By Janet Gokay

Life in Norfolk is greatly enriched by the work of volunteers—and the Norfolk After School Program (NASP) is no exception. Coordinated by two parent volunteers, Kim Crone and Kathy Yelsits, the program offers a potpourri of classes to any grade-school-aged child in Norfolk, not just those attending Botelle. Many of those classes are taught by members of the community who want to share their expertise and enthusiasm with children.

Photo by Caroline Crone

The one-hour classes are offered in three sessions during the school year. Winter (January-March) is the busiest season, with classes offered four days a week. Kim Crone, a psychologist and mother of three, strives to be flexible, both in terms of the types of classes and their duration. “I try to work with the instructors, to figure out what works best for each one—and to give students a range of choices,” she commented. “We try to offer some classes in the arts, some more physical—like volleyball, or yoga—and some academic-oriented classes.” She aims to offer the two age groups—pre-K to grade 3, and grades 4 to 6—“at least one choice per day.”

The classes last year were nothing if not diverse. For one of the most popular classes, “Create Your Own World,” teacher, parent, and Norfolk Library employee Chaya Berlstein brought reams of materials—boxes, glitter, fabrics—for kids to work with. The mission? “Think about your world: who lives there? What do they do? Then create it!” For the last day of the six-week course, the classroom was transformed into a gallery, with an opening for families and friends.

Photo by JP Bazzano

Joyce Ahrens of the Norfolk Historical Society enticed famed Norfolk photographer Christopher Little to give a class on photography in which he rendered technical concepts such as aperture and depth of field comprehensible to the older student group. He took the class on an expedition to the Stoeckel estate, where they photographed nature, architecture—and each other.

In local historian Hartley Mead’s class students learned about Norfolk’s part in the Civil War—who served, what resources Norfolk contributed, how the community felt about the war. In his Walk in the Woods spring class kids explored several local ecosystems, identifying bugs, birds, plants and animals.

Photo by Tyler Yeltsis

Last December, there was standing room only in Sarah Fiester’s gingerbread house workshop. Sarah, a mother of two, provided the graham cracker house frames for 24 creations, plus all the trimmings. “The details were incredible, “ Kim noted. “Things like frosted mini-wheats for the roofs that looked like snow-covered shingles, marshmallows and candy canes and gum drops—they were beautiful!” And last spring, a cadre of kids prepped for Norfolk’s Memorial Day Road Race with Morning Milers, a running club led by parent Holly Durstin, with help from Kate Johnson and Meghan Link.

Although there is a charge for the classes ($30 for a full session), the Norfolk Connecticut Children’s Foundation awards full and partial scholarships for the program. There is a checkbox on the class registration sheet to apply for aid. “We want to make sure that any child who wants to participate can,” said Kim.

Photo by Nico Cascella

The program is always looking for new ideas and new instructors. “We’ve had such a great response to the classes given by community members. We’d love to have more people participate,” Kim commented.

One class Kim would really like to offer: a formal robotics class. The robotics team at the high school is excellent—and a number of Botelle students would love to have their own junior league.

To learn more—or volunteer to teach a class—contact Kim Crone: 860-542-1133; marcandkim@sbcglobal.net