Keep Your Preschooler Active This Winter

The New Year can leave parents and caregivers of preschoolers scratching their heads.

Schedules are no longer packed with school concerts, holiday parties and other family obligations. It is time for a well-deserved rest, but anyone caring for a child under 5 can attest to the rapid speed of recovery little ones seem to have, even after a busy season. Inevitably, even the most prepared caretakers may find themselves with a youngster needing a shake-up in their routine to supplement time spent in the house.

If the cold days of winter have your preschooler bouncing off the walls and looking for an outlet, look no further than the Westerville Community Center, 350 N. Cleveland Ave., where thoughtfully designed programs provide safe environments for kids to learn, create and play– and for caregivers to make village-building connections.

"We have planned new and exciting preschool opportunities for the community in 2025 and expanded them to include evenings and weekends to help meet the needs of various family schedules,” said Parks and Recreation Program Manager.

Chelsea VanAssche. “Our programs reflect the importance of play, social interaction and physical activity in early childhood development, allowing kids to meet new friends and parents to engage with other parents whose kids are the same age."

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children ages 3-5 participate in at least three hours of physical activity daily, including at least an hour of moderate-to-vigorous activity. Westerville Parks and Recreation sports and movement classes introduce children to teamwork, skill development and cognitive development opportunities. Activities include basketball, soccer, tumbling, parkour, yoga, “Sporties for Shorties” and “Superhero Bootcamp.”

Play and sensory classes help foster cognitive development, fine motor skills and emotional regulation through interactive, imaginative and exploratory play involving various stimuli. VanAssche partners with field professionals for select classes. Professional speech and occupational therapists lead The Play Spot and a pediatric speech therapist leads Babbles and Bubbles.

Additional classes include the following:

Homemade ParadeChildren create simple instruments and sounds using household instruments.

Planet PaletteParticipants create their own solar systems and planets.

Silly ScientistKids become scientists as they learn about different topics and conduct experiments.

Indoor PicnicFamilies get an early taste of spring–minus the ants.

Let's Go CampingChildren experience typical camping activities in the warm indoors.

Valentine’s Bear Bash!

Preschoolers are invited to design and create their own stuffed animals at the Valentine’s Bear Bash at the Community Center on Thursday, Feb. 6, from 6 - 7:30 p.m. Their new fuzzy friends will join them for crafts, snacks and other activities.

Find registration details on page 54.

Sign Up Soon for Summer Camp

Westerville Parks and Recreation camp registration is Feb. 14-17. Offerings include weekly camps for preschoolers ages 3-5, specialty camps for children ages 3 and up, full- and half-day camps for kids ages 6-12, Kids Fun Club for children ages 6-13 and Teen Fun Club and Counselors-in-Training program for teens. For special interests, check out specialty camps focusing on sports, cooking, crafts, travel and more.

For information on available camps in 2025, visit www.westerville.org/camps.