Children come first at Y Kids Learning Center
(Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of articles about the local agencies associated with the United Way Inc. of South Fayette Inc., which recently launched its annual fund drive. For more information, call the United Way at 724-438-2917.)A small group of children look intently at Jeremiah Johnson and Christina Sanner as they lead morning exercises at the Y Kids Learning Center at the Uniontown YMCA. It’s about 9 a.m. and the children already have finished breakfast of orange juice and bagels and are ready to start some lessons.
With one of the boys holding the flag, the rest of the children and staff put their hands over their hearts and say the “Pledge of Allegiance,” then use sign language for a poem about the flag before singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.’
“Mr. Jeremiah’ then leads the children to the calendar, decorated with pumpkins to mark the days.
“We have a new month. Do you know what it is?’ Johnson asks.
“October,’ the children answer.
Sanner and Johnson also guide the children in a song about the days of the week, and French lessons that include a song, counting to 10 and some conversation. The group then launches into a round of songs and dancing that includes “Disco Duck’ and “Let’s Go to the Hop.’
The children will stay busy with alphabet lessons and swimming later.
“I love it,’ said Tanya Laffler of Uniontown, who brings her foster child Jessica to the center three days a week. “They’re very accommodating to the children. They come first and they seem to be learning a lot for their age. Jessica’s very happy coming here.’
The Y Kids Learning Center is a daycare center/preschool/pre-kindergarten program that the Y launched on Feb. 14 on its second floor. It is open Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sanner is director of child-care services for the YMCA. The other staff includes Johnson, group supervisor; Donna Pesko, assistant group supervisor; two part-time group supervisors, Felicia DeLorenzo and Niki Hlatky; as well as intern Jen Searcy of Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, who is paid through a federal work-study program.
“Our program is geared towards education and physical activity,’ said Sanner. “We do most of the learning in the morning and offer swimming lessons on Tuesdays, gymnastic lessons on Thursdays and camp on Mondays and Fridays. It’s basketball camp now until December and soccer camp from January to May.’
The center also teaches the children languages. They did Spanish this summer, are doing French this term and will teach Italian next summer, offering the instruction as part of an effort to teach cultural diversity.
Sanner said, “We are looking to get the kids ready for kindergarten. That’s our main goal.’
The center also participates in community service projects, such as an upcoming visit to Cherry Tree Nursing Center in South Union Township where the children will visit, play games and go trick-or-treating. The center also receives visits from senior citizens who participate in the Y’s Silver Sneakers program, who want to read to the children or help with other activities, including the center’s Halloween party.
The center children will receive a visit from the South Union Township Volunteer Fire Department as part of National Fire Prevention Month in October. The Y Kids also will sponsor a Fall Fun Fest with farm animals, games and prizes for the community.
The center is planning a field trip to Triple B Farms in Elizabeth in November and the Pittsburgh Zoo in the spring. During the summer, they visited the Gateway Clipper and Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, Woodland Zoo in Farmington and Idlewild Park in Ligonier.
Johnson also is director of the after-school program that will be launched by the Y on Oct. 17 and run through the academic year. Students will stay after classes in participating Uniontown Area schools, which include Lafayette, Ben Franklin, the Kindergarten Center and Menallen/Franklin, the latter, which will be combined at Menallen. Parents are responsible for picking up their children at 6 p.m. The after-school program will offer homework help, tutoring, mentoring, arts and crafts and recreational activities, such as sports clinics, as well as a snack.
Each school is expecting 10 to 15 students but can expand to take more. The exception is the Kindergarten Center, which will take no more than 13.
Parents sing the praises of the Y Kids Learning Center, including Searcy, of Uniontown, who is not only on staff but brings her daughter Addison, 4, there.
“I love it. The kids are great,’ Searcy said of working at the center. “And I just love that (Addison’s) getting kindergarten curriculum in a preschool setting.
Other parents agree.
“I can’t believe how wonderful this place is,’ said Rona Sparks of Fairchance, who brings her 4-year-old daughter Isabella a couple of days a week. “In a short time, her academic and social skills have skyrocketed.’
Ernie and Sandi Brown of Uniontown take their twin 3-year-old sons Michael and Mark to the center two half days a week. They chose the Y because of its flexible hours and the activities it offers, including swimming, gymnastics and seasonal camps, such as basketball and soccer.
“They definitely like going to the gym and swimming and dancing,’ said Mrs. Brown. “They seem to like all the people. They say all the teachers are nice.’
The couple also likes the social experiences the Y offers.
“They needed interaction with other kids,’ explained Mrs. Brown. “…We don’t have a lot of kids in our neighborhood and they need to figure out there’s more than each other in the world.’
She continued, “I like the fact they cover so many different things and the kids are never bored. They have so many choices, so many things to do.’
Likewise, Sparks brings her child because “next year she’s starting kindergarten and she needs to be ready.’
Laffler said, “They need to socialize with kids their own age. They have a schedule here. They need to do more than sit in front of a TV. She doesn’t even like TV, she and her younger sister. It’s better that they come here.’
Lisa Ferris-Kusniar of Uniontown brings her son Simon, 4, two days a week.
“You’d think being here all day, he’d be ready to leave when you come. But he’s not ready,’ Ferris-Kusniar said. “… I recommend it highly. Simon will tell you.’
For additional information on Y Kids Learning Center, the after-school program and the Y, phone 724-438-2584.