Brain Gain
Our summer learning program continues at the Boys & Girls Club. This program is designed to keep kids thinking and learning by doing while having fun during their summer vacation.
Our theme last week was “Making Things Work Better” and we learned about creativity, innovation, the process of inventing and obtaining patents. Program leader Jan Eadie’s favorite day was the day they read from Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s book,” What Color is My World, The Lost History of African American Inventors.” Good discussion was had about how racism and sexism can impact what we know about history and historical figures.
Members learned about inventors whose ingenuity and perseverance against great odds made our world safer, better and brighter. Members also spent a session exploring aerodynamics and viewed a short video called “Why Airplanes Fly.” Some of our kids already knew about the forces of thrust, drag, lift and weight so they were key in assisting younger ones in the hands-on activities the group did demonstrating the forces of aerodynamics.
Before the week was over participants were introduced to a real live visiting inventor! Dave Babow, a resident of the Sunland neighborhood and retired manufacturing engineer, visited us on Thursday to share his experiences as an inventor and innovator in the fields of electrical device design and industrial design, in which he holds six U.S. patents and one international patent. When asked about what quality as a child led him to be so creative and successful in his work he hesitated, not wanting to encourage boys and girls to get into trouble with their parents. He did eventually share that his natural curiosity was a very important quality. He encouraged kids to follow their dreams! We appreciate community volunteers like Dave who give the gift of their time and talents to encourage our members.
Tennis Camp
The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula has teamed up with the newly formed Peninsula Youth Tennis Association and hosted week one of the two-week tennis camp. The camp has been three hours each weekday at the Sequim High School tennis courts. High school tennis players and volunteers have been providing much of the instruction led by Don Thomas, U.S. Professional Tennis Association Teaching Pro.
The camp opened with sunshine and a warm welcome. Campers received their bright orange T-shirt before they flooded the courts. The kids were separated by age and level of play and the instructors worked to build their fundamentals. Instructors took the kids through skill building exercises, relays and more. They worked with each camper to help perfect the fundamentals or enhance their all ready polished techniques. Each kid and level was given individual attention helping to set them on the path to a successful Tennis Camp. Camp concludes this Friday.
Morning Camp
“Terrorizing Trail of Trash” recycle collection continued at the club last week again like last week’s campers repurposed the materials into projects. Members used old plastic containers, painted them and decorated them with beads to make wind chimes for their own yards.
One morning was spent making their own colorful paper by recycling other used papers and shaped some of it into their own globes.
Camp went one step further this week as the participants were reminded the benefits of recycling and the dangers of coastal littering. Members learned just how long trash takes to decompose.
The week concluded with a field trip to the Feiro Marine Life Center. The campers split into two groups and split their three hours between Hollywood Beach and the lab. Members were inside touching sea life in the tanks and dissecting albatross pellets. Pellets showed the kids exactly what the marine life are eating which included garbage. Out on the beach they were able to take advantage of low tide and really see the creatures living in tidepools. While there the kids helped clean the beach from harmful debris.
Triple Play
Our summer Triple Play program kicked off last week with several fun and challenging activities to test our kids’ athletic ability and endurance. Triple Play is a National Boys & Girls Club program that promotes teamwork and physical activity. Triple Play represents the mind, body and soul. It is our goal to teach our kids the proper rules of a game, how to get the most out of bodies and how to be the best teammate.
Our gym coordinator Antoine Stevenson is in charge of giving our kids the proper tools to flourish not only in sport competitions but also in life competitions. Games vary from Sharks and Minnows to full baseball games. Teamwork and good sportsmanship also are key components to this program.
Future Triple Play events include pickleball, indoor soccer, four square and the NFL Pass, Punt and Kick competition. It is our goal to make sure that the kids have access to at least one hour of physical activity a day. Our staff does a wonderful job making sure members use their minds, bodies and souls.
