Backyard Bible Club’s 8th week included another spike in attendance! 19 children attended our Tuesday program session. We continue to progress through the story of God’s children throughout the Bible, and the children are gaining an opportunity to engage these stories, many of them for the first time. We are continuing to work hard towards our goals of providing a safe, nurturing environment for the children of the neighborhood to come into during the afterschool hours; where they don’t feel threatened; where they know they are loved and celebrated. The environment continues to attract the children of the neighborhood, and a group steadily continues to attend and look forward to program-sessions week in and week out.
Laura E. Berk’s Infants, Children, and Adolescents states, “Before age 8 or 9, most children need supervision because they are not yet competent to handle emergencies. But throughout middle childhood and early adolescence, attending after-school programs with well-trained staff, generous adult-child ratios, and positive adult-child communication is linked to better social skills and emotional adjustment (Pierce, Hamm, & Vandel, 1999). And as early as kindergarten, consistent participation in after-school enrichment activities (sports, music and art lessons, and clubs) predicts higher academic achievement the following year, after many factors (including prior achievement) are controlled (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2004a).
Low-SES (socio-economic status) children and children whose parents work long hours are less likely to be enrolled in such activities. But when lessons and scouting are included in “after-care” programs, low-SES children show special benefits, including better work habits, higher school grades, and fewer behavior problems (Posner & Vandell, 1994; Vandell, 1999). Unfortunately, good after-care is in especially short supply in inner-city neighborhoods. A special need exists for well-planned programs in these areas—ones that provide safe environments, enjoyable, skill-building activities, and warm relationships with adults.”
Agape Development Ministries seeks to provide such a program, and does, and we’ve seen several children display higher levels of achievement this year as a result.
