The Harrison Township Recreation Commission has partnered for a decade with Kennedy Fitness and Wellness in Mullica Hill to help kids learn to swim and host seasonal aquatic programs in a winter session set to kick off in January.
“It’s for children only,” said township Recreation Coordinator Sharon Chew. “It starts with babies, and we also have a developmental swim team that is non-competitive. I reached out to them (Kennedy Fitness) over 10 years ago about starting this program.
“By partnering with them, a portion of the proceeds go back to recreation,” she added. “The lessons are group lessons in order to make it more affordable to people. It’s another added service that we provide for families.”
The price of each lesson varies according to an attendee’s age. The first two age groups – water babies of six months to 2 years old and toddlers 2 1/2 to 4 years old – are each $115 per child. The third age group, children ages 5 to 7, is split between a beginner and intermediate group; both cost $170 per child. The cost of the final age group, 7 to 12, is $180 per child.
Parents can register their children for one of three days, Saturday, Jan. 7, Sunday, Jan. 8 and Tuesday, Jan. 10. The first two days are restricted to water babies, from 10 to 10:30 a.m. on the first day and 10:30 to 11 a.m., on the second. Toddler/Pre-K is from 10:30 to 11 a.m. on the first day and 11 to 11:30 a.m. on the second.
For Jan. 10, water babies and toddlers will have a combined class from 3:30 to 4 p.m., followed by the beginners of the age 5 to 7 group from 4 to 4:45 p.m. The intermediates of that group will have their class from 4:45 to 5:30 p.m.; the day will close out with the developmental swim team class from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m.
“It (the aquatic program) is extremely popular,” Chew noted. “It’s parent participation for the water babies and toddlers, which gives them a chance to bond with their kids. They love it.”
Registration is available online with a link the Harrison Township Recreation Commission provides on its Facebook page. Signups are first come, first served, with 10 slots for each class.
There will also be a spring aquatic session whose dates and times have yet to be determined. In total there are three sessions for the fall, winter and spring. There are no sessions in the summer.
