Kids are reading & having fun at Energy Express

The Energy Express program kicked off last Tuesday, June 22 at Widmyer Elementary and Paw Paw Schools. The program runs Monday through Friday through July 30. It is closed on Monday, July 5 for the holiday.

Energy Express is a six-week summer program for children that features reading along with writing, art, drama and recreational activities. Kids also receive a free take-home book and free breakfast and lunch.

The Energy Express program is funded through federal, state and local funding, which comes from the Morgan County School Board through the special levy.

Weekly themes, activities
The program has weekly themes of myself, family, friends, homeplace, community and making my world a better place, said Widmyer Energy Express coordinator Matt Tolliver. Books, writing and other activities are centered around the themes.

Last week older kids were reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney and younger children were reading Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, he said.

Kids at the Widmyer Energy Express site were doing “myself” activities, painting life-size cut-outs of themselves, writing paragraphs about their favorite foods, sports and activities and making a list of words that describe themselves.

Mentors, enrollment
At Widmyer Elementary, they have seven AmeriCorps mentors who work with small groups of up to eight children. There is a structured curriculum that the mentors follow with the children, Tolliver said. The mentors receive five days of intensive training before the program begins.

Tolliver said they had 51 children signed up at Widmyer for the program and could take 56 kids. They could enroll several more if parents call the Morgan County Extension Office at 304-258-8400 immediately to register. The Paw Paw site is full.

Volunteers
They had 15 volunteers the first week, said community coordinator Josh White. Their goal is 100 volunteers, Tolliver said. At least eight celebrity volunteers—county officials and community members—are volunteering at Energy Express.

Volunteers can help with art, man the phones, read to kids, assist with breakfast or lunch and other tasks.

Community service
AmeriCorps mentors complete community service as part of the program. The Widmyer mentors will do landscaping and painting at the Humane Society of Morgan County, Tolliver said. They will also help at Berkeley Springs Rehabilitation and Nursing and visit with residents, clean or do whatever is needed, he said.

Open house
Energy Express is having an open house at Widmyer Elementary on Thursday, July 22 from 6-9 p.m. so the community can see what the children have been working on, Tolliver said. They also plan to show a movie.

Tolliver, who is also the Warm Springs Intermediate guidance counselor, said it was his eighth year working with Energy Express. He had first been a mentor, then worked with the Energy Express program at the state office and has also been a site coordinator.

“It’s a great program,” Tolliver said.

Supplies needed
Found object supplies for art, writing and drama are needed for both the Widmyer and Paw Paw Energy Express sites.

Some requested items are foam egg cartons, paper bags (all sizes), paper plates, paper towel or toilet paper tubes, empty cereal, cracker or shoe boxes, magazines with lots of pictures, wallpaper sample books, string, yarn, plastic cottage cheese or yogurt containers, packing material (foam peanuts or shredded paper), cupcake paper liners and textured fabrics
Take your donated supplies to the Widmyer Elementary or Paw Paw Schools Energy Express sites.