Space is filling up quickly for a Town of Clifton Park recreation program that promises to extend the healthy, active weeks of summer for children for a little while longer.
Spots are still available for the Fitness Counts Kids Running Program, offered through the Office of Parks, Recreation and Community Affairs. For $10, children ages 4 to 9 can participate in five sessions at various town park locations that focus on running and hiking.
Though some games will be included in the 90-minute sessions, the main goal is to get kids active, Parks and Rec Program Coordinator Diana Fraser said.
`Last year, we focused a lot on trying to do more games, but we also found that by doing a lot of games we were also getting a little further from our goal, which is to focus on the running and the hiking,` she said.
With the end of summer and the start of the school year, many kids will become less active, Fraser continued. The Fitness Counts initiative, now in its third year, makes it easy and inexpensive to provide children with a way to keep moving through September.
`Kids tend to be very active in the summer, then as they transition back into school, not everybody has a fall sport that they play,` Fraser said. `The weather still cooperates and we can have the kids outsidewhen we lose the outdoors, a lot of kids go inside.`
The program will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the following locations: Thursday, Sept. 10, Clifton Common; Tuesday, Sept. 15, Kinns Road Park; Thursday, Sept. 17, Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve; Tuesday, Sept. 22, Mohawk Landing; and Thursday, Sept. 24, Clifton Common.
All sessions run from 5:15 to 6:45 p.m. Parents are encouraged to stay and watch their children or volunteer to help the department staff running the event.
The programs at the Commons will be tailored to running events, with distance goals depending on age. At the more rugged locations, participants will hike, once again separated into age groups. At the conclusion of each event, children will receive a healthy snack like an apple or granola bar. Water will be made available.
At the final session at Clifton Common, races will be held and awards will be handed out.
Councilman Scott Hughes, the Town Board liaison to the recreation department, said that Fitness Counts is a good opportunity to get use out of the town’s nature parks and introduce kids to areas of the town they might not have seen before.
`Because we do have a wealth of parks around town, we have the ability to go to different locations,` Hughes said. `It’s an opportunity for the kids to enjoy nature and get outside.`
Though the program does not focus on formal instruction in healthy eating or lifestyle choices, instilling the idea that physical activity is the norm early in life is an important lesson, Hughes said.
`It’s always been our belief that it’s never too early to try to promote positive habits, whether it’s healthy living, exercise or good nutrition,` Hughes said. `We hope in some small way that by offering programs like this it can reinforce the health benefits of exercise.`
The program is limited to 100 children, and space is more than half gone already, said Fraser. Due to the popularity, only Clifton Park residents may participate. To inquire about or register for the program, call the Parks and Rec office at 371-6667.“