Raleigh parks focuses on safety skills for preschoolers

Play Smart, a long-running program, teaches kids ages 3 to 5 about safety in a "kid-sized city." The 90-minute sessions are from March to April at community centers across the city.

Posted 7:16 p.m. Mar 4, 2012 — Updated 1:26 a.m. Mar 5, 2012

Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

Raleigh's parks and recreation department prints an entire catalog of affordable activities, classes and programs for kids every quarter. Inside the Leisure Ledger, you'll find sports classes and leagues, nature programs, art workshops, birthday parties and much more.

Among the options is Play Smart, a program that the city has offered for more than a dozen years. Designed for kids ages 3 to 5 and their parent or caregiver, Play Smart focuses on teaching preschoolers about important safety skills in a fun environment. Kids learn using a kid-sized city and through a variety of games and activities.

During the 90-minute session, preschoolers move through different stations to learn safety skills. They'll learn about pedestrian safety and street signs with the help of pedal cars; run a nutrition relay; and practice spatial skills in an obstacle course. And they'll stop, drop and roll as they learn about what to do in the case of a fire.

I'm told the kids have a lot of fun.

The cost is $6 per child. Parents or caregivers don't have to pay the fee, but they are required to stay with their child. Sessions rotate among many of Raleigh's community centers. Registration is required and some of the sessions are filling up.

You can register by going to a Raleigh community center and through the city's RecLink. For questions, contact Alicia Lacombe at 831-6833 or Alicia.lacombe@raleighnc.gov or Linda Stafford at 420-2383 or Linda.stafford@raleighnc.gov.

Here's where and when the sessions are scheduled. Sessions are from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.