KALONA

“Are we going to be famous?” the kids want to know seconds after I enter the room and am introduced by one of their leaders, Addie Pacha.

I smile. “You’re going to be Kalona-famous,” I say.

“Will we be Wellman-famous? Because I live in Wellman,” one kid asks.

“Yes, you’ll be Wellman-famous,” I confirm.

“What about Washington-famous? I live in Washington,” another says.

“It’s possible,” I say, calculating the reach of this newspaper.

There are a dozen students from Mid-Prairie East Elementary sitting at tables in the LOFT area at the Kalona YMCA on this Wednesday afternoon, and their interest in fame and fortune is quickly overridden by another more basic need: hunger. Fortunately for them, the YMCA Early Out Program they are attending starts with a snack.

After receiving a basic block of instructions, the kids receive a paper plate and line up at the bar to collect a scoop of goldfish crackers and a half-banana. Addie puts on some background music so they don’t have to munch in silence, and in just four minutes, the kids are already asking about seconds. More goldfish crackers are dispensed.

Addie knows all of the kids’ names, and she asks them about their plans for Halloween. One plans on dressing up as a witch, another as the Headless Horseman. Sidney Nash, another of the leaders, tells the group about her all-time favorite costume: a mermaid.

“My mom made me a homemade tail from scratch,” she says. “My mom got all of the fabric and made me my own tail for my costume, and it was the coolest mermaid costume I’ve ever worn.”

The kids seem impressed.

The 3 p.m. hour has me dragging, since it’s the end of my workday, but the kids are still high-energy. One bounces up the four stairs to the drinking fountain, and a handful of others follow; then someone has to go to the bathroom, which leads to a guided trip down the hallway for. . . almost everyone.

Addie starts a game involving a beachball with the few remaining kids; once the bathroom tour group returns, it will be craft time.

The YMCA’s Early Out Program is offered to Mid-Prairie Elementary students at East Elementary in Kalona and West Elementary in Wellman on all their early out days this school year. At 1:30 p.m., the students are walked from their school to the local YMCA; at 4 p.m., parents pick them up at the Y.

There is a $5 fee per student per day due at the time of registration; parents can sign their kids up for the whole school year at once, pick and choose individual dates on the registration form, or they can make things up as they go along, as long as they let the Y know a week in advance to expect their child.

Today’s program in Kalona is typical: a snack, craft, and some fun. While I’m here in the LOFT, a similar day is unfolding at the Wellman Y.

Addie has a range of special activities planned as well. In Kalona, later this year the kids will participate in a LEGO tournament hosted by the library and take a fieldtrip to Kalona Chocolates. In Wellman, the owners of Simple Happiness will lead a craft session, and the Wellman Public Library will visit.

“This is what we’re shooting for,” Addie says as she holds up a slice of paper-based pizza. “We are going to pass out your pizza crust, which is just going to be this brown paper. What we need you to do is draw a big triangle.”

She gives some advice about sizing, so as to accommodate toppings.

“If you need help drawing your triangle, talk to one of us, and then once your triangle is done, you’re going to cut it out. Okay? That’s all the instructions I’m going to give you for now.”

Someone asks if they can make an entire pizza.

“You cannot do a full pizza,” Addie says. “Maybe that’s a craft we could do later, but for now, we’re just going to try one slice.”

The kids get started on drawing and cutting out their brown paper wedges. Once everyone has theirs complete, Addie shows them how to fold down and glue the wide edge for a crust, advising them, “Just a dot, not a lot,” when it comes to the gluing part.

Now what was the snack counter becomes a faux “Subway” counter, where another leader, Mattalynn Mohling, becomes “our very own substitute Subway employee.” The kids line up and request construction paper colors that correspond to the toppings they are going to cut out for their pizza slices: orange for Doritos, purple for red onions, brown for sausage. Yellow yarn is also available for cutting into shredded cheese.

The kids order and get to work constructing their pizzas. One of them adopts a faux-Italian accent as they work; another makes two slices instead of one; a third makes a very petite, tapas-size slice. Several of them start talking about being hungry again.

As they complete their work, the kids are eager for me to take photos of them with their art. I take a few individual shots as some kids head out on another bathroom tour to wash their sticky hands and others clean up their scraps. I promise to take a group shot when everyone is clean and the pizzas are dry.

Eventually the kids assemble and line up for the photo. We try a couple of different arrangements, and no one needs to be asked to strike a pose; they just do.

Here you go, kids. I did my best to make you famous; the rest is up to you. I’m pretty sure you’ve got this.

To learn more about the YMCA Early Out Program for Mid-Prairie Elementary students in Wellman and Kalona, and to register, visit the front desk of either YMCA or contact Addie Pacha at apacha@washingtony.org.