THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 7, 1994 TAG: 9408050291
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
A METAL BUILDING that once housed a roller skating rink reverberated with the happy squeals of children playing games.
At one end of the long, open space in the middle of the building, a group of boys played basketball, while girls made papier-mache puppets at the other end.
In a separate room, youngsters were discussing ways to solve problems.
Every 45 minutes, the groups switched activities to keep the children from losing interest.
Each weekday this summer, the day campers at the Suffolk YMCA on Godwin Boulevard - children from kindergarten through the sixth grade - split into groups for activities ranging from physical education to personal growth sessions, to arts and crafts.
``We try to make it fun,'' said Tracy Grady, YMCA child care director. ``It's nice to have things for parents to know their kids are safe and having fun.''
Grady, 28, conducts personal growth sessions, teaching campers to deal with problems.
``One day somebody got teased and the next day we talked about teasing,'' said Grady, who has a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Virginia and a master's degree in counseling from Old Dominion University.
In one of the personal growth sessions, the campers were instructed on how to resolve conflict peacefully.
``Basically, we went through an argument, showing how they could resolve it without ending in violence,'' Grady said.
Staff members teach the campers to be respectful of others, to manage anger without violence and to cope with the pressures of today's world.
``Those are the skills, basically, that we want them to learn,'' Grady said. ``Our basic mission in the Y is to put Christian principles into practice and build on a family foundation.''
The campers bring lunch and two snacks. They can buy drinks and ice cream at the canteen. And they are allowed to say grace before meals.
``It's not `religious,' '' she said. `It's just good, Christian values.''
Some staff members are college students studying to become teachers.
``And some are already teachers, spending the summer with us,'' Grady said.
The eight staff members are assisted by counselors-in-training, who are seventh- and eighth-graders.
While the state requires at least one counselor for every 20 children, the Y tries to maintain a smaller ratio.
For the older children, there is one staff member for 15 campers, while in the younger age groups, the ratio is one to 10.
Twice a week, the campers swim in the pool next door in the main building. And they take field trips twice weekly to nearby places of interest, such as the Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach and the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News.
About 130 children are registered for day camp, but the daily attendance averages about 85, Grady said.
Families pay a $50 registration fee each year, then $60 a week for summer camp if they are Y members, or $70 a week if they are non-members. A 10 percent discount is allowed for the second or third child in a family.
But the Y also offers scholarships for children whose families cannot afford the fees. This summer, that amounted to $20,000.
Space is still available for campers this summer, Grady said. The Y also offers day care for preschoolers and school children before and after school.
In Franklin, the James L. Camp Jr. YMCA also offers summer day camps for a registration fee of $15 and a weekly fee of $55 for Y members, or $70 for non-members.
Lynn Cross, the Suffolk school-age coordinator, has seen the day camp program expand since it began three years ago with 34 campers in the aerobics room next door.
``We started with two rental vans,'' Cross said. ``Three years later we have two vans and a bus of our own, and 90-plus kids.'' MEMO: The Suffolk YMCA day camp operates from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. every week
day through Sept. 2. For more information, call 934-9622.
In Franklin, the James L. Camp Jr. YMCA operates a series of
week-long day camps, every Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
through Aug. 29. For more information, call 562-3491. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Ashlin Jenkins makes a papier-mache puppet at the Suffolk YMCA day
camp. The Franklin YMCA also offers a day camp.
by CNB