The Rappahannock Area YMCA is pulling out all the stops to make sure the summer of 2022 is about being active, making friends and learning new things for Fredericksburg-area children.

 

Summer Camp is Back!

The traditional YMCA summer camp experience is back in 2022. YMCA camps are a lot more than just childcare. Campers from kindergarten through fifth grade enjoy a wide variety of activities, including games, arts and crafts and sports. In a positive, fun environment, they’ll make new friends while learning new skills.

In 2022, YMCA summer campers can look forward to enjoying exciting off-site field trips to experience new places and sights. Camps provide a constructive environment for children to build social skills—an opportunity that was hard to find during the past two years of the pandemic. YMCA camps also place an emphasis on preventing summer learning loss.

“Children can lose up to three months of learning during the summer,” said Alicia Kindred, Executive Director of the Ron Rosner Family YMCA in Spotsylvania County. “We incorporate stem and literacy into our camps to help close that gap.”

Children will also learn valuable lessons about teamwork while making crafts, playing games and having plenty of fun. Camps run 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with extended care hours available at an extra charge.

Camps are available at these convenient locations throughout our region:

• Caroline Family YMCA
• King George Family YMCA
• Massad Family YMCA (Falmouth)
• Ron Rosner Family YMCA (Spotsylvania)
• Chancellor Elementary School
• Winding Creek Elementary School

Registration is limited, and interest is high, so be sure to sign up early. Find more information and register at family-ymca.org/child-care/camps

 

Runners, Start Your Engines!

Making fitness fun is a key ingredient for promoting a healthy, active lifestyle from a young age. Running a mile sounds a lot more fun when your child can do it on the same oval racetrack that sees stock cars zooming at high speeds.

On July 10, the stock cars will stay in the park as the kids take to the 0.4-mile oval track at Dominion Raceway in Caroline County. This youth running event features the “Runners, Start Your Engines” timed 1-mile race for children of all ages up to 18, the “Stock Car Racers” untimed half-mile run for children 10 and under, and the “Mini Racers” quarter-mile run for the 5-and-under set.

All runners will enjoy the family-friendly atmosphere at Dominion Raceway and run to a checkered-flag finish.

In the mile race, the top three male and female finishers overall and in each age group will receive awards. Events start at 9 a.m. Sign up by June 20 to guarantee your child’s preferred T-shirt size. Registration for the 1-mile race is $20 per child; registration for the half- and quarter-mile runs is $15 per child. Get a discount of $3 per runner when registering 3 or more at the same time.

Find all the details and register at family-ymca.org/programs/race-series.

 

It’s all at the Y!

The Rappahannock Area YMCA is your destination for healthy summer fun for the entire family!

Our branches also offer:

• Swim lessons for ages 6 months to adult.
• Up to three hours of childcare for parents to work out on-site.
• Yoga, spin and other group fitness classes for adults.
• Branch-specific youth classes in tennis, gymnastics and other sports.

Learn more and join today at family-ymca.org