Church Hill United Methodist church makes safety fun for elementary school kids

By Sarah Lehr

slehr@vindy.com

LIBERTY

Students had the day off from school Friday, but they still managed to learn something at a safety day hosted by Church Hill United Methodist Church.

About 60 children in kindergarten through fourth grade attended the free event, which took place from 9 a.m. to noon.

Public schools, including those in Girard, Liberty and Hubbard, had the day off for teacher conferences hosted by the Northeastern Ohio Education Association.

Sharon Wathen, a coordinator of safety day, said that in addition to being fun for kids, the event helped parents find child care for the day off. This year marked the church’s second annual safety day.

Students traveled among four stations marked out for camping, hiking, tool and cyber safety. The goal, said volunteer Cathy Bernardi, was to implement a “hands-on” approach and keep students engaged.

At the camping station, children gained practical knowledge about wearing a life jacket and staying safe around a fire. They also had the opportunity to make s’mores and sit in a canoe.

Adam Earnhardt, chairman of the communication department at Youngstown State University, led a presentation on Internet safety. It’s never too early to teach kids about cyber-security, he said, because they develop habits early on and can teach older members of their family about best practices.

“They’ll be like the little know-it-alls, who come home to their brothers and sisters and say, ‘Well, I heard this about Internet safety,’” Earnhardt said.

Earnhardt strove to drive lessons home to the students by likening computer viruses to the flu and explaining that strangers online are just as dangerous as strangers on the street.

When Earnhardt asked a question about how to protect a computer, one eager elementary-school student suggested “hide the computer where no one can find it” or “maybe a computer could shoot lasers out of it.” These were good ideas, Earnhardt said, though he instead suggested crafting a password with varying letters, numbers and characters.

The day concluded with a make-your-own bumper sticker craft, door prizes and a picnic-style lunch.