Activities for young children aren’t always easy to come by, but starting later this month, parents can take their young ones to the Prairie du Chien Department of Parks and Recreation’s Tot Lot program for some summer fun.

Tot Lot runs from 9–9:45 a.m. every Wednesday from June 17 to July 22 at Lochner Park in Prairie du Chien. The program accepts children between the ages of two and five. It’s a sister program to the Rec Department’s Little Explorers that runs in the winter.

Sara Ross started the program four years ago to give children an activity where they can interact with their peers to develop social skills before getting into school.

“They’re learning to play with other kids instead of alongside,” said Ross. “Talking with those parents, Little Explorer was really the first experience they had, and then they would [bring their kids] to Tot Lot as well, and those were the first interactions their kids had with kids outside of the family.”

Ross’s program isn’t just playtime; she has designed Tot Lot and Little Explorers to help kids work on communication skills and give them opportunities to learn about the world around them.

“Every session, I’ll do a story with them, then a movement activity and then a craft. For the last five to ten minutes, they just go play,” she said.

Each week there will be themes for the kids to explore. This year, the list includes pirates, pets and construction. Ross expects to have some special guests as well, such a therapy dog named Mocho.

“He’s going to come and help the kids learn what you need when you have pets, how to take care of them and more,” said Ross.

She added that the program is beneficial for the parents because it gives them time to socialize with other adults.

“They see other adults and not just other kids, and that makes a huge difference. For mental health, it’s amazing for adults, too,” she said.

Parents who would like their children to participate in the program have to pre-register. The cost for the program is $15 for city residents and $25 for non-residents. The program has 15 total spots. As of the printing of this article, Ross said there were 11 spots available. Children must have a parent or guardian with them during the program.

For updates on the program (including announcements regarding inclement weather), Ross encouraged participants to check the Department of Parks and Rec’s Facebook page for updates and announcements. The program meets at the Hoffman Hall in case of thunder and lightning.