COUNTYWIDE : Class Helps Children Become Self-Reliant

The third-graders at College Park Elementary School in Costa Mesa have come to expect weird lessons every Friday.

“Does anyone know what a budget is?” speaker Ronni Levinson asked the class on a recent Friday, giving them their first clue to that day’s topic. Not only didn’t they know, but some had trouble pronouncing it.

The class is participating in “I Can Do It,” an eight-week course in self-reliance, sponsored by the Orange County Council of Camp Fire, a nonprofit youth organization. The program, begun eight years ago, attempts to introduce children to some of the adult skills needed in the real world.

First intended for latchkey children, the program now serves a total of 11 schools and more than 1,200 third-graders throughout Orange County.

“As the structure of the family changes, children are picking up added responsibilities,” said program director Sue Green. Children often have no choice but to be self-reliant, she said.

Each class begins with a lesson about how to prepare an after-school snack the safe way.

“Remember how to use a knife? What are the rules?” Levinson asked. They then spend the remainder of the hour focusing on one particular skill, such as doing laundry, calling the police for help, first aid, sewing and cooking. The students also prepare an escape plan in case they are home alone and a fire breaks out.

“We knew it was something the children should know,” said teacher Cheryl Crockey.

On this day, as her third-graders tackled the strange idea of budgeting, Sam Johnson was asked how he would spend a weekly allowance of $15.

“I would spend $5 on something I want, $5 on something I need and save the rest,” he said.

Once in a while, Green said, parents are astonished at how much their children have learned, such has how to make lunch for themselves.

“The kids really do take it home,” she said.