Waukegan Park District taking applications for daycare program; ‘We want to help give them a little edge'
Operated annually for children from kindergarten through fifth grade, most of the participants are students at one of the 15 Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 elementary schools. It is also open to private school children in the area.
Matriculating to one of five middle schools and one high school, BASE participants meeting now have the opportunity to see a familiar friendly face as they progress through their school years.
Julia Sanchez, a Park District recreation supervisor who helps oversee the BASE program, said 80% of this year's group are returnees from past years. Friendships are developing, adding to the strength of the effort, she said.
'Kids coming back from last year enjoy seeing each other again,' Sanchez said. 'They look forward to seeing each other. They'll say, 'Oh you're back' when they see each other here.'
The BASE program is taking applications for participants between 6 and 12 years old throughout Waukegan starting the first day of school on Aug. 11 at the Belvidere Recreation Center, providing academic and recreational activities from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., exclusive of school hours.
Jordan White, a recreation specialist involved with the program, said children can participate in the portion before school starting at 7 a.m. until the bus arrives to take them to class and/or the afternoon portion that starts after the bus returns them.
Schoolwork is an important part of the program. If the youngsters have not completed homework when they arrive in the morning, they can do it then. The first thing on the schedule after school is also homework. Help is available from the Park District staff.
'It's the first thing we do after school,' Sanchez said. 'It's quiet time until it's done. Education is a priority. We want to make sure they understand that. If they need help, one of us gives them a hand. We want to help give them a little edge.'
Education works its way into recreation time as well. Sanchez said once a month Kohl Children's Museum arrives with a different activity. It is a newer part of the program introduced in the past few years.
'They help the kids do exceptional and exciting things,' Sanchez said. 'Sometimes they do finger-painting or a craft. It's different each time. The kids are excited to see what they bring us.'
As children arrive for the before-school portion, Sanchez said they have a chance to finish their homework or partake of other activities which are on the quiet side. Since school starting times are staggered, so is the bus schedule.
Once homework is done for the children in the after-school portion of the program, there is a snack. The rest of the day is about playing games or doing an art project. If a holiday like Thanksgiving is approaching, the activity will follow that theme.
'For Thanksgiving (one year), we asked them what they are thankful for,' Sanchez said. 'Then we ask them to draw a picture about it.'
Getting from the recreation center to school and back to the center is part of a partnership between the Park District and the school district. Sanchez said the school bus gathers children at the facility in the morning at the appropriate time for their school and returns them to the recreation center afterward.
White said the cost of the program ranges from $199 to $221 per month, depending on which part is appropriate for each child. Some parents need childcare in the morning, others in the afternoon and still more all day.
Those going to school on the early shift pay $199 for the program, while those staying longer in the morning pay $215. White said youngsters returning early after school pay $221 while those coming after the last bell are charged $210.
Financial help is available to those who need it. Sanchez said it can cut the cost in half depending on circumstances. Recipients of lower fees must show some proof such as being on Medicaid, receiving food assistance or some other form of help.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Buzz Feed
4 days ago
- Buzz Feed
People Who Had Sex With Their In-Laws Share Stories
People sleeping with their partner's siblings, cousins, and even parents sounds like something that only happens in the movies, but that isn't the case! There are many individuals who decided to hook up with their in-laws IRL and live that soap opera life... That's why when Redditor u/Any-Name533 asked, "People who've slept with a partner's or ex's sibling. How did it happen and what was the aftermath?" people who hooked up with their partner's family members shared their wildest stories, and it's safe to say these holiday gatherings might be a little awkward. Without further ado, here are 16 of their most shocking encounters: "One day, I came home to a note on the counter. It was from my girlfriend letting me know that we were breaking up. To make sure I understood, she was considerate enough to leave a set of her underwear on the floor and a condom she had used with someone else in the trash..." "Not me, but a guy I worked with years ago: Thanksgiving was coming up, and I asked if he had plans yet. He said, 'Yeah, but family holiday gatherings are always tense.' So, I asked him to explain." "When I was 18, I was casually dating (and seriously sleeping with) my best friend's older brother. When he realized I probably wasn't going to keep my knickers on for four years of college, he dumped me for the girl he's still married to." "I used to work at a fast food restaurant in the early '90s. There were three employees who were sisters. On my first day, I could tell that the oldest sister and I were going to have sex, and sure enough, we did the first night we knew each other. The other sisters were twins, 'Bonnie' and 'Rachael.' Bonnie had no interest in me, but Rachael was hot, and after about two weeks, she picked me up at a bar because I was drunk. We went on to have random sex for the next several years." "My great aunt thought she was dying, so she confessed to her sister that her two 'nieces' were actually the result of a decadeslong affair with her husband." "My girlfriend of five months took me to see a movie. When we got back to her place, she told me in the hallway, 'Hey, listen, I don't want to do this anymore,' and broke up with me on the spot — no last hug, nothing. I was already suspicious of the way she had been texting and hiding her phone, but whatever." "In 2009, I went to stay with my girlfriend's family for Thanksgiving. Her sister said we could sleep in her room and bed as long as nothing happened. Well, my girlfriend didn't care about her sister's rules, so we ended up doing the deed in the bed, even though I refused at first." "I had an on-again, off-again relationship with a friend for years. We had hooked up, but she was leaving the town for school, so there was tension between us because we both wanted more from the relationship but knew it wasn't going to happen." "I dated a woman for about a year and a half who talked sh*t about me to her best friend, who believed every she met me and realized it was all lies. She ended up telling me that my girlfriend was cheating on me. So I slept with my girlfriend's older sister once..." "Not me, but my parents: My dad dated my mom's older sister. They broke up, and then my parents got married. Then my parents got divorced, and my dad married my mom's sister. It caused a huge family rift." "In high school, I hooked up with a girl and we dated for a while. We later broke up, but it wasn't anything major." "I found out the guy I was in a friends-with-benefits relationship with had a secret girlfriend, so we stopped having sex. I eventually met his older, more attractive brother, who happened to be visiting, and he invited me back to his place." "I slept with my best friend's little sister, then a few months later, his mom — the mom was better, she put in the most enthusiastic effort." "When I was a teenager, I fell hard for a guy who eventually cheated on me. He had a brother, a year younger than us, whom I met by accident. Initially, I wanted to become his friend so that I could get back at my ex — I thought it would drive him nuts (it did). But then feelings developed, and I fell harder for his brother than I had for him. We secretly dated for a few weeks before it became too hard to hide." "My ex cheated, and her sister called me out of the blue a year later. So, I got with her and we dated for two years — even went to Thanksgiving together once. It was the most surreal experience." "I'm not sure if this qualifies, but it's revenge all on its own: My little sister had a boyfriend, let's call him 'James.' The first thing he said to me once, when we met for a drink, was: 'How does it make you feel that I'm sleeping with your sister?' He was a little prick and I never liked him." Which one of these stories shocked you the most? Have you ever slept with an in-law? Tell us in the comments or answer anonymously using the form below!
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Waukegan Park District taking applications for daycare program; ‘We want to help give them a little edge'
Children in the Waukegan Park District's Before and After School program (BASE) get an opportunity to form friendships with youngsters who are not in the same elementary school, but may become classmates in middle school and certainly in high school. Operated annually for children from kindergarten through fifth grade, most of the participants are students at one of the 15 Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 elementary schools. It is also open to private school children in the area. Matriculating to one of five middle schools and one high school, BASE participants meeting now have the opportunity to see a familiar friendly face as they progress through their school years. Julia Sanchez, a Park District recreation supervisor who helps oversee the BASE program, said 80% of this year's group are returnees from past years. Friendships are developing, adding to the strength of the effort, she said. 'Kids coming back from last year enjoy seeing each other again,' Sanchez said. 'They look forward to seeing each other. They'll say, 'Oh you're back' when they see each other here.' The BASE program is taking applications for participants between 6 and 12 years old throughout Waukegan starting the first day of school on Aug. 11 at the Belvidere Recreation Center, providing academic and recreational activities from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., exclusive of school hours. Jordan White, a recreation specialist involved with the program, said children can participate in the portion before school starting at 7 a.m. until the bus arrives to take them to class and/or the afternoon portion that starts after the bus returns them. Schoolwork is an important part of the program. If the youngsters have not completed homework when they arrive in the morning, they can do it then. The first thing on the schedule after school is also homework. Help is available from the Park District staff. 'It's the first thing we do after school,' Sanchez said. 'It's quiet time until it's done. Education is a priority. We want to make sure they understand that. If they need help, one of us gives them a hand. We want to help give them a little edge.' Education works its way into recreation time as well. Sanchez said once a month Kohl Children's Museum arrives with a different activity. It is a newer part of the program introduced in the past few years. 'They help the kids do exceptional and exciting things,' Sanchez said. 'Sometimes they do finger-painting or a craft. It's different each time. The kids are excited to see what they bring us.' As children arrive for the before-school portion, Sanchez said they have a chance to finish their homework or partake of other activities which are on the quiet side. Since school starting times are staggered, so is the bus schedule. Once homework is done for the children in the after-school portion of the program, there is a snack. The rest of the day is about playing games or doing an art project. If a holiday like Thanksgiving is approaching, the activity will follow that theme. 'For Thanksgiving (one year), we asked them what they are thankful for,' Sanchez said. 'Then we ask them to draw a picture about it.' Getting from the recreation center to school and back to the center is part of a partnership between the Park District and the school district. Sanchez said the school bus gathers children at the facility in the morning at the appropriate time for their school and returns them to the recreation center afterward. White said the cost of the program ranges from $199 to $221 per month, depending on which part is appropriate for each child. Some parents need childcare in the morning, others in the afternoon and still more all day. Those going to school on the early shift pay $199 for the program, while those staying longer in the morning pay $215. White said youngsters returning early after school pay $221 while those coming after the last bell are charged $210. Financial help is available to those who need it. Sanchez said it can cut the cost in half depending on circumstances. Recipients of lower fees must show some proof such as being on Medicaid, receiving food assistance or some other form of help.
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Miami Herald
A mango pie? This baker takes Miami's favorite fruit and makes it even better
When she was a small child growing up in Cuba, Natalia Martinez-Kalinina remembers what her grandmother did with the bounty of wild mangoes that flourished in her yard. She would gather as much fruit as she could carry in pails. Then she would give them to the neighbors, family and friends who came to the front door. Sometimes, even random strangers got lucky. 'She had one of those problematically large mango trees that was a structural threat,' Martinez-Kalinina recalls. 'Anywhere in the U.S., it'd be taken down, but not in Cuba. So she gave them away. Sometimes I would help her.' Martinez-Kalinina's grandmother, Beatriz Adelaida Brunet Quintaro, passed away in 2016, four years after Martinez-Kalinina moved to Miami. But the memory of the mangoes stuck with Martinez-Kalinina, who eventually decided to replicate her grandmother's generosity as a sort of tribute. Only instead of giving away the fruit, she baked it into pies, sharing slices with people she came across in the course of her job, with friends and neighbors, even handing strangers a slice that they were always happy to take. Eight years later, with so many requests for pies pouring in, Martinez-Kalinina has taken her random acts of kindness a step further, starting an online business selling the pies. She bakes them in the commissary kitchen at her home in a live/work building. 'It wasn't meant to be a thing,' says Martinez-Kalinina, laughing. 'I just wanted to do something nice connected to my grandmother. But it grew to such a point people were texting me every year to get on the list to get pies. The list got longer and longer. I had not imagined it as a business until this year.' Creating a baking business was a new venture for Martinez-Kalinina, who works in the tech world and is cofounder of the Miami venture-backed startup Base, a modern twist on a social club that links people from different backgrounds to shared experiences. But her contacts there helped her. A creative director offered to design a logo for her. Martinez-Kalinina also hosts dinners, concerts and other gatherings at her home for eclectic groups of people and urged them to try the pies, too. And they rave. Ashley Schmidt, who knows Martinez-Kalinina through their shared health tech work and runs a scuba club with her, remembers being skeptical of mango pies before she took her first bite. 'I was questioning how good it would be,' she says. 'Blueberry and blackberry pie, yes. A mango margarita, yes. Manoges and yogurt, a mango smoothie, no doubt. But mango pie?' The flavors changed her mind. 'It was the best pie I've ever had,' she says. 'There's something about this flavor that's like Christmas. So warm and delicious. Sometimes you can eat a mango, and it can be on the sour side, or they're overly sweet. This is right in the middle.' Miranda Brna of Miami Beach calls the pies 'truly amazing.' 'I honestly didn't know pie could taste that good,' she says. 'I am not a pie person. But this pie is so good, that I AM a pie person but just for this pie.' What makes this mango pie so addictive? In addition to Miami's general rabid appetite for the fruit, Martinez-Kalinina believes it's the chili powder she adds. When her family left Cuba and moved to Mexico, they adopted an appetite for a bit of spice, which inspired her recipe. 'It's not spicy,' she says. 'But in Mexico, you add tahine to mango slices. With that contrast, the flavor is enhanced and elevated. I love the spice with the sweet.' Martinez-Kalinina won't be quitting her day job, though. Mango pie is a seasonal treat, and she hasn't had luck making pies with frozen fruit. 'I'm sure more skilled chefs could do this, but for me it doesn't come across the same,' she says. Thus, Sunny Slice's season ends when the mangoes are no longer available, usually sometime in August. This year, unlike 2024, has been a good season for mangoes, and neighbors are still supplying her with fruit, which proves to Martinez-Kalinina that an act that started as a gift is a positive force in the world. 'It brings out the best community version of us,' she says. 'People are so generous with their mangoes. They become givers and engage in neighborliness. We don't always do that here.' How to order a mango pie DM @sunnysliceco on Instagram; no phone calls accepted $8 a slice, $40 for a pie
