YMCA PA Day Programs Bigger and Better!

This blog post was written by Fiona Cascagnette, Vice President of Child Development and Family Support Programs at the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka.

Serving the needs of our constantly changing and growing community is what the Y is all about. When our families experience an increased need in services or programs, we see this as a call to action and do whatever we can to accommodate and meet the need.

The YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka has been providing PA Day Camps and licensed PA Day programming for many years.  Now, with the new full day kindergarten rolled out in many schools, most children that would have been in full time Child Care are now in school full time. This in turn has resulted in an increased demand for school age PA Day programs, particularly for four and five year olds. This age group requires a licensed program, rather than a recreation program – which means higher ratios of staff to children, additional curriculum based programming and a more standardized approach.

Meeting the needs of community…

Now, in response to this increased need within our communities, we are very happy to announce that the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka has been able to partner with three school boards within the Simcoe and Muskoka area i to provide the additional high quality, licensed PA day programming right in each child’s own school.  These partnerships will allow us to offer a safe, fun, curriculum based opportunity for children, as well as convenience and peace of mind for parents and caregivers.

An emphasis on fun!

As with all of our programming, each school based PA Day program will provide a wide range of activities that will give your child a sense of belonging, challenge and fun. Creativity, physical activity and inclusivity are all areas of focus throughout each day. The staff are well trained and work to foster and build the YMCA core values of caring, honesty, inclusiveness, respect and responsibility.

It is our hope that you, as parents and caregivers will find this increased availability of PA Day programs not only a seamless and convenient means of Child Care, but an enriching and caring one as well.

When school’s out, the YMCA is IN!