November 10, 2023
YMCA offers youth programs during the school year and holiday breaks
With school in full swing and the holidays approaching, many Denver-area parents are faced with a childcare challenge on the days their kids have off, but they may not. Just ask Megan Ahnen Faga, local nurse practitioner and mom of two under ten.
“There are many random days that aren’t covered – like all the schoolteacher planning days,” Megan said. “The kids also have two and a half weeks off over winter break, which is a long time to be out of a routine and away from other kids.”
Her family has found options like the YMCA of Metro Denver’s “Full Days Out” program to be especially helpful. Now they enroll regularly at the University Hills-Schlessman Y, which Megan says is reliable, affordable, flexible and fun.
“It’s a safe environment,” Megan said. “The Y is consistent and available, and the people running it are delightful.”
The family first found the Full Days Out program through the Out of School Time (OST) program that both children already use at Palmer Elementary. OST allows Megan to drop off Sloan and Peter earlier in the mornings if needed and pick them up a few hours after they get out of school. They get to hang out with a team of Y coaches and fellow students until school begins or Megan comes to pick them up. The same team staffs the Full Days Out, a consistency element that the family finds invaluable.
“The kids get to see the same faces,” Megan explained. “How nice it is to walk into somewhere where they know your names and—for instance—that we have a hamster.”
Megan is also grateful for a reasonably priced option that allows a lot of flexibility. “We are not currently Y members and tend to purchase the Day’s Out program on a day-by-day basis at $50 per child per day. There’s no requirement to use the program, but when it’s full, it’s full,” she said. “I have missed the deadline to sign up in the past, and the team has been incredibly helpful to get it sorted out so I could still send my kids.”
In addition to a reliable and safe space, Y’s programs also offer the kids a whole variety of activities to explore and different friendship and leadership opportunities for children of varying ages.
“My kids are always happy to go,” Megan said. “They have activities pre-determined, kids to play with and swimming, which is always a highlight. It’s always well-planned and organized.”
Her nine-year-old Sloan loves to create and tends to spend much of her time in the Y’s crafting room, encouraging the kindergarteners to get involved. “We’ve had a couple really cute things come home recently. They made these mummies, puff ball spiders, and a bat tissue paper window hanging.”
Meanwhile, her son Peter “loves the gym as much as my daughter loves crafts.”
“We try to incorporate whatever major holiday or season our break is in when we plan out activities,” explained Brady Westerchil, Palmer Elementary’s Site Director for Out of School Time, “And we do a variety of activities that are always centered around either art, science, or physical activities. Our last Full Day Out was for Fall Break and a week before Halloween, so we had mummy races with groups of kids racing to cover each other head to toe in toilet paper. We also do science experiments like rain in a jar, small volcanoes and solar s'mores.”
He anticipates that they will do some Thanksgiving themed crafts and activities during their next Full Day Out later this month. Megan plans to enroll her kids in several Full Days Out next month over winter break.
“We’ll probably send them around five days over the course of their two and a half week break to exercise and play,” Faga shared, adding that she would encourage other Denver-area parents to consider the Y’s program as an option for the holidays and other days through the year: “I wouldn’t hesitate to enroll in a YMCA program, #1 Because of the community and #2 because of the wide variety of activities and from #3 the peace of mind it offers and the opportunity it provides to break up the holiday.”
The YMCA of Metro Denver offers a range of programs for youth including out of school time and full day out/afterschool care, youth sports, painting and nutrition classes and more. Membership is not required, but YMCA members can save up to $50 per program. Check out school break camps at denverymca.org/school-break-camps.
The YMCA of Metro Denver has been building strong, thriving and equitable communities since 1875, providing a wide variety of programs and resources for Denver families.