Category: Youth Development

Five Ways to Celebrate Summer Learning with the Y!

Posted on Updated on by Katie Anderson

With the recent celebration of National Summer Learning Week, our YMCA is excited to share five ways you can keep your family learning all summer long! 

  1. Fostering Friendships
    The pandemic’s impact on youth has been startling, and the U.S. Surgeon General has raised a flag on young people’s mental health. The science of learning and development tells us that relationships are key for addressing trauma and helping kids thrive. Forging and fostering friendships over the summer can lead to limitless opportunities and cherished memories for young people.
  2. Love of Literacy & Learning
    Reading is fun! It’s also critical to a child’s success in school, and in life. Empower children to immerse themselves in a literary adventure. It can take place anywhere, under a tree, in a makeshift tent or in a child’s favorite nook. Let imaginations run wild with amazing stories this summer.
  3. Wonders of Wellness
    Healthy bodies and healthy minds go hand-in-hand when it comes to learning. Summer is the perfect time to get children on their feet, moving and eating healthy. Studies have found that elements of wellness, such as hope and gratitude, improve academic performance!
  4. Summer Skill-Building
    Ready, Set, Succeed! Support a student in charting their course for success during and beyond high school. A summer job, internship, mentorship or plan to pursue higher education, sets our future leaders on a path to change the world.
  5. Amazing Arts
    Research confirms that the arts prepare students for school, life, and the workplace. With the right plan, summer can be the perfect canvas for creativity and self-expression through music, literature, dance, theater, visual arts and more. Spark the imagination this summer to unlock the power of amazing arts.

Summer Water Safety Tips

Posted on Updated on by Katie Anderson

The water is a great place for family fun when everyone knows the rules to stay safe. The Y introduced the country to group swim lessons over 110 years ago in 1909. Now, as one of the largest community-based organizations in the country, we teach more than 2,000 children invaluable water safety and swimming skills each year.

Water Safety Tips for Parents and Guardians:

  • Make sure kids know to always ask permission before going into or near water.
  • Designate a responsible adult to be a Water Watcher and maintain constant visual contact with all children playing in or near the water.
  • Water Watchers: make sure you’re not distracted by your phone, a book or other tasks.
  • Don’t rely on water toys to protect weak swimmers. Coast Guard-approved life jackets are the only water safety devices certified to protect children.
  • Teach children to avoid drains in the pool: drains can cause them to get trapped under the water.
  • Don’t let kids play breath-holding games. They can easily lose consciousness.

In addition to learning lifesaving water safety skills, you and your children can increase your physical activity by swimming. It also motivates children to strive for self-improvement, teaches goal orientation and cultivates a positive mental attitude and high self-esteem. Swimming teaches everyone how to work well with teammates and coaches, and how to cope with winning and losing!

Ensuring All Kids Have Their Best Start

Posted on Updated on by Katie Anderson

YMCA’s Sunshine School

Together, the Oconomowoc Area School District and the Y’s Sunshine School have teamed up to ensure all children have their best start for kindergarten.

The Y has worked alongside the school district for many years, but in 2021, an exclusive formal contract was established that integrates the expertise of an Early Learning Strategist into the Y’s Sunshine School classroom. This program is available to young students who demonstrate delay during a preschool screening offered by the school district.

YMCA lead teacher, Carrie Hollmann, and the Oconomowoc District’s Early Learning Strategist, Alyssa Coutts, make an amazing pair as they collaborate on lesson plans that best meet the needs of all the children in the classroom.

Young learners who have been referred by the school district benefit from a variety of therapies such as speech, OT and PT, in accordance with their Individual Education Plan (IEP), which are rotated into the Y’s Sunshine School classroom schedule. These services are funded by state and local resources with no additional cost to the family.

In Sunshine School, one of the goals is to provide opportunities for all young students to participate in every activity, whatever their ability. The partnership with OASD solidifies these goals, meeting the students where they are at, ensuring that all can participate, and giving all students a strong start as they enter school.