Wheaton plans Family Day of Play

Sometimes the toys kids have the most inventive fun with are simple, low-tech objects.

That's why the Wheaton Public Library is bringing a small parachute to the Family Day of Play event set for Saturday, Feb. 25, morning at Hubble Middle School in Warrenville.

Kids like to wave it, roll balls on it and play tag with it, said Janet Dumas, the library's youth services department head.

The Wheaton library also will provide puzzles, kinetic sand and early literacy games, she said.

“It's an opportunity for us to get out in the community and meet families we wouldn't otherwise serve within the walls of our library,” Dumas said.

The library will be joined by 25 other vendors and agencies, including local not-for-profit and community organizations.

Family Day of Play is an annual event presented by the Wheaton Warrenville Early Childhood Collaborative, which partners with Metropolitan Family Services DuPage. It is aimed at providing fun activities for kids along with helpful parenting information for parents, said Elise Schram, the collaborative's project director.

“This event is an opportunity to recognize the importance of early learning and play as a vital component in the development of children,” Schram said. “The activities are a way to engage kids in activity while parents get information on what the various agencies offer.”

She said the Wheaton Police Department and the Warrenville Fire Department will offer safety tips. Children also will have an opportunity to play on a fire truck, she said.

The DuPage Children's Museum will bring four portable exhibits and Easter Seals DuPage and Fox Valley will present a scavenger hunt.

The Wheaton Lions Club will provide vision and hearing screenings, and health educators will be on hand to offer medical and dental health maintenance tips.

Schram said families can gather information on selecting an appropriate preschool. And all children in attendance will receive a free goody bag of school supplies, she said.

The event is funded through a grant provided by the DuPage Foundation, local sponsors and the DuPage Association for the Education of Young Children, she said.

The Wheaton Warrenville Early Childhood Collaborative is one of four such nonprofit organizations in the area. Others serve school districts in Addison, Carol Stream and Bensenville, Schram said.

“Our mission is we're trying to improve kindergarten and school readiness in District 200,” Schram said of the Wheaton Warrenville collaborative.

Take-home crafts, a magnetic tile game and an oversized building set with giant interconnecting gears will be provided by the Warrenville Public Library, said Diana Abraham, the library's early childhood librarian.

Abraham said parents will learn ways to involve their children in common household tasks, such as cooking and baking, so that children can learn and develop both motor and intellectual skills while building stronger family relationships.

“We're trying to give the parents empowerment, ways to include their kids,” she said. “It's a day of discovery, a day of play and a day of excitement.”

If you go

What: Family Day of Play, organized by Wheaton Warrenville Early Childhood Collaborative

Where: Hubble Middle School, 3S600 Herrick Road, Warrenville

When: 9 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25

Admission: Free

Info: metrofamily.org and dupagefederation.org/wheaton-warrenville-early-childhood-collaborative.html