Tween and Teen clubs held at Cove Art Lab

By BRITTANY FHOLER

Cove Leader-Press

 

The Cove Art Lab held the final Tween Club of 2016 last Friday evening, providing a place for a dozen kids between the ages of 8-12 to play games and socialize during winter break.

 

The Tween Club is held every other week for kids ages 8-12, while a version for teenagers called Teens, Games, and Gab is held in the weeks between for teens ages 13-17. The events are always on a Friday from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

 

The clubs were started at the end of the school year last year as place for kids to come and hang out, said art lab owner Mindy Desmond. The only rules are: No profanity, treat others with respect and put cell phones away. The goal is to have kids play and engage with other kids rather than being glued to their phones.

 

The first event had so many people show up, the building was at maximum capacity, Desmond said.

 

The rate of attendance since then has died down some. Some weeks, there are several kids and some weeks there are none. Desmond said she thinks the large number from the first club held might have scared some people off.

 

The Tween Club and the Teens, Games and Gabs are held year-round, so kids have a place to come to in the summer that’s air conditioned, Desmond said.

 

The Cove Art Lab originally started in the cottage located in the parking lot of the former John’s Java House, located at the corner of Business 190 and Teinert Avenue, before moving into the larger building when it became available.

 

Desmond said she and her husband had lived in Cove for 12 years and while raising their children, ended up having to go to other communities in order to find things for the kids to do.

 

“When we were blessed with this opportunity and this space, we wanted to, of course, have things people pay for like our classes and things like that but we also wanted to create a space in the community for everyone,” Desmond said.

 

They didn’t want cost to be a factor into what people could do. They chose the age groups of tween and teen because older kids don’t have as many opportunities to get together for things that are cost effective in Cove or even in Killeen, she said.

 

Parents dropped their kids off, signed them in and left them to play and socialize for an hour and a half. Some kids were regulars and some were there for the first or second time.

 

Kids could bring their own games or things to do or they could use ones provided by the Art Lab. Snacks and water were available for $1 each and soda was available for $2.

 

Over the course of the hour and a half, kids grouped together and played Clue or built figures using Legos or Zoob building toys.

 

Abigail Richmond, 11, was a regular, having attended practically every single Tween Club. She played Clue with Lilyann Rylant, 9, and Morgan Galibeau, 11. Rylant said she’d been to a couple of the events before while Galibeau said this was her first time attending.

 

“I think it’s a great way to get out of your house,” Galibeau said.

 

Richmond said she liked playing all the different games, while Galibeau said she just enjoyed being there at the Tween Club.

 

Desmond said the Tween Club works out because it provides a safe place for parents to drop off their kids to hang out for free.

 

“They’re not getting into trouble anywhere but they’re starting to get that independence just a little bit, and are being able to be left alone for a little bit of time,” Desmond said. “It feels like they have that, and demonstrate to their parents they have that maturity that they can be trusted to do things like that.”

 

The next Tween Club will be January 13. 

 

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