I just snuck out of my office to have a peek at a couple programs happening here at the Creston and District Community Complex. One was the Magic School Bus program, which has been going on for many years with the rec centre as one stop along the way, as well as the library and Family Place. In that program, parents received information on early childhood services at all the venue, Ages and Stages questionnaire and getting ready for kindergarten. (Might as well start scaring them early…)
It is a rotation of three separate buses travelling to the three stops and each disgorging approximately 35 future students into games, educational activities, food (of course) and the Tooth Fairy! (You think she might have mentioned something so I wouldn’t embarrass myself by getting the day wrong on my dentist appointment but maybe she’s more in the bicuspid collection business…) Anyway, the kids seem to all have a blast and I get the stark realization of my age when I see parents that I remember as small soccer or hockey players that now are bringing their three-year-olds to the complex.
The really cool thing is walking out of the arena lobby after watching the munchkin set and seeing Tia, our head fitness tech, leading about a dozen Therapeutic Activation Program for Seniors members (whose average age is probably 86) in a series of exercises as part of the Moving Along Together program mentioned in previous versions of the Creston Valley Advance. Tia has a blast teaching the exercise portion of the program, which starts with warmups singing along to Petula Clark’s Downtown, which I remember my mom singing when it was on the radio probably in the mid-sixties. (I believe since my mom was English, it was mandatory to learn and sing all Petula’s tunes whenever possible.) Actually, they all seem to be having a great time and I believe they have graduated up into the fitness track area by this time. It’s really neat to see the intergenerational mix a stone’s throw apart, where, conceivably, it could be the great-great-grandchildren of one group in the next room.
So did we see you here last Thursday when we took part in the provincewide initiative of Walk with Your Doc to encourage walking as the best way to keep fit and feel good? I thought it was a pretty neat idea to have maybe a dozen of our local doctors perambulate with the general public for the lunch hour in a different setting other than an eight-by-ten slightly chilled room. Guess what I discovered? They’re human! Not only did we see most of the Creston Valley’s doctors in one place and put faces to names, we also found out about some potentially interesting camping spots (who knew they camped?) along with other day-to-day observations. And no, I did not once try to solicit free information on that strange mark or weird toenail.
Everything aside, it is another small-town benefit to be able to have this group of busy professionals take an hour out of their day to mingle with citizens in a relaxed and beautiful setting, as well as having a good-sized group take time out of their day to go for a walk with their doc. I look forward to the next one.
Neil Ostafichuk is the recreation supervisor at the Creston and District Community Complex.