The Santa Clarita Optimist Foundation is hosting their first annual Safety Town Santa Clarita camp, a week-long event where kids ages four-and-a-half to six years old can learn a variety of safety lessons, officials said Wednesday.

The Santa Clarita Optimist Foundation is hosting their first annual Safety Town Santa Clarita camp, a week-long event where kids ages four-and-a-half to six years old can learn a variety of safety lessons, officials said Wednesday.

The Safety Town camp is in the midst of their first week at North Park Elementary School, according to Norb Moniz, president of the Santa Clarita Optimist Foundation. Registration for their second and final week is open until Thursday, July 16 and possibly until Monday, July 20.

The kids arrive at 8:30 a.m. at North Park Elementary School and spend twenty minutes in the miniature town set up in a classroom, play on a playground, learn lessons and have craftime, said Carrie Celaya, director of Safety Town Santa Clarita. The crafts are themed with the safety lessons the kids learn that day.

“We’ve had such a variety of visitors.” said Susan Russell, Secretary of the Santa Clarita Optimist Foundation. “We’ve had the fire department, California Highway Patrol and the Sheriff’s Department and city crossing guard here.”

Susan Russell is the main thought process behind the Safety Town Santa Clarita Program, said Moniz. A large number of people and companies have been involved in making charitable donations. The Santa Clarita Optimist Foundation has hired several credentialed professionals like Celaya to provide the best service possible for the program.

“Our main goal is the provide the communities children with safety education.” Celaya said. “Getting these things integrated into their everyday learning environment as early as four and a half or five years old is something that makes a permanent impression in the way they think.”

Safety Town Santa Clarita goes deeper and covers a wider range of safety topics then is covered in regular school, said Celaya. During this week’s camp the kids have learned about earthquake, fire, traffic and stranger danger, to name a few.

“The kids have loved it,” said Celaya. “Lots of parents have called and emailed saying really great things and that their children are excited to come back.”