Children Having Lots Of Fun During 15th Annual Kidsweek
Susie Stuivenga looked woefully out of place as she sat in the middle of Kids Play Center and read her book.
The Glover Middle School teacher was surrounded by scores of kids who ran through oversized plastic slides and punched their way through mazes of multi-colored punching bags.
It’s KidsWeek in the Inland Northwest, and Stuivenga set aside more than her share of good books while her children, Ashley, Katie and Jacob, took part in a week’s worth of activities for kids.
“We’ve planned out something for everyday. Let’s see, it was Cat Tales yesterday, the play center today, and then it’s up to Lake Chelan for the rest of the week,” Stuivenga said.
Stuivenga, her children and husband Mike, live close to Deer Park. She said there aren’t many activities there for her kids.
Katie, 6, who ran back to her mother with beads of sweat trickling down her face, said she liked being able to run around the play center at a breakneck pace.
She said she sometimes gets bored during the summer and admitted to being ready to start school.
Like Stuivenga, Bob Alderman and his wife, Cheryl, sat at a table while their kids, Casey and Jeremy, ran themselves ragged on the plastic jungle gym.
“We live out by Cheney, so it’s nice to be able to bring them into town to be able to do a little bit more,” Alderman said.
KidsWeek, sponsored by the Chase Youth Commission, started Sunday and concludes Saturday. It’s the commission’s 15th annual salute and celebration of kids in the area.
Nearly 100 events are being offered either for free or discounts to children ages 18 and under. Parents appreciate the savings. Alderman said his family paid just $6 to get in the Kids Play Center.
However, to Stuivenga, the significance of KidsWeek goes beyond saving money. She thinks it’s good for youngsters to get out and be exposed to the community.
Stuivenga said she was one of a handful of teachers who took a group of 135 honor students from Glover to the Silverwood Theme Park near Athol, Idaho, at the end of last school year.
On the bus ride to Silverwood, Stuivenga observed a 14-year-old boy gawking out a school bus window.
She asked the boy what he was staring at, and to Stuivenga’s surprise, the boy said he had never been on Interstate 90 and was shocked to see so many cars on the road.
“Unless they experience things they’ll never know what’s out there,” Stuivenga said. “This may seem like just a play center, but it’s good exercise and a way for them to meet new people.”
David Osei agreed with Stuivenga.
Osei, 7, was with a group of kids from the East Central Community Center. He said he just got back from Lexington, Ky., with his family the previous weekend.
“This is fun,” Osei said. “If I’m out of the house then I don’t have to do my chores.”
Cheryl Olinger, a manager at Kids Play Center, said KidsWeek is important to the community.
“There are so many kids today just running around looking for something to do,” Olinger said.
Just before the play center opened its doors Monday morning, Olinger and her staff had to chase a group of kids from an empty grass lot next to the building on the east 200 block of Lyons because they were trying to set the grass on fire.
“I just thought, ‘Why not come in here and play and have some fun?”’ Olinger said. “I don’t understand this need to be destructive sometimes.”
Olinger said most kids are on good behavior when they enter the play center, however, some get rowdy and are forced to sit down by staff workers for a few minutes.
“For the most part, they come in here and have a lot of fun and get good exercise,” she said. “That’s what this place is all about.”
, DataTimes