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United Way of Northern Arizona (UWNA) — KinderCamp™ 2024: Space, Safaris, and Success

by Community Contributor • July 19, 2024 • Comments Off

Last month, more than 150 four- and five-year-olds in Flagstaff, Williams, and Pinetop-Lakeside received a preview of what school life will be like by attending KinderCamp™.

The targeted intervention program, provided free to families, is a signature early education initiative coordinated by United Way of Northern Arizona with local school districts. It provides students who have limited preschool experience with the academic and social skills they’ll need to successfully transition into kindergarten.

From the desk of:

Liz Archuleta

President & CEO

2024 has been a big year for KinderCamp. During “bridging over” ceremonies in Flagstaff and Williams, KinderCamp graduates were presented with Teal Tickets by Coconino Community College President Eric Heiser, entitling them to attend CCC on a full scholarship once they graduate from high school.

Meanwhile, a major investment in our program by The NARBHA Institute will allow us to expand to other northern Arizona communities. The Holbrook Unified District has already announced plans to host the program in 2025.

I hope you enjoy reading about this year’s program below. Many thanks to our partners – and to individual donors like you – who make KinderCamp possible.

KinderCamp™ 2024: Space, Safaris & Successful Learning

KinderCamp 2024 was four weeks filled with so many adventures: pretending to explore space or go on safari; basketball drills with college athletes, field trips, meeting firefighters, authors, and the tooth fairy, and so much more.

But the most important achievement of this year’s camp was instilling more than 150 children with an excitement about going to school and helping them gain the academic and social skills they need to be successful in kindergarten.

Many parents noted the change the month-long experience had made in their children. Here’s what some of them said at the end of camp:

My child has been extremely excited about school everyday. It gives me more confidence that she will do just fine in kindergarten.
I am amazed at how this program helped my son grow socially. This also helped him try new foods at school, he is a very picky eater! This was an amazing experience!
Our little one feels more confident about attending Kindergarten…. Thanks to KinderCamp, he knows school is fun and doesn’t feel so nervous about attending kindergarten.

KinderCamp began in 2005 after a survey identified early childhood learning as a major concern in the region. The curriculum for KinderCamp stresses learning letters and numbers, but also exploring science and art. Much of the work involves developing soft skills, such as listening and working cooperatively with other students.

Each school that participates works to make their KinderCamp experience unique, often coordinating classes, trips, and the “bridging over” ceremony at the end of camp around a theme for the entire month.

At Kinsey Inquiry and Discovery Elementary School, the theme was based on favorite books, such as Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar, while at Thomas Elementary, space was the theme for the year.

Children in Williams, meanwhile, went on safari and even wore hats that looked like pith helmets during their graduation ceremony, which was set against a jungle theme.

Each school also had specials guests, depending on the location. A children’s author visited the class in Pinetop-Lakeside, and they also met with fire, police, and ambulance personnel from the town.

Children in Williams also met with emergency workers during their “Community Helper Day” and took a trip to Bearizona.

Students in Flagstaff learned how to dribble and toss basketballs with some local experts – the Northern Arizona University men’s and women’s basketball teams. They also had a visit from the “tooth fairy,” a member of Coconino County Health and Human Services, who stressed the importance of good oral health. North Country HealthCare gave oral health bags to children in the Flagstaff sites.

Most programs also received visits from local officials and KinderCamp sponsors during the month.

In addition to their time in school, all of the students received special “Grow Up Great” tote bags from PNC Foundation, with books and fun ideas to keep families learning through the summer. PNC also had volunteers make sight-word flash cards, fun alphabet and color games, and gave “Can Do Cans” that included fun activities to play outside.

KinderCamp would not be possible without partnerships with the three school districts who hosted this year: the Flagstaff Unified School District, Williams Unified School District #2, and the Blue Ridge Unified School District.

Although KinderCamp is provided free to families, the cost is about $1500 per student to pay for teachers, transportation, food, and supplies. In addition to individual donations, KinderCamp also benefits from the sponsorship of several organizations and businesses, including the City of Flagstaff; the offices of Coconino County Supervisors Patrice Horstman, Adam Hess, and Jeronimo Vasquez; APS; Bank of the West; Dollar General; Kinney Construction Services; the NARBHA Institute; Coconino Community College; PNC Foundation; the Salt River Project; and Wells Fargo.

Please consider donating to the United Way of Northern Arizona today and help fund programs like KinderCamp. With your support, we can provide vital early childhood development programs to more students and reach more schools in Coconino, Navajo and Apache counties.