Making cookies is one of the fun family activities included in the Bee Me Kids In A Box. It aims to reduce holiday stress for vulnerable families. (photo supplied by Bee Me Kidz)
A Saint John-based charity adjusted on the fly this year to help vulnerable kids and families stay healthy in their mind and body.
For the holidays, Bee Me Kidz is offering a condensed version of their Saturday program in a box, which includes a lesson for parents and children, a fun activity for the family and food items.
President Missy Bewick said the box addresses the pressure to spend at Christmas, adding the feedback from parents has been positive.
“How much it’s helped them understand they are doing the best they can and not to judge themselves. It’s helped children to understand this year they may not get everything they want. What are ways they can look for gratitude in the small things,” Bewick said.
Bewick said over the summer, they teamed up with the Boys and Girls Club to offer virtual social and emotional learning lessons.
“We partnered and we took our program to the different summer camps and it was really successful,” Bewick said.
An evaluation found 84 per cent of the children either met or exceeded in their relationship skills while 88 per cent met or exceeded in the category of self-awareness.
The program’s staff who normally come into 49 schools were not able to due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Bewick said nearly 1,100 students took part during six weeks of virtual classes.
“We’ve offered over 200 hours of positive social and emotional learning for students in grade one to five,” she said.
The Bee Me Kidz program will return to in-person classes on January 16th at the Nick Nicolle Center and at Glen Falls school.
Even though we had to suspend our in-person operations, we had the amaZZZZing opportunity to deliver “Bee Me Kidz in a…
Posted by Bee Me Kidz on Tuesday, December 1, 2020
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