The Chesterton Park
Department is hosting the annual Summer Fun program from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, in Friendship Land Park, the corner of 5th St. and
Morgan Ave. The program runs through August 14.
The Summer Fun
program is like a daily summer camp for children. The program is free and
all parents have to do is sign a waiver for each child participating in the
program.
“It’s a place for
the neighborhood children to come together and do crafts, play games, and
spend time outside,” said Hilary Thomas-Peterson, Administrator at the
Chesterton Park Department.
The program is
canceled on days with inclement weather. However, if it starts to rain while
kids are already at the park, kids will spend the rest of the day indoors.
Parents are informed of cancellations through the town website or Summer Fun
program Facebook page.
This year the
program is averaging about 30 kids a day. Kids who are attending are between
4 and 12 years old, but there is no age restriction for kids who wish to
participate.
Parents should be
warned that the Summer Fun program is not a daycare or babysitting program.
Kids are free to come and go as they please.
“It’s free and the
kids that come here come back,” said camp counselor Nathan Dickinson.
Dickinson, who has
been a counselor at the program for six years, says the program is nice for
parents who want to take their kids somewhere where they can have fun and
also not have to pay money like they would at the Boys and Girls Club or
YMCA.
While at the
program, kids spend a lot of time outdoors, in the park, playing games and
sports. Dodgeball is played every day, along with other games including
variations of popular sports from around the world like cricket, hockey, and
soccer.
One example is
World Cup. In this game kids get into groups of two and pick a country to
represent. All kids play at the same time and have to yell the name of their
country as they attempt to make a goal. When a kid makes a goal, their team
then advances to the next round. This continues until there is only one team
remaining and is declared the winner.
The kids also spend
a good amount of time each day doing crafts. So far this summer crafts have
included decorating paper cut outs of foam fingers in honor of the Women’s
World Cup and tie dying t-shirts.
Occasionally, when
it rains during program hours, the counselors will show a movie for the
kids.
Friendship Land
Park is slated to get new playground equipment installed this summer. No
exact date has been set for installation but the park department hopes to
get the new playground built in the first weeks of August.