Hanover Area YMCA

The purpose of the Hanover Area Ymca academy of early learning (ael) and the Hanover Area Ymca school age child care (sacc) are to provide developmentally appropriate activities for young children to enhance and development cognitive, physical, social and emotional skills. Our early childhood program has been operating for over twenty-five years. The ael program is located at our north Hanover Ymca branch and operates monday through friday from 6:15am to 6:00pm. The ael served children ages 6 weeks to 5 years. The ael is naeyc accredited, keystone star 4 and a cacfp sponsored program. Children enrolled in the ael received breakfast and two snacks throughout the day as well as daily activities that adhere to Pennsylvania's early learning standards. These activities are planned within creative curriculum's guidelines. Each child participates in an hour and a half of outdoor play daily, weather permitting. On fridays, older toddlers and preschoolers participate in music instruction lead by a credentialed volunteer. Currently the ael serves 77 children daily. This year, 29 children will transition to kindergarten classrooms in our local community. Seventy-four percent are caucasian, fourteen percent are bi-racial, seven percent are african american, four percent are hispanic, and one percent are asian. In the ael, sixteen percent of children receive early intervention services and five percent are dual-language or english language learners. The Hanover Area Ymca school age child care (sacc) program has been in existence for over 35 years. The purpose of this program is to provide a safe and nurturing environment during the critical hours before and after school. Research shows that risky behavior occurs during these time periods when working parents are unable to adequately supervise their children. The program is held at both our north and south facilities as well as in some of the local elementary schools and provides children with age-appropriate social, recreational, and educational activities. We focus on our Ymca values of caring, honesty, respect, responsibility, and faith. Special activities are scheduled with input from the students. Students are provided with a quiet Area to do homework and/or relax. Sacc staff provide homework assistance to those needing help. Several centers are offered each day in which students can choose what they would like to do. Center activities include but are not limited to block play, dramatic play, science activities, creative arts, cultural activities, and library. Gross motor play is scheduled daily. Children are provided a nutritious breakfast and afternoon snack. All our program locations are currently at a keystone star 2 rating. Over the past year, the sacc program provided a safe and nurturing environment for 150 youth in grades k-5, representing various races, religions, ethnicities, income levels, and abilities. Forty-eight percent of our clients are female, and fifty-two percent are male. Eighty-seven percent of our clients are caucasian, eight percent are african american, six percent are hispanic, and one percent are asian. Twenty-three percent of our clients are in kindergarten while seventy-seven percent are in first through fifth grades. Twenty-six percent of children in the sacc program receive some form of financial assistance and eight percent also receive ccis funding. We provide services to children in eight elementary schools and one intermediate school in four school districts in the greater Hanover Area.

Membership: the Hanover Area Ymca is a membership based, charitable, community service organization dedicated to helping people build healthy spirit, mind and body through programs and memberships. We welcome and serve all people regardless of age, income, race, religion, gender, or ability to pay. Membership to the Ymca enables people to utilize equipment and facilities designed specifically for improving personal health and wellness goals. Ymca staff assists and lead members through training of use of equipment and by assisting them with setting realistic goals. The Ymca is a recreational and community hub in our town, people gather to socialize and feel a great sense of belonging at the Ymca. All programs are open to non-members, as well, financial assistance is available to anyone unable to afford membership fees. The Ymca is utilized by dozens of community groups, agencies, government, schools, churches, clubs, and more for a vast variety of activities and events. Ymca has an average 5,800 membership units / 14,000 members throughout the calendar year 2023.

Hanover Ymca gymnastics is a multifaceted program that enriches the lives of the children in our community. Our program is divided into four key groups.preschool: ages 14 months - 4 years. Developmental ages 4 and up. In this program children are given progress reports and may move from beginner to intermediate and pre-team based on the proficiency of skills taught.team: our pre-team and team programs are available by invitation only to children ages 4-18. Specials: these are programs such as tumbling classes, open gyms and birthday parties. These programs provide an introduction to gymnastics. What are the benefits of gymnastics training at the Hanover ymca?physical 1. Muscle strength: gaining muscle strength through tumbling, jumping, static flexing, and holding one's own body weight in various positions helps children develop strong and powerful bodies. 2. Healthy bones: these same types of movements assist children with developing strong healthy bones since gymnastics is a weight-bearing activity. 3. Flexibility: the ability to move the muscles through their full range of motion.non-physical our gymnastics program provides stimulating age-appropriate curriculum and terrific instructors who care about their students, and help them yield other important non-physical benefits from their gymnastics. Cognitive and social benefits might not be as obvious as a toned muscle, but there is no question that they are there.1. Cognitive benefits: when children are engaging in gymnastics, they are exercising their brains as well as their bodies. Every time you send your child to gymnastics class, he/she is engaging in physical exercise that encourages healthy brain function. Nerve cells multiply and connections in the brain are strengthened. It is not surprising that children who are engaging in consistent physical activity like gymnastics are more likely to get better grades than their inactive peers.2. Social skills: children can also benefit socially from engaging in gymnastics. Aside from simply interacting with other children in their class, we encourage teamwork and partner drills in their practices. The more children can interact with different types of children both in school and after-school programming, the more they will learn how to handle conflict and positively relate to others.3. Reduced risky behavior: gymnastics provides a stable, reliable physical activity source for both children and teens. Young people who are consistently physically active are much less likely to engage in using tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs. When children can find positive, active ways to keep busy in a place that you can trust, they will not have to make up ways to occupy their time that could lead to poor or risky choices.4. Confidence: while physical activity tends to reduce feelings of depression and anxiety, our instructors help children develop an "i can" attitude that can give them that intangible high of knowing they can count on themselves to succeed.5. Character: we have incorporated age-appropriate character education into our team program. Children learn respect, self-control, responsibility, confidence, sportsmanship and other character- based concepts that help them strive to become their very best both within the gymnastics club and out in the community. Preschool total session sign-ups for 2023 = 156 (includes developmental session sign ups)team and pre-team individuals served for 2023 = 207speciality individuals served for 2023 - 1,947 (by-days, tumbline, private lessons, and open gym)

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