FAMILIES in Leicester are being encouraged to get moving this summer with a free programme of fun activities at their local children’s centre.
From Monday (11 July) until Friday 26 August, Get Up & Go will offer a range of activities throughout the school holidays at nine children, young people and family centres (CYPFC) and three other venues.
Run by the city council, the programme will include lots of outdoor fun, such as skipping, den building and giant outdoor games, as well as green-fingered fun and seed-planting.
There will also be plenty of opportunities to play with LEGO, bubbles, playdough and paints, and to join in with this year’s Gadgeteer-themed Summer Reading Challenge.
On Mondays, there’ll be activities at St Matthews, Thurnby Lodge and Woodbridge CYPFCs; on Tuesdays the action is at the Kingfisher Youth Centre, while Beaumont Leys CYPFC is the place to go on Wednesdays; on Thursdays youngsters can get up and go at the Tudor Centre, Spinney Hill Park and the CYPFCs at Netherhall, New Parks and Belgrave; while there’s Friday fun at The Grove in Braunstone and Eyres Monsell CYPFC.
Times vary at each venue so people are advised to check the timetable here or to call their local children’s centre.
There will also be mini Playdays in Town Hall Square on most Wednesdays in July, where there’ll be giant outdoor games, story-time, arts and crafts and a dedicated area for babies. Mini Playdays take place from 11am-2pm on 13, 20 and 27 July.
National Playday will be marked on Wednesday 3 August, when Town Hall Square will be turned into a giant playground for babies and children.
Activities will include traditional games such as skipping, hula hooping, egg & spoon races and hook-a-duck, as well as dancing, creative play sessions and lots of arts and crafts activities.
There will be storytelling with the BookBus, a stay-and-play area for parents and babies, while adventurous youngsters can have a go on the climbing wall. Height restrictions apply on the climbing wall and suitable shoes are required.
Leicester’s Playday runs from 11am to 3pm on Wednesday 3 August.
The city council’s Get Up & Go programme aims to encourage families to get out and about and enjoy the outdoor spaces around them – and deputy city mayor Cllr Sarah Russell hopes that children and young people will enjoy the activities that have been planned for them this summer.
“This is the fifth year that we’ve run our Get Up & Go summer programme, and we’re all so pleased that this year’s activities can take place without any restrictions,” she said.
“All our activities are free of charge, and most of them can be replicated at home for little or no cost.
“I hope these events will give families lots of ideas for their own low cost activities and encourage them to get out and about with their children this summer.”
Children aged between five and 18 should aim to do 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity – such as dancing, running, bike riding, football or trampolining – every day.
Muscle-strengthening activities – such as hopping and skipping – are also recommended at least three times a week.
More information about Get Up & Go is available here or on Facebook
A list of Leicester’s children, young people and family centres is available here