Heat waves hit day cares, summer programs
Programs make adjustments to keep children cool
MIDDLETON, Wis. — Triple-digit highs have summer programs rushing for the air conditioning to keep the children cool, and it’s making for a lot of last-minute changes to trips and activities for camps and day cares in the area.
At the Academy for Little Learners in Middleton, instructors have to switch up planning, sometimes on the fly. Whenever the temperature reaches more than 95 degrees, the children have to be inside. That means limited space for the more than 30 children the day care looks after during the summer months.
“The kids have kind of been struggling because we have to stay inside. They don’t know what’s going on,” said instructor Anna Ingalls.
After countless games of slap jack in the hallway, the only space her group can find with everyone squished inside, Ingalls admitted it has been challenging adjusting to the heat.
The day care had field trips planned months in advance, but many have been rerouted to indoor activities like movies or bowling.
“We’ve had a lot of outdoor things canceled,” Ingalls said. “So it’s been difficult, but we do a good job.”
On Tuesday, the children played games on the floor with the comfort of air conditioning.
15583388“I don’t like the hotness,” said camper Jayden Mathias.
The heat led to another field trip cancellation for the group Tuesday. The Madison Mallards pushed back its annual children’s day after watching the temperatures creep higher and higher.
“I think we would have seen a lot of groups just not come,” Mallards President Vern Stenman said.
The team was expecting 500 children on the field Tuesday, but Stenman said he hopes for more bearable temperatures later this month when the event is rescheduled for. Tuesday night’s game is still on.
“The best chance for them to have a good experience for an event like this is to slide it back a couple of weeks and hopefully we’ll have a little bit of better weather then,” Stenman added.
That means another day being cramped inside for the children and teachers at the Academy for Little Learners. Ingalls said they’re making the best of it, but it’s not easy for anyone.
“After so many days of being inside, it just gets to be a lot,” Ingalls said.
Summer school classes in Madison were in session Tuesday, along with all MSCR programs. District spokeswoman Rachel Strauch-Nelson said the schools are taking extra precautions with more water and fans in classrooms. Strauch-Nelson stressed that it is ultimately up to parents whether or not they want to send their child to school in this kind of heat.
