East Carolina University is sponsoring an after school program for students in Pitt County. This after school program directs children in physical activities through the Department of Kinesiology. The children can participate in an activity, receive a healthy snack, and then work on their homework through this program. ECU Health Fitness Specialist majors are the leaders of the after school program. You can read more in the blog below.
At an hour when many
children her age are sitting down to complete their homework,
seven-year-old Mckinsey Burt tosses her book bag aside and sprints down a
basketball court at East Carolina University.
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| ECU student Sam Sheppard, right,
instructs Mckinsey Burt in an activity using hula hoops. Sheppard is a
physical activity leader (PAL) with the ECU After-School Program.
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Mckinsey is one of 15 children enrolled in East Carolina
University's After-school Activity Program, where Pitt County children
ranging in age from five to 12 years old enjoy directed physical
activities in a safe and positive environment. At the same time, ECU
students who work with the children learn best practices for presenting
physical activities and fitness experiences.
ASAP is housed in the Department of Kinesiology and co-directed by ECU
professors Rhonda Kenny, Matt Mahar and Grace Anne Vick. Participants
pay a fee based on the number of days they attend.
"We flipped the structure of the after-school activity
program so that children participate in supervised free play as soon as
they arrive," said Kenny. Children receive a healthy snack and the
opportunity to complete homework following participation in physical
activity.
That structure has worked just fine for Mckinsey, said
her mother, Colleen Burt, who is principal of Elmhurst Elementary. "One
afternoon she cried when I told her she would not be able to go. That's
when we knew that she loved the program," Burt said.
Burt said it is important to get children moving after
school since the majority of their seven hours in school is sedentary,
and that was the initial reason she and her husband selected the
program. She added, "We spent two years trying different programs and
just found that she disliked the routines and structure. My daughter
became bored, frustrated and would begin asking not to go to
after-school."
Laupus Health Sciences Librarian Marlena Barber also has a
daughter, Alice, attending ASAP. She said she has seen a positive
change in her daughter's behavior since beginning the program.
"I think that is because of the high level of activity and the positivity at ASAP," Barber said.
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ASAP participants Jack Shinpaugh, right,, and Sean Raedeke join in a game as part of the after-school program.
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ECU health fitness specialist majors in the College of
Health and Human Performance serve as physical activity leaders, or
PALs. PALs design age appropriate lesson plans that focus on physical
activity and submit their plans to the site supervisor, Emily Pineda.
Pineda is an ECU graduate student majoring in exercise and sport science
with a concentration in physical activity promotion.
"Often students have so many creative ideas," said
Pineda."I help PALs learn how to communicate an activity or game to
children and the importance of focusing on a couple of objectives so
that children grasp the idea."
ECU seniors Ashley Murchison and Deanna Conoscenti
enjoyed working with the children as PALs last fall, earning experience
that should benefit them in their chosen careers. Murchison said she
appreciated learning how to work with a wide range of personalities."You
must be able to adapt to effectively teach and play with all of the
children," she said.
"This is the most experience I have received working with
children," said Conoscenti."I enjoy developing games such as various
relay races for children to complete."
"This experience is a great resume builder for students,"
said Vick."They learn responsibility and the importance of being a good
role model." Vick served as a site supervisor for the program when she
was a student at ECU.
The program was developed in 2007 to help provide ECU
students experience in working with children, Kenny said. She said
experience with this population is essential because many venues that
offer employment opportunities for graduates – such as commercial and
corporate fitness centers, YMCAs and wellness centers – now provide
children's programs.
"We looked around and did not see a program with this
structure being offered.We didn't want to just offer a class; we wanted
to fulfill a need," Kenny said.
"We maintain the quality of the program by training our
students how to plan and lead a group of children in appropriate
physical activity.We have stayed true to our goal," she said.
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