By Andrea Fernandes
Features editor
On Tuesdays, the campus gym that is often forgotten about transforms into a joyful place for a special group of preschoolers.
Kinder Kinetics is a 20-year-old program offered through the School of Education. The program is currently run by Dr. Paula Scraba and graduate student Lauren Capotorto.
Every Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Butler Gym, 20 students volunteer their time to help children from Washington West Elementary School.
“It’s a lot of fun and the children really enjoy it,” sophomore education major Samantha Harrienger said. “They’re excited to be here and it’s nice to know that we’re helping with their development.”
Cheryl Moore, the preschool teacher at Washington West Elementary in Olean, said that many of the kids are delayed in a lot of skills. Kinder Kinetics works to assist the children with areas that they struggle in.
Last week, the kids worked on motor skills by taking part in activities such as riding scooters. This week, they focused on hand-eye coordination and basic reflexes. They practiced a variety of sports including: basketball, lacrosse, volleyball and bowling.
“Some of the kids are very quiet in class and when they come here, they’re a lot more open,” Moore said. “It’s fun to watch them do things here and see them succeed. For some of the kids, just being able to throw the ball is helpful.”
According to Scraba, the student volunteers help make the event a success. Participants consist of mostly education majors.
Moore added that she is impressed with the number of students who volunteer to help out. It gives each child the one-on-one attention they need.
“A lot of them come from homes where they don’t have the opportunity to do any of the things they can do here,” Moore said. “With all the volunteers, they get to see other people’s perspective on things, instead of just the teacher’s.”
The children usually spend all day in the classroom. Getting out of the classroom and going to a different setting also helps with their development.
Moore has loved the program since she first learned about it. She believes it benefits both the students at Bonaventure and the children.
“It’s an awesome program,” Moore said. “A lot of our kids don’t have experiences where they get to go out and do things. They get to ride a bus and go into a building. And because they’re all so small, they think this building is huge.”
The elementary school the children come from is relatively small, Moore said. They don’t have the space or all the equipment that is available in Butler Gym.
“It’s a fun challenge for everyone,” Capotorto said. “It opens the students’ eyes to see how it can be a challenge to work with children who have disabilities. For the education majors, it’s an intro to what they’ll have to deal with in a classroom. It can be frustrating, but students learn to deal with it.”
Through the program, Bonaventure students become more aware of the disabilities that children in the surrounding areas struggle with. Capotorto added that Kinder Kinetics is a great program that brings children of the community together with Bonaventure students.
If anyone is interested in getting involved, contact Scraba at pscraba@sbu.edu
