Henry Daily Herald

Photo by Hugh Osteen

By Johnny Jackson

jjackson@henryherald.com

Madison Norrell, 7, has stayed active this week, playing with her new friends at the Thanksgiving Break Day Camp, hosted by the Henry County Parks and Recreation Department.

"I like it because you get to play a lot," Norrell said. "You get to play on the playground."

Some 70 children, ages 5-12, at three different camp sites in Henry County, had an active few days this week with games, and arts-and-crafts projects, according to Tamara Jarvis, camp supervisor at Heritage Park. "We do a lot more outside," Jarvis said. "We're out for at least five hours a day in the morning and afternoon."

Jarvis said the youths taking part in the camp at the Heritage Park site, in McDonough, have stayed physically active, by walking the park's trails, using the playground, and taking part in relay races and team-building exercises at the Jason T. Harper Event Center.

Nine-year-old camper, Daphne Flanagan, said she preferred the more-artistic arts-and-crafts activities. However, the second-year camper said she also enjoys playing games and making new friends at the annual Thanksgiving day camp.

"It's all about the kids, making sure they're having fun," said Tina Fuss, Henry's recreation specialist and camp coordinator. "They get here at 7:30 in the morning, and when it's time to go [at 6 p.m.], they do not want to leave."

Fuss noted that the parks and recreation department-hosted day camps have become increasingly popular among parents and their children over the past five years that they have existed in Henry County. This year, she added, the parks and recreation department plans to host its first three-week-long Christmas and New Year's Break Day Camp.

It will be held at Heritage Park, 101 Lake Dow Road in McDonough; at J.P. Moseley Recreation Center, 1041 Miller's Mill Road in Stockbridge; and at Fairview Activity Center, 1035 Fairview Road in Stockbridge.

The camp coordinator said two additional locations -- at Nash Farm Park, 4361 Jonesboro Road in Hampton, and at the Locust Grove Recreation Center, 10 Cleveland Street in Locust Grove -- will be offered as camp sites dependent upon a minimum enrollment of 10 children at each site.

Pricing for the first week, Dec. 20-23, is $70, said Fuss. The second week, Dec. 27-31, will cost $90, and the third week, Jan. 3-5, will cost $50.

Camp registration can be done online at www.hcprd.org, or in person at Heritage Park, at the J.P. Moseley Recreation Center, or at the Locust Grove Recreation Center, starting Mon., Nov. 29, and lasting through Wed., Dec. 22.

For more information, contact the Parks and Recreation Department, at (770) 288-7300, or the J.P. Moseley Recreation Center, at (770) 288-7311.