By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Staff Writer

CLANTON – Now that school has started back the big question becomes what to do with your child once the school day ends while you finish up your eight-hour shift at work.

Chilton County YMCA at 405 Ollie Avenue in Clanton is offering an after school program for all kids in Clanton, Jemison and other areas in Chilton County for ages 18 months-13 years.

The program costs $20 per week for members and $45 per week for non-members.

From 3-6:30 every afternoon, kids will get the chance to rotate between three different stations: An academic station where students will complete homework, an art enrichment station where they will create artwork and a fitness station where they can do many different recreational activities.

“They get the structure of someone helping them and get to stay more active instead of going home and sitting around,” YMCA employee Tiffanee Edwards said. “We have instructors that interact with them and keep them active both physically and mentally.”

Busses pick up kids from both Clanton and Jemison once the school day has concluded. They also offer after school care to other areas throughout the county, but they must be dropped off, as no bus transportation is offered for those students.

As soon as the kids arrive and exit the bus, they have a healthy snack and are divided up into separate groups by grade level, before they start their rotations.

“We’ve just got so much to offer them,” Edwards said. “We have tons of games for them to play if they finish their homework and also have a gym for them to play basketball or other sports in.”

Right now 45-50 kids have registered for the program, but registration stays open throughout the year and can be taken care of online at ymcaofchiltoncounty.com.

“We’ll take kids all day long, we’ll just hire more people to accommodate them if we need to, but we’ll never turn kids away,” Edwards said.