SUMMER FUN AND LEARNING: Trying out hula hoops is just one aspect of Hop the Gap, a YMCA program — part of a national initiative — that helps prepare children for kindergarten. The kids get a nutritious lunch, go on field trips, play games, and catch up on skills they might have missed by not attending pre-school. (Photo Courtesy of the Princeton YMCA)

Most Princeton children start kindergarten with a year of pre-school behind them. But an increasing number of the town’s low income residents do not have the resources to give their offspring that early start. It is this segment of the population that the local YMCA is targeting with Hop the Gap — a new program at the Community Park Elementary School — serving 23 youngsters this summer from low to moderate income households. The program is part of a national YMCA initiative.

During July, some of the children have spent mornings at Johnson Park Elementary School as part of the month-long academic program known as Jumpstart. In the afternoons, they have joined others at Community Park. After a nutritious lunch prepared by the Y’s Terra Learning Kitchen and funded by the program Send Hunger Packing Princeton (SHUPP), the children have been taking part in classroom and outdoor activities. During August, the program expands to a full day.

“People think Princeton has plenty of dough,” said Kate Bech, the CEO of the Princeton Family YMCA. “It’s kind of ironic, but low-income kids who live in high-income communities are actually more disadvantaged than those who don’t. Because their parents are constantly trying to make ends meet, they can’t spend the time with their kids that they need to. They’re stressed out. There is less engagement.”

The idea for aiding these rising kindergartners was inspired by the YMCA’s four-year-old Princeton Young Achievers program, which serves some 80 to 90 children from kindergarten to fifth grade at three learning centers in town. Rosie Segovia, the program’s education and outreach director, was spending most of her time with middle and high school students when she began thinking about younger children. “We knew these kids would arrive at kindergarten in the fall with no experience in a classroom setting,” she said. “I thought, wouldn’t it be great to give them this opportunity, and level the playing field?”

The idea of the eight-week program was to prepare the kids for kindergarten by catching them up to future classmates who had attended pre-school, and boosting their self-esteem. “Some of the kids didn’t know their colors, or other things most kids know by that age,” Ms. Segovia said. “We thought [the summer program] would help them be more comfortable when they start school.”

Participants were enrolled after recommendations from the town’s Human Services department, Corner House, and elsewhere. On a recent afternoon, the youngsters finished their lunches before going outside to race each other in the field behind the school. During “community time,” they learn to listen and take turns being read to. Next, they break up into classrooms where they are observed one-on-one before engaging in some arts and crafts, music, or dance activity. “More than anything, it’s a routine,” said Ms. Bech. “We’re providing opportunities for those who already know their ABC’s and scaffolding on other things like math concepts, shapes, colors, and counting.”

Food is a focus of Hop the Gap. “We definitely wanted to offer lunches, because a lot of these kids have food insecurity,” Ms. Segovia said. “Send Hunger Packing was looking to extend their programs beyond the school year, so this was a good fit. They are helping us, and it has worked out really well. We also send the kids home on Fridays with healthy meals for the weekend.”

Princeton’s low income families don’t often have access to affordable produce, so they rely on packaged foods. Part of the mission was to introduce the children to nutritious fresh foods they may not have sampled in the past. Ms. Segovia noticed, one day, that one of the children had left grapes on her plate. “I said to her, why aren’t you eating your grapes?,” she recalled. “And she told me she didn’t know what they were. So I got her to try one and of course she loved it.”

The children have gone on local field trips, visiting the Princeton University Art Museum and the Princeton Public Library. Swimming instruction at the YMCA is also included. Part of the organization’s day camp, the pilot program is funded by the YMCA and presented in partnership with Princeton Public Schools. Participating families pay $20 a week if they can, or utilize financial assistance.

“What has been especially exciting to me these last few years has been the increased collaboration among our community partners here in Princeton,” said Ms. Bech, summing up Hop the Gap in an email. “It’s wonderful to work with other nonprofit groups and collectively have a greater impact and reach individuals in need more effectively. As a Y, we want very much to be a conduit for good — and the deeper and more meaningful connections we’ve developed show us that there’s real power in those relationships.”