Local children, families find fall fun at fling

WASILLA — Two-year-old Leeland Kimberly couldn’t hide his excitement. Like a puppy with giant, expectant eyes, he drops a soft, inflatable ball at the reporter’s feet and jitters while waiting to scramble off on another energetic chase.

“He loves playing with the balls. They fascinate him,” said grandmother Donna Kimberly. “He’s all over the place.”

And he wasn’t alone as one of hundreds of Valley children and parents to find healthy fun at the annual Fall Family Fling and Home Educator Fair at AT&T Sports Center. For the younger children, a constant whirlwind of tumbling, cheerleading, hula hooping and bouncing generated enough energy to power a small town.

“Right now there’s tumbling and the kids are loving that,” said Dana Ness, the sports center’s membership and marketing director. “It’s our open house to promote all of our youth activities.”

With children starting back to school last Thursday, parents are focusing attention on getting them involved in activities that will take them through until next summer break, Ness said. There are plenty of choices at AT&T, with programs like Lil’ Kickers soccer, Lil’ Hoopers basketball, Lil’ Tacklers football, cheerleading, Tiny Dancers, home school physical education classes and other youth sports.

Most of the programs are for children ages 18 months to 10 years, she said.

While smaller children had a blast running and playing in the large gymnasium, some of their older siblings and parents found their inner children as well.

Like 16-year-old Ella Van Siegman of Palmer. While her 4-year-old sister Lillie ran off to play, Ella was content to sit at a tiny child-sized table and carefully concentrate on coloring. She created a pink triceratops, a work she expressed some pride in.

“It’s pretty good,” she said. “I’m really impressed with it. I’m having a good time watching kids and people do the stuff here.”

Was Ella also the artist who colored the pastel pink momma deer with her purple doe?

“No, that one’s my mom’s,” Ella said.

“Why be normal?” chimed in her mother, Tracy Van Siegman.

Already AT&T Sports Center members, Tracy Van Siegman said her kids are already familiar with what the center has to offer, but enjoyed a fun Saturday of free play.

“They like bounce houses and things like that,” she said as Lillie scuttles away. “She just loves coming to the gym and she really has been liking the tumbling.”

As a group of children vigorously try to shake a ball off a large, rainbow-colored parachute, parents were finding lots of good information and supplies at the Home Educator Fair in the other half of the gymnasium.

“Everybody’s having a fun time,” Ness said. “We’re getting lots of sign-ups and parents are checking out the activities for their children. People are thinking about fall and winter and what they’re going to do next.”

Contact reporter Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.

• For more information about AT&T sports center and its youth programs, visit attsportscenter.com.

• For more information about home school educational supplies, contact Shannon Cullip at Shannon@akbookstore.com.