Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Chesterton Park Department hosts Summer Fun program

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By SCOTT MINOR

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.

 

Posted 7/8/2015

 
 
 
 
 

 

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