kids and parents as possible," said the group. "It would spread the word about something fun young children can do to keep them busy during the summer."

"Especially during the summer, when children have limited access to the classroom environment, regular learning is very important to ensure they have no difficulty returning back to school," they added.