Program grows with smaller kids

NEWPORT BEACH — It measures a few yards by a few yards and features a tiny rack of books, a low pool table, a play stove and a reading area consisting of a small batch of pillows.

It may not be cavernous, but to a 6-year-old, it might look like the world.

After admitting kindergarteners for the first time last year, the Eastbluff Boys & Girls Club realized that they were a bit dazed when packed into a spacious room with older kids. The solution: a program, and a room, of their own.

“We’ve been finding out there’s a lot of kids in this area who tend to be of young age,” said Executive Director Dan Monahan. “Six-year-olds tend to think this is a lot bigger than it is, and they get lost in the shuffle.”

On Friday, the club held an open house for the program, inviting parents to come and view the facilities. Only about 10 parents had signed up their children so far, but the directors expected the numbers to climb over the ensuing months. The club, on Vista del Oro, a few doors down from Eastbluff Elementary School, opens for all ages every day between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m., with the doors open earlier on Wednesday for early school dismissal.

Gia DeLoach, the director for the kindergarten program, walks over to Eastbluff every day after school to walk the young charges down. The program, she said, aimed for a fine line between fun and educational.

“We do activities that mock what they do in school,” she said. “It won’t be like we’re learning math, but we’ll take the math they learn in school and do something fun with it.”

The cost for the program is steeper than others at the Boys & Girls Club — between $200 and $260 a month, with normal membership at the club just $50 a year. Monahan said the cost went to additional supplies for the kindergarteners as well as a specialist to work with them.

“Next September, people are going to see the word’s getting out,” he said.