A Thriving camp during difficult times

Winooski’s Thrive Summer Camps are preceding this summer with modifications in order to ensure safety and an engaging program during the pandemic.

Jesse Moukoueke, a rising 6th grader in the Winooski School District, is attending his sixth year of Thrive camp this summer. 

Thrive camper Jesse Moukoueke. Courtesy photo.

“I’m enjoying camp very well this year because it is very fun and I really like the activities,” Jesse said.

Thrive is a licensed child care program from the state organized through the city of Winooski’s Community Services Department in partnership with the Winooski School District. The camp is held at the Elementary School for students ages 6-10.

Due to the pandemic, the program needed to comply and adjust with the Vermont’s Department of Health COVID-19 regulations, which include maintaining a 6-feet distance between peers, groups of no more than 25 members, and shared objects and spaces that need to be cleaned at the beginning, middle and end of each day.

The camp has been functioning in two small groups, using two classrooms with no more than 10 kids per room. The camp usually has 6 to 8 children in the classrooms per day accompanied by 2 staff members, according to Thrive Program Director Kate Anderson. 

State guidelines allow for larger groups, but camp leadership decided to keep groups small. This practice feels safer with COVID-19, according to Anderson.

“We are offering a safe space for children to be while their parents are working either outside the home or remotely, Anderson said. “We have been striving the past few years to be as enriching as possible and to make sure we are providing students with learning opportunities whether that’s stem activities [or] social and emotional skills, especially since kids have been physically separated from peers for the past few months.” 

Students and staff are required to have facial coverings at all times. They have gotten creative with masks by decorating them with fabric markers and tye-dye. 

“It’s been running a lot more smoothly than I expected,” Anderson remarked.

When the kids arrive at the school, they must complete health and temperature checks at the door. Then they eat breakfast in their classrooms at their own table. Furthermore, all students have their own set of craft supplies in a separate bin, eliminating the need to share touched objects. 

Staff members do their health checks on their own before they come to work each morning. 

“Kids are really resilient and adaptable and they are just so happy to be able to spend time with their friends again,” Anderson said, noting their willingness to make adjustments, like extra cleaning time, wearing masks on a hot day, and keeping a 6 foot distance to other campers and staff. 

During the first week of camp, staff members had discussions with the students about what people in their life may be at high risk for COVID-19, weaving that into the mask discussion to exemplify how wearing a mask can show other people you care about them.

Physically distancing from peers is a transition for campers. “It’s a little different and a little hard because it’s kind of new, but I’ve gotten used to it. It’s gotten easier,” Jesse said.

“Kids understand more than we give them credit for,” Anderson said. 

Anderson additionally praised the staff, who have stepped up to the new challenges of operating during a pandemic, like thoroughly cleaning rooms and disinfecting toys. 

“We’ve also increased the frequency and intensity of our cleaning the classrooms as well as how often we do hand washing for kids and staff. Toys are disinfected each evening with a bleach solution, or removed from rotation for 3 or more days before kids use them again. As a licensed program, we already did a lot of these things before COVID, but typically not as frequently,” said Anderson. 

The camp keeps campers entertained with themed weeks. The week of 7/20 was Aquatic Adventures, where the campers cooled off with water themed activities, like designing boats that would hold weight and travel fast. 

Regarding activities, Anderson explains how the kids enjoy playing imaginative games with role play outside and also like catching and learning about bugs.

“We get to make cool stuff like artificial robots and we also got to plant seeds like beans and radishes,” Jesse said. 

“We’ve tried to maximize outside time as much as possible because that’s what the state guidelines are suggesting,” Anderson said.