Brain Gain
You are what you eat.
Eating and food certainly play a dominant role in all our lives, including kids! We built on last week’s theme of fitness and health to teach members how to make healthy choices and to make good decisions related to diet and their general well-being.
Members learned the difference between processed foods and natural foods and where they come from. ChooseMyPlate.gov, a federal government website, offers kids and adults information, games and activities and our members spent time researching what makes a healthy meal on this site. We hope more families will explore this site.
Last Wednesday’s session included a discussion about appropriate portion size and how to read the nutrition facts on food packaging. Small groups were each given a beverage to study. Within the group they reviewed the nutritional information of one beverage and made a poster illustrating the amount of calories, sugar or any other vitamins or protein.
Before the week was over, kids partook in an activity called “Snack Attack.” Members worked in small groups to plan healthy snacks for a variety of occasions and presented findings to each other.
Instructor Jan Eadie is thrilled to see their group skills developing as the summer progresses. Thursday attendees watched some fascinating videos about what breakfast and school lunches look like in the United States and several other countries. We discovered, among other things, that eggs, sausage and cereal are really popular breakfast foods around the world.
At the conclusion, the kids researched one specific country’s food. Our members — at least the ones who are participating in Brain Gain this summer — generally have an understanding of healthy foods, due in no small part to the nutritious, well-balanced and well-prepared meals and snacks provided here at the Boys & Girls Club.
Morning Camp
‘Wild in the Northwest’
Boy, are the campers loving this week’s theme. They have learned all about wildlife indigenous to the area and continued to study the habitats of other favorite animals. After doing their morning stretches and warmups as they do each day and week, the kids enjoyed relay races, tags and other body moving games before moving from the gym to the program area.
The youngsters researched the habitats of their favorites: bears, seals, eagles and together in pairs they created a diorama for a plastic animal and the information they gathered. Kendra and her brother Easton Munger took first place in the judging competition.
The end of the week included a visit from Feiro Marine Life Center and the Coast Guard to discuss oil spills. Members watched a slideshow demonstrating the devastating effects oil spills have on the coastline and wildlife.
Following the presentation, members gathered in small groups given a tray of sand with its own oil spill. With a few tools members were challenged to clean up the spill. The week concluded with a popular field trip to Point Defiance Zoo where the kids were able to get up close and personal with the animals.
Golf camp
Sunland Golf & Country Club hosted members for their annual golf camp. Eight boys and girls were selected to get out on the course and 20 additional kids stayed back and participate in a repeat of run of PGA Sports Academy.
The PGA Sports Academy was launched in 2012 and has expanded its program to 100 Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide – adding the Sequim clubhouse as one of the 25 new sites in 2014.
In April we implemented a five-week class with Tyler Sweet serving as the instructor. He taught basic skills, rules of golf in addition to coordinating contests and games to reinforce both the fun of the game and skill development. Last week’s repeat session led by unit director Dave Miller reinforced skills for prior participants and introduced the game to new kids.
The camp will run one more session this fall to allow new golfers more time to practice.
Happy Birthday, Dave!
Not everyone has a birthday party with 200 kids — it’s only the lucky leader of the Carroll C. Kendall Unit.
Dave Miller is quickly approaching his one-year anniversary with the club and the kids adore his wonderful leadership. Dave personal spirit shines throughout the club. His office is decked out from wall to wall with Seahawks paraphernalia and club kid pictures. His excitement for the ‘Hawks led his staff to have a custom water bottle made that they all signed and a poster made and presented to him in a member assembly where everyone gathered around to sing happy birthday and demanded a speech.
From the heart, Dave told them he was the lucky person on earth to have his job.
School supply drive
The Sequim School District, First Teacher and the Boys & Girls Club have rallied together to make sure that all students start the school year with the tools they need for success. Every child wants to begin the year with new school clothes, a backpack and the school supplies required for their classroom. Unfortunately, many families can’t afford these back-to-school necessities.
The summer club attendees raided the art room and produced amazing banners for last Saturday’s “Stuff the Bus” event and several others were out there soliciting community support.
School supplies may dropped off at the School District office or the Boys & Girls Club until 6 p.m., Monday-Friday. All collected items will be sorted and distributed at the Back To School Resource Fair on Saturday, Aug. 23.
