JA, B&G Club team up for camp
IRONING – Humboldt Junior Auxiliary President Kim Forbes (center) along with her helper Tatum Jenkins (center left) teach some kids attending the Humboldt Boys & Girls Club for the summer how to iron clothes to appear professional for future events or interviews they may be a part of as they age into young adults.
by ARIEL McRAE | Associate Editor
amcrae@hchronicle.net
The Humboldt Boys & Girls Club summer camp is in full swing. Recently, a group of B&G Club kids received some valuable lessons in different life skills from the Humboldt Junior Auxiliary. The goal was to help them learn important tasks that will aid them as they grow into young men and women.
JA members gathered around different stations on the top floor of the Boys & Girls Club. Throughout different rotations, kids were able to listen to the adults explain how to do specific tasks and watch a demonstration on how to complete them. In some stations, the kids even got to help through the process.
“For many years Junior Auxiliary of Humboldt worked a day to two days with the Humboldt Housing Authority during their summer long day camps. Our chapter’s experiences there taught us there is a need. When the HHA was no longer able to host these camps we decided to seek out other children we could work with. The Boys & Girls Club is a perfect fit. The staff was eager for us to come and a pleasure to work with,” explained Humboldt JA President Kim Forbes.
There were five station rotations. The first was a lesson on how to iron clothes. Forbes showed the youngsters how to properly iron shirts for many occasions, especially to look professional at a job interview. The kids watched in amazement as she put the shirt on the iron board and taught them about steam and how to position the shirt in order to have it in the optimal position to get out all the wrinkles instead of adding more wrinkles to the garment. Some of the kids raised their hands and said they had been taught to iron before, which elated Forbes. However, many were watching the iron and learning a new skill for the first time.
The next station was for teaching the children how to make pudding. It was essentially a lesson on how to measure accurately for cooking. Since
MAKING PUDDING – JA member Sherry Grimes (right) helps Aubrey Brooks open a bag of pudding mix so she can help prepare pudding for a group of Humboldt Boys & Girls Club kids. The goal was for the children to learn how to measure and follow directions.
pudding can be made on the spot without having to heat or cool it, it was the perfect way to teach the children a quick lesson on following instructions. They even got to take their pudding they made to their next station after they finished it. Each student took a turn opening a package or measuring out how much of an ingredient should go into the dish. Some stirred and some poured, but they all earned a delicious treat from their hard work.
Another station was the laundry station. There, the children received a comprehensive run down on how to wash clothes. Just like the ironing station, many kids raised their hands to say they had done laundry before, but some were not skilled in that area yet. It was explained to them by a JA member how to use washing powders and which settings to use on a washing machine. They were also taught about stains and how to get some of them out with different products. One of the biggest parts of the lesson was on how to separate clothes for the wash. The kids left this station with an idea on how to take care of their clothes on their own.
The next station was on sewing. A JA member sat down with the children and allowed every single child to pick up a needle and thread it through with thread so they could practice. Then she explained the importance of knowing how to sew and what that might look like on different items of clothing. Each child received a button and was shown how to sew a button back on an article of clothing in case it ever was to fall off. The kids were respectful and careful as they handled the needles during this part of the lesson.
The last station was one of the most important of all. A JA member talked with the kids about finances. The main goal of the station was to distinguish ‘wants’ from ‘needs.’ It is crucial to learn how to budget so that bills can be paid and fun can be had. The children were excited to shout out things they want versus things they need. Wants are always more fun than necessities, but they quickly learned that without paying for needs, the wants cannot happen.
“The children were so excited to learn from us. Several told us that our day was a nice break from their regular routines at B&G Club. While these station titles seem basic, most of the children soaked up what we were teaching and wanted to know and do more,” Forbes stated.
Learning these important skills will be essential in their lives as they grow and age into young adults, hopefully they will remember these five skills and implement them in their own lives with ease thanks to the Humboldt JA chapter’s guidance.
