The Cottage Grove Recreation Department is arranging Summer Supervised Playgrounds at four different city parks. Hamlet, Heathside, and Peter Thompson Park will welcome children aged from 5 to 13 years. Meanwhile, children who are 4 to 8 years old will be eligible to participate at Pinetree Valley Park. The program will kick off on Monday, June 7 and wrap up on Friday, August 27. Between those dates, Summer Supervised Playgrounds will occur on a Monday through Friday schedule. Each session will start at 7:30am and finish by 4:30pm.

Cottage Grove’s Recreation Department has planned several ways to pack each nine-hour day. First, children can expect to participate in crafts, aquatic activities, games, free play, sports, and what they call “special” events. At Pinetree Valley Park, the especially little ones will be provided with simpler versions of these enrichments. Also, Wednesday’s sessions have been entitled “Wet & Wild Wednesdays”. An emphasis will be placed on water games during Wet & Wild Wednesdays. Children will eat their home lunches at mealtime and drink from their own water bottles as needed. On imperfect weather days, Summer Supervised Playgrounds will adapt. “Should weather prevent us from holding activities as scheduled, a modified version will take place. Programs will not be cancelled due to weather. If severe weather is in the area, the building/restrooms will serve as our shelter,” it reads on the 2021 Summer Supervised Playgrounds Brochure.

In essence, the program will provide an amusing, yet “safe” environment for children this summer. It could even be considered a form of childcare for guardians that need assistance. “This program may qualify as a dependent care expense if it is used as daycare,” The Recreation Department claims.

A program consisting of gathering kids together during COVID-19 may alarm guardians. However, The Recreation Department outlines a “Pandemic Plan” in their brochure to ease any worries. For now, the list of precautions is quite modest. They explain, “A complete list of changes and program modifications will be sent to all registrants as of June 1 based on current guidelines; including social spacing using indoor and outdoor park spaces and masks.”

Written in simpler terms, specific restrictions have yet to be announced by Cottage Grove’s Recreation Department. What The Journal does know at this time is that students will not have access to refrigerators and microwaves during lunch periods. Secondly, drinking fountains will be off limits. If participants must rehydrate themselves during the hot summer days, water bottle fillers will be at their disposal.

Summer Supervised Playgrounds will have adult supervision, hence the name of the program. More specifically, staff members and volunteers will oversee every site. All of the leaders have been trained in first-aid, emergency procedures, and activity planning. They have passed a Criminal History Background Check, as well. The Recreation Department had this to contribute about their leaders, “Summer Staff & Volunteers are dedicated to providing a memorable experience for your children this summer.”

Capacity limits and requirements of staff members, volunteers, and kids will differ between Hamlet, Hearthside, Peter Thompson, and Pinetree Valley Parks during 2021’s Summer Supervised Playgrounds. (See the size of the sites on this page. Credits for this chart belong to The Cottage Grove Recreation Department.) Registration for this wonderful opportunity opened on February 10. It will cost guardians $22 per day or $88 per week to enroll one child in the Summer Supervised Playgrounds program. Because site sizes have finite room for children, registrations will be confirmed in a first come, first serve way. Readers may fancy the idea of signing their child up to experience Cottage Grove’s very own parks this summer. If that is valid, they can navigate to https://mn-cottagegrove. civicplus.com/252/Register-for-Programs-Events .