Rec and Parks Offering Spring Programs for Kids

NORWALK, Conn. — Spring has sprung, ushering in a wave of Norwalk Recreation and Parks programs and activities—including an Easter Egg Decorating Class, Sewing Camp, and various sports offerings—for kids to get out there and enjoy the season.

With Easter less than two weeks away, Recreation and Parks will offer an Easter Egg Decorating Class (featuring cardboard eggs) for kids ages five and up on Thursday, April 17, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Fodor Farm barn, 328 Flax Hill Rd. Cost is $20 per participant.

“It is a really cool way for kids to have a hands-on experience and be able to showcase their artistic and creative ability,” said Superintendent of Recreation Elsa Mekonen.

“The Fodor Farm barn and garden is a really beautiful facility,” added Mekonen. “It’s a nice little gem that people don’t really know about. We can fit a good amount of people at Fodor—anywhere from 25 to 30 kids—and their parents can attend as well.”

Though this is the first year Recreation and Parks has offered the egg decorating class, Mekonen noted that similar programs in the past have been successful. 

“We have done flower arrangement classes, Valentine’s Day classes where they make cards, and we have seen such great turnout, so I think people need these sorts of art-based/creative-based classes, and they seem to do really well when they’re aligned with a holiday,” said Mekonen. “So we are giving Easter eggs a try.”

Over April vacation week, Recreation and Parks is offering a Sewing Camp for kids ages 8 and up Monday through Thursday (April 14-17) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Christie’s Quilting Boutique, 176 Main St. Cost is $350.

“The Sewing Camp still has openings,” said Recreation Supervisor Diane Campbell. “This is our first year offering this camp. It’s becoming extremely popular,” she added of sewing. 

At Sewing Camp, kids will learn sewing machine basics, as well as safety rules and crucial skills like cutting, stitching and pinning.  Snacks, supplies and machines will be provided as participants make a pillowcase, keychain and patchwork block over the course of the week. 

Later this month, a series of youth sports programs offered by Recreation and Parks will tip off with A1 Basketball Development for kids ages 6-12 on Mondays, April 28, May 5, 12, 19, June 2 and 9, at Ben Franklin Gym, 165 Flax Hill Rd. 

This program, which costs $120 per participant, will help young hoopsters improve their dribbling, passing, shooting, defense and more.

There will be three sessions on each day, with K-2 students playing from 5 to 6 p.m., grades 3-5 from 6 to 7 p.m. and grades 6-8 from 7 to 8 p.m. 

On Wednesdays, April 30, May 7, 14, 21, 28 and June 4, Girls Beach Volleyball will be offered at Calf Pasture Beach on Calf Pasture Beach Road.

Two age-based sessions of the program, which costs $120 per resident, will be offered, with girls ages 8-11 playing from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. and girls 12-15 from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m.

Along with learning the rules of the game, participants will be taught “court positioning, and the proper way to bump, set and spike in this fun action-packed program,” according to the Recreation and Parks spring brochure.

For younger athletes, Recreation and Parks is offering A1 Sports PreK baseball, soccer and basketball programs beginning in late May that will teach kids ages 3-5 the basics of each game.

All three camps, which cost $99 each per resident, will be offered at Ben Franklin Gym on Saturdays, May 31, June 7, 14 and 21, with basketball taking place from 10 to 10:45 a.m., soccer from 11 to 11:45 a.m. and baseball from noon to 12:45 p.m. 

Rec and Parks is also offering a series of swimming programs for kids, including weekend swim lessons and Rec Swim Team, at the Norwalk High School pool starting later this month.

Monday/Wednesday swim lessons, which cost $90 per resident and run 45 minutes a week, will be offered Mondays, April 21 through June 2, or Wednesdays, April 23 through May 28 for swimmers ages 5-14.

A number of 20-minute private swim lesson sessions with one-on-one instruction for ages 4 and up (which cost $30 each) will also take place at Norwalk High School on Sundays, April 27 through May 25.

Semi-private swim lesson sessions—which involve two people registering to take lessons with one instructor at $28 per person per 30-minute session—for ages 4 and up will take place at various times on Saturdays from April 26 to May 24.

Tuesday/Thursday swim lessons for ages 5-14 will take place Tuesdays, April 22 through May 27, or Thursdays, April 24 to May 29. Cost is $60 per student, with classes running 30 minutes each week.

Weekend swim lesson sessions will be offered on Saturdays, April 26 to May 24, and Sundays, April 27 to May 25, for ages 5-14. The cost is $75 per student, and classes last 45 minutes each week.

Kids ages 6 and up can also register for the Rec Swim Team, which will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays, April 22 to May 29, from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m. Cost is $135.

According to Rec and Parks, the Rec Swim Team “is open to swimmers who want to take their swimming to a new level. Swimmers must be able to do the following skills in order to participate: 50 yds freestyle (two lengths of the high school pool), 25 yds each of butterfly, backstroke [and] breaststroke.”

Beyond swim lessons, a Drawing and Mixed Media class for kids ages 5-8 will be offered Wednesdays from 4 to 5 p.m. on May 7, 14, 21, 28, June 4 and 11, at the Senior Center, 11 Allen Rd.

In this class, which costs $144 per resident, students “will learn to draw what they see in a noncompetitive, creative environment, using markers, watercolors, pastels and other mediums,” according to the Recreation and Parks spring brochure. 

Information on all these programs (and much more) can be found online.

“If you go on ActiveNet, all the programs are there,” said Campbell. For more information or to register for any of these programs, visit https://anc.apm.activecommunities.com/norwalkctrecandparks/home?locale=en-US and click on “activities.”