By Lindsay Tice,Staff Writer

AUBURN – When the school day ends, 6-year-old Nathan Brown sprints to day care and makes a beeline for his favorite toys: a set of rainbow-colored building blocks.

“I like these because I built this with my own two hands,” he said, spinning the top he made.

Nathan doesn’t have to wait long to get his hands on the blocks after the last school bell rings. His day-care center is just down the hall from his first-grade classroom.

Held in the Fairview Elementary School cafeteria, the before- and after-school program keeps Nathan and his schoolmates happy. It keeps them busy.

And it keeps their parents worry-free.

“When kids are home alone, what are they going to do?” said coordinator Andie Locke, as 35 boys and girls played, worked on an art project or ate snacks around her one recent afternoon. “When an adult is not there, it’s really easy to make a bad choice.”

Auburn started its before- and after-school programs several years ago. The first was created at Fairview, a 500-student school with kids in kindergarten through grade six. It later added programs at Sherwood Heights and Washburn elementary schools for students there and for kids at the city’s four other elementary.

National accreditation

All are similar, offering early morning and late afternoon child-care and playtime. But Fairview recently set itself apart.

After three years of studies, surveys and visits from experts, the child-care program received accreditation from the National AfterSchool Association. A Waterville school was the first in Maine to be accredited by the association. Fairview is the second.

It certifies that the program meets the association’s staffing, child-care and program standards.

“Teaching kids to make good choices, that’s our primary purpose. And teach them social skills and keep them safe,” Locke said.

To many of the kids, though, it’s all about playtime.

“I like it because we get to play on the big kids’ playground, and it’s fun playing ball and tennis and we get a snack,” said 6-year-old Paige Chase, a first-grader, as she colored a Halloween picture in the art corner.

The morning session starts at 6:30 and is usually a quiet, low-key time as kids wake up for the day. The afternoon session runs from 3 to 5:45. It is organized chaos as kids charge from the snack area to the drama section, from the art corner to the game tables, from the quiet corner to the open center, where they can run around without running into each other. Some kids meet with tutors or speech therapists. Some go to the school gym to play ball or dash out to the playground.

Sierra Smith and her best friend, Elizabeth Bouchard, practiced cheerleading in the cafeteria. The 10-year-olds collapsed with laughter more than they cheered.

“It’s fun here,” Sierra said. “But sometimes it can get a little rough.”

“Yeah. Little kids,” Elizabeth said.

Drama and dance, also

The program serves about 75 children. Most are fourth-graders or younger.

Older kids often don’t like gluing tissue paper to cardboard or playing with Legos. Sometimes they persuade their parents to let them stay home alone instead.

To entice those older kids – and to keep the younger ones interested – the program brings in experts to teach drama, karate and dance.

“Oh, I might do that,” Elizabeth said, suddenly more interested in staying after school. “I like dancing.”

Debbie Knapp doesn’t have to worry about her son getting bored quite yet. At 8-years-old, Brandon Knapp happily plays badminton with a friend until his mother picks him up around 4.

A high school teacher in Turner, Knapp adores the program because she can attend school meetings, run errands or make appointments without rushing to pick up her son by 3 p.m. Unlike other day-care situations, Brandon doesn’t have to catch a bus.

And the price is good. It costs $55 a week for both before- and after-school care.

“He can get his schoolwork done. There’s a place for him to read. He can play with his friends,” she said. “I don’t have to worry about a thing.”

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