RANGELEY — Afternoon activities for kids will be on the increase this fall. Starting Nov. 1, the Rangeley Region Health and Wellness Partnership will offer the Rangeley Children In Action after school program for a maximum of 25 children from kindergarten to grade five. The program will run from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, except during school vacations.

Rangeley Region Health and Wellness Partnership Executive Director Krista Perry said they will follow the school calendar from November through May of this school year and offer different programming during school vacations. She said that Rangeley does not have a full time after school program.

Lindsay Richards, fitness assistant, is the director of the after school program. Richards holds a degree in early childhood education from the University of Maine at Orono.

Plans for the program include a combination of physical activity, snack preparation and structured study time for the older children. Those children enrolled in the program will be placed two groups: kindergarten through second grade and third through fifth grade with activities designed for each age group, according to Richards.

“There will be a minimum of 60 minutes of activity like games and sledding every day,” said Richards. “We will take the children outside as much as possible. It will be fun physical fitness that focuses on team and social skills along with physical development.”

She said the kids will also prepare a nutritional snack that involves using math and reading skills and a lesson in food choices. They plan to use in season foods and teach about eating locally grown foods, she said.

Perry said the program will be run by staff at the Wellness Pavilion aided by volunteers with backgrounds in the early childhood, nutrition and fitness fields. The number of staff will be based on the number of children enrolled, with two to three planned if all 25 spaces in the program are filled.

“We’re looking to serve an unmet need and not take away from other after school programs like the reading program at the library, karate and dance classes and music lessons,” said Perry.

Registration forms are available at the Wellness Pavilion. The cost of the program will be billed on a monthly basis. For further information or if interested in volunteering, contact Lindsay Richards at 864-3055 or [email protected].