The Villager Newspaper Online Your Community News – Cleveland's Westshore
Back-to-school can become a time of stress for many parents as schedules get filled with sports practices, club activities and homework. However, before and after school care can offer parents the support they need to help assist with hectic back-to-school schedules.
Natisha Bowling, Vice President of Youth Development at the YMCA of Greater Cleveland, can offer tips to help parents navigate before and after school care while continuing to keep their kids engaged. The YMCA of Greater Cleveland’s Y-Club is helping the local Cleveland community by providing before and after school enrichment across 14 locations in Northeast Ohio with highlights such as:
- Giving parents piece of mind: Before and after school care should provide a holistic program with a well-trained staff, flexible hours that can be molded to parent’s busy schedules, nutritious snacks and opportunities to exercise and develop friendships.
- Building social-emotional learning skills: The YMCA’s Y-Club is focused on developing well-rounded kids through fun weekly themes aligning with Ohio’s K-12 state standards touching a variety of areas including arts and humanities, character development, large motor and fitness, literacy, science and math, STEM, nutrition and service learning projects.
- Providing financial support to families: It’s important to make before and after school enrichment accessible to all kids by offering needs-based scholarships and accepting publicly funded participants.
