After school, summer a chance to discover something new
Children can explore unique interests and face challenges during summer and vacation camps.
Staffing remains a barrier to expanding after-school programs, which are in demand.
As parents struggle to find child care providers in tight market –enter the clowns.
From left, Ava Alexander, 11, and Jonah Ahern, 10, play dodgeball during an after school drop-in program at the Carter Community Building in Lebanon earlier this month. Children in the program have access to a variety of activities including basketball, board games and Legos.
Art. Rock climbing. Music. Biking. Farming. Horseback riding. Theater.
Sometimes, parents never know what will fire their child’s curiosity. And sometimes a camp experience can ignite that spark.
Throughout the Upper Valley, there are summer camps for just about every interest imaginable, including farm camp in Woodstock, mountain bike camp in Bradford, Vt., horse camp in West Windsor, acting,
dance, choreography and filmmaking in Randolph, pottery in White River Junction and golf in West Lebanon. Whether it is sport specific, science or art and theater, camps mix a variety of activities to maintain interest.
Several years ago, Meg Tenney, of Cornish, enrolled her son, then 8, in a summer camp that taught circus per for mance.
“He fell in love with it,”Tenney said. “It was one of the best things he ever did. The experience was transfor mative.”
When the camp, which came to
the area each summer, shut down after the director retired, Tenney thought about starting her own circus act camp so her son, now 19, would not miss out on the experience.
“I thought, my son needs this camp; other kids need this camp,” Tenney said. “I said I was willing to pick up the torch and give it a go and see what happens.”
With some of the camp coaches (Tenney emphasizes she is not a coach but the organizer, coordinator and founder) and others expressing interest, Tenney started building the
foundation for her camp and had the first full year of Upper Valley Circus Camp in 2019.
“It really took off that year and we started building the program we have now,”Tenney said.
The COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 camp and part of 2021’s camp, but it returned last summer. With enrollment up to 70 students, it is held under a big tent at Plainfield Elementary School.
For two weeks in the summer, campers are taught everything from
For organizer of circus summer camp —the show must go onCOURTESY OF COURTNEY J CANIA Upper Valley Circus Camp participants perform in Aug. 2022. SEE SUMMER CAMP
juggling to clowning, tight rope walking, aerials and more.
“It is another alternative for kids to do something physical and stay active,”Tenney said. “Interest has grown by leaps and bounds.”
Summer and vacation camps such as Tenney’s introduce youngsters to something new and interesting and sometimes challenge them as well.
“You never know which skill is going to grab which kid,”Tenney said. “The best part and what we get the most comments on from parents is that it is different. It pushes the kids to do something out of their comfort zone and teaches them they could do hard things they didn’t think they could do. But it is not a competitive environment. The camp is completely supportive.”
What Tenney has seen in the children, ages 8 to 18, who attend the camp is they all bring different skill levels and abilities.
“No one is good at everything and it really allows kids who don’t shine elsewhere to find their thing and build on it,”Tenney said.
At the Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Quechee, the focus is of course on nature and wildlife. For example, the winter camp in February, studies how mammals, birds and reptiles survive in the winter months.
Cost can be an impediment to many families, especially when there is more than one child who wants to attend. Many camps, though not all, do have scholarship and financial aid packages to make it more affordable.
“We have a robust scholarship program and financial aid,”Sarah Strew, the Nature Camp leader with VINS said, adding that sometimes VINS will pay the full tuition.
Weekly camps are scheduled throughout the summer for ages from four to students entering the eighth grade. There is also an overnight option for 11- to 13-year-olds.
“We do have quite a few who return each year or their younger siblings come,”Strew said.
Many camps end each day with a group activity. At sports camp, that usually involves games or contests between teams. At Tenney’s camp, it is a chance for the kids to exhibit the skill they have been practicing with support and encouragement from others.
“Seeing a kid who has struggled all day, do their skill and listen to the other kids cheering them on and then having the tent explode when they make it and the others are happy for this child, that is the best part of what we do,”Tenney said. “The cheers you hear when you watch a kid trying to walk across a wire with the whole camp watching are special.”
At the camp’s conclusion, everyone brings the skill they have learned to one big show.
“It is really a magical experience,”Tenney said. “It is not for everyone and some bow out early, but for the most part we are building a really big following. It is a different, special, supportive place and I think kids are gravitating toward that environment these days.”
Patrick O’Gradycan bereached atpogclmt@ gmail.com.
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Have more positive visions of themselves and their futures and achieve more positive outcomes in school, the workplace, and their communities.
Report setting higher educational goals and were more likely to graduate from high school and even go on to college.
“When asked by members of the community how they can have an impact on the safety, health, and vibrancy of their communities, my number one answer was always: mentor a young person.”
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Join us for this free, drop-in program for all ages to celebrate Chicanx activists and artists championing their voices while pushing the boundaries of printmaking. Make your own prints and posters and explore a variety of printmaking techniques. Come tour the exhibition, meet exhibition artist Sonia Romero, and enter a free raffle to win printmaking tools and other surprise goodies. No registration required.
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Mentor volunteers have a desire to spend fun-filled time with children in need of a special friend and are fully committed to the needs of their mentees and to youth mentoring in general. A mentor’s goals are to develop a close friendship based on trust, respect, and communication, promote fun and healthy life choices through safe, creative activities, increase the mentee’s self-esteem, and foster awareness and accountability for his or her actions.
Activities are determined by the mentor pairs and might be outdoors, indoors, or at any of the regional attractions in the Upper Valley (many of which provide discounts or free access for mentor/mentee pairs).
Parents in many families work full days and afterschool programs fill a valuable service of keeping children safe while giving parents peace of mind.
By PATRICK O’GR ADY Valley News Correspondent
On weekday afternoons, school buses bring elementary-aged children to the Carter Community Building’s free youth drop-in program. For the next few hours — while their parents work —the youngsters engage in a range of activities including basketball, dodgeball, board games, bumper pool and Legos. Or, they can choose to catch up on homework.
The program, run by Jim Vanier, provides that safe, supportive and engaging environment parents like Erin Mills and Brian Alexander say they could not do without.
“It really helps (bridge) that gap for kids too old for daycare, but too young to be home alone,”said Mills, whose two boys, in grades four and six, attend the program.
Parents in many families work full days and after-school programs
fill a valuable service of keeping children safe while giving parents peace of mind. In addition, there are added benefits for employers who have more reliable employees who are not worried about where their children are, or what they are doing.
Upper Valley after-school programs differ in the types of activities they offer, the ages they serve and the cost. While many communities have them, many more are in need.
Mills, who calls Vanier “a saint” for his devotion to the CCB program, said her family has been using the program in downtown Lebanon for five years.
“It is great,”Mills said. “They are open during vacation and on early release (from school) days.”
Alexander, who has two children in the program, said it is not an extra for his family, but a necessity.
“I just don’t know where my wife and I would be without it,”said Alexander, who had equal praise for
Vanier. “Our kids thoroughly enjoy it and enjoy getting together with their friends.”
Kerry Artman, the CCBA’s director, called the program “unique”for its abundant activity offerings at no charge. But she said funding to cover costs such as employee wages and utilities is a constant concern. As a result, the organization has had to cap attendance at 50, even though many more want to come.
Across the Connecticut River, at the Upper Valley Haven in White River Junction, school-age children of the shelter’s residents and former residents have similar opportunities that include arts and crafts, swimming at the nearby Upper Valley Aquatic Center, help with homework, visits to area museums including the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, along with some time for volunteering in the community.
“We do a lot to get them out into
the community and also to support them as some struggle emotionally,” said Nancy McNally, the children’s program coordinator at the Haven.
According to the New Hampshire Afterschool Alliance, for every child in an after-school program, two more need one.
Kimberly Meyer, project lead for New Hampshire Afterschool Network in Bedford and CEO of the Southern District YMCA Camp Lincoln, said there are challenges in meeting after-school program needs.
“The number one issue now — and certainly demand is an issue — but mostly it is a shortage of staff,” Meyer said, adding that the hours and wages do not attract many applicants. “It is tough to make a living wage in the child care industry.”
In Vermont, Nicole Miller is the executive director of Vermont Afterschool in South Burlington, Vt.,
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which, similar to its New Hampshire counterpart, advocates on behalf of communities looking to start or maintain an after-school program.
“Vermont is in a place where not every youth has access to a high quality, low-cost, or free, program that they can access after school or over the summer that works for them and families,”Miller said.
Miller agrees with Meyer that staffing is the primary barrier and said she knows of programs currently searching to fill both direct service personnel positions and leadership positions.
“Staffing continues to be a major challenge to continue offering programs that have been in place a long time,”Miller said.
Creating more after-school programs can’t be done in a vacuum and goes hand-in-hand with solving other issues such as affordable housing and meeting the hiring de-
mand of employers, Meyer said.
“We are not going to attract workers if they don’t have a place to live and don’t have care for their kids. It is not going to happen,”Meyer said. “We are trying to galvanize employers to latch onto this issue because employers and families are the voices that will be heard.”
Vermont Afterschool has been working with the Vermont Interagency Afterschool Youth Task Force and the governor’s office to identify gaps in programming and be sure investments in after-school offerings that were created with COVID relief money, which is drying up, do not completely disappear.
“We are trying to understand what the landscape is now and what it could be in a couple of years,” Miller said. “We want to be sure funding is in place to help programs start and grow over time.”
Miller said Vermont Afterschool is eager to work with communities and help them understand what
their possibilities are because the benefits of after-school programs to children, parents and the economy are well documented.
“It is another opportunity for youth to be able to explore their interests, further develop peer relationships and make strides in their learning outcomes,”Miller said.
New Hampshire Afterschool Network can connect communities with resources and assist in grant writing to access 21st Century Community Learning Centers funding. Meyer said New Hampshire received $6 million in federal funds to increase after-school learning, but added that it is a complicated process to understand whether a community is eligible based on different factors.
McNally said the Haven’s afterschool program benefits from consistent staff and funding from a variety of sources, including donations from area businesses. Not all afterschool programs need a large staff nor a lot of funding.
In Newport, Richards Library provides a place for youth to gather and engage in different activities. A grant was used to add to the collection video and board games and there is a weekly book club.
“We have always had kids here after school but now we are engaging them,”Library Director Justine Farafa said. “I think we give tweens and teens in town a place to hang out after school. There are at least a dozen every day and sometimes as many as 30.”
Miller and Meyer both said the benefits to good after-school programs have been well documented and they see it in communities with the programs.
“Every time I interview the advisory board of a high quality program, they tell me their community would be transformed if we didn’t have this program,”Meyer said. “These kids would be lost.”
Patrick O’Gradycan bereached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
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Child care is hard to come by, and so are well-paying comedy gigs. Enter the comedian babysitter.
Parents are struggling to find sitters amid a shortage of workers since the start of the pandemic, and those that are available have jacked up their prices. On child-care website UrbanSitter, the sitters are charging 11% more than in 2021, averaging $20.57 an hour for one child, and $23.25 for two children. The twochild hourly rate is more like $24 to $27 in New York and San Francisco, according to Chief Executive Officer Lynn Perkins. The worker shortage is particularly acute for part-time gigs, she said.
“There’s just no one available,” Perkins said. “It’s crazy. We’re talking about unprecedented numbers.” Perkins herself recently struggled to hire a $30-per-hour afternoon sitter for one child.
Enter comedians. Placement agencies and parents are singing their praises as an ideal pool of parttime babysitters or nannies. Many performers have returned to cities to attend in-person stand-up gigs and improv groups just as employers are calling parents back to the office. To comedians, lucrative childcare gigs are more attractive than restaurant work, which can be an inflexible grind, and conveniently require no certification beyond child
CPR and first-aid training. And the hours fit nicely with their nocturnal regular jobs.
“Comedy is mostly a nighttime project, and babysitting pays more than minimum wage,”said Jessica Delfino, a comedian and author of “Dumb Jokes for Smart Folks,”who nannied for a decade while performing in the evenings, and now hires comedian-sitters for her two children. “Kids are inherently hilarious. They provide a different perspective, which is always good for comedic material.”
Beyond the convenient pay and scheduling, parents and comedians alike say that the skills of cracking jokes onstage and minding kids are highly transferrable.
“Working with children is all an improv skit - the whole thing,” Kristina Wilson, founder of Sitters Studio, a nanny service that mostly employs performers in New York and Chicago. “People forget that entertainment is a very orderly profession. When the show goes up, it goes up. Kids need that structure too, but inside that moment, we allow ourselves to be present and let loose, and that ability is so specific to the performing arts.”
Parents concur, thrilled to find educated, intelligent, personable caretakers interested in gig work.
“We live on the Upper East Side, where life is so scheduled and full of helicopter parenting, and Michael just comes in without a plan and vibes off their mood, often in open-
ended play that’s creative. They’re always entertained,”said Lillie Howard of improv comic and actor Michael Delisle, who she employs for her nine and 12 year-old boys after school. “My friends say, ‘Where did you find this guy? He’s great.’” Her younger son is now fond of performing, to which she credits Delisle.
Los Angeles comedian Nika Mabson, 30, leans on the improv skill known as Yes, and!, which is accepting fellow performers’scenarios and building on them. In child care, this dovetails with redirection. “You want a doughnut? Okay, you know what else is a good time? A dance par-tay! And then who cares about doughnuts?”
Mabson was a lifeline for Tanya Paz, an architect in Los Angeles who hired Mabson to mind her now4-year-old daughter during the pandemic.
“Nika’s obviously funny, but she has this amazing skill set to create a story with bugs or rocks on a walk, and have a great adventure,”Paz said. “I don’t want to say overqualified, but she reads a lot, she’s incredibly bright, and she brings all of that to the people she’s around.”
Mabson, who is now busy with entertainment work, continues to nanny for Paz a few times a month. “She’s now the only babysitter my daughter will tolerate,”Paz said.
For Kayla Pulley, 33, a Chicago stand-up comedian, chatting with new charges overlaps with comedy
crowd work, which means interacting with the audience. “I’ll say, ‘So y’all live around here right?’Or, ‘It’s looking a little gray outside people.’ ”When her performance isn’t resonating with the audience, it requires the same on-your-feet problem solving as child care. “If little Timmy doesn’t want to nap, I have to use different techniques, like okay, ‘Lets change the environment! What if we pretend we’re camping?’ ”
To make audition and film schedules work, some comedians share a group approach to child care. When auditions arise, Facebook groups like Chicagoland Childcare Connection and Binders Full of Comedy People facilitate swaps. Perkins regularly sees performers join UrbanSitter with friends from the same performance schools and clubs.
“Two friends and I shared a baby,”said Pulley, who served as full-time nanny in 2018. Her pals didn’t have day jobs, so if Pulley booked, say, a film shoot, she would offer the day’s work and pay as a nanny to one of them instead. “That baby helped us all have so much stability.”
The kids, for their part, have some skills that help the comedians, too. Mabson finds that her kid gigs often help her cope with the professional rejection inherent in stand up. “I’ll feel down after a crappy audition, and a cute little human is like, ‘You’re the BEST EVER!’And I’m like, ‘Maybe I am great.’ ”
“Working with children is all an improv skit –the whole thing. People forget that entertainment is a very orderly profession. When the show goes up, it goes up. Kids need that structure too, but inside that moment, we allow ourselves to be present and let loose, and that ability is so specific to the performing arts.”
KRISTINA WILSON, founder of Sitters Studio
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Healthcare for your children, and the whole family is here at Valley Regional Hospital. Preventative medicine including immunizations is critical to your child’s health. Our providers support the growth and wellness of your newborn and they care for patients up to age 18. If you have been looking for a compassionate and skilled pediatric team to support the needs of your growing family, contact us!
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