Preschool Water Play made a Splash at Champions Club after hosting its first session last Friday, February 26.
The Toddler Pool at Champions Club was filled with little ones as the sounds of laughter and splashes filled the air. The February Water Play was just the first in a series of Preschool Water Play sessions that will be available this Spring. Each event includes a variety of structured aquatic activities, followed by time for free play afterward.
While there’s no denying that playing in a toddler pool is fun, there are more benefits to allowing your small child to participate in water play than meets the eye. Let’s dive into the advantages of water play!
Discovering water helps young children develop their sense of touch. Exploring opposing textures such as wet and dry, and experimenting with changes in temperature plays a role in learning to perceive their surroundings.
Apart from learning about diverse environments, water play is an excellent source of exercise for little bodies. Wading and playing in shallow water, kicking their legs, and experiencing water resistance is a great way for kids to be physically active. Additionally, water play helps ignite children’s imagination by engaging them in pretend play. Who doesn’t love playing pirates or mermaids at the pool?
Discovering aquatics early holds multiple advantages for young children, and it’s a great way to spend quality time as a family. If you missed last week’s Water Play, make sure to mark your calendar for upcoming sessions in Spring!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Preschool Water Play made a Splash at Champions Club after hosting its first session last Friday, February 26.
The Toddler Pool at Champions Club was filled with little ones as the sounds of laughter and splashes filled the air. The February Water Play was just the first in a series of Preschool Water Play sessions that will be available this Spring. Each event includes a variety of structured aquatic activities, followed by time for free play afterward.
While there’s no denying that playing in a toddler pool is fun, there are more benefits to allowing your small child to participate in water play than meets the eye. Let’s dive into the advantages of water play!
Discovering water helps young children develop their sense of touch. Exploring opposing textures such as wet and dry, and experimenting with changes in temperature plays a role in learning to perceive their surroundings.
Apart from learning about diverse environments, water play is an excellent source of exercise for little bodies. Wading and playing in shallow water, kicking their legs, and experiencing water resistance is a great way for kids to be physically active. Additionally, water play helps ignite children’s imagination by engaging them in pretend play. Who doesn’t love playing pirates or mermaids at the pool?
Discovering aquatics early holds multiple advantages for young children, and it’s a great way to spend quality time as a family. If you missed last week’s Water Play, make sure to mark your calendar for upcoming sessions in Spring!
We look forward to seeing you there!
The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, and we are all too cool for school—that’s right, Spring Break is just around the corner!
With the arrival of warmer weather and the exciting prospect of classes being out for a week, also comes the question of what to do with the newfound free time. Luckily for Southlake students and parents, the Community Services Department is offering multiple camp opportunities to keep kids curious and engaged.
Adventures in Science Club-Spring Break
Have a future scientist in the family? Then look no further than Adventures in Science Club-Spring Break! This Spring Break camp will offer naturally inquisitive children opportunities for hands-on experiments and projects. The best part is that most of the projects completed at camp can be taken home. Open to science-enthusiasts aged 6-13 years-old, this club gives students the tools they need to succeed all while having fun!
Don’t miss out on your next “Eureka!” moment! Join us at Champions Club and sign up here.
Cross Timbers Spring Break Nature Camp
Naturalists, outdoor enthusiasts, and explorers unite! If adventure is calling your child’s name, then the Cross Timbers Spring Break Nature Camp is for you. Join us at the Bob Jones Nature Center for a week of practicing outdoors skills, hiking, crafting, and creating! Conduct exciting science experiments and learn all about Southlake’s local ecosystem and how we can become good stewards of the land.
Get in touch with your wild side and register here:
Spring Break Camp Mania
Calling all fun-lovers, creators, and young innovators: Camp Mania is back and it’s the perfect destination for a Southlake Champions Club staycation! If your child is a social butterfly wanting to learn and play with friends during Spring Break, then save your spot for Camp Mania. Join us for a week of arts and crafts, structured activities, free play, and lots of fun!
Spots will fill up quickly so make sure to get in the action are sign-up here!
Who says you need to leave Southlake to make lifelong Spring Break memories? With so many incredible camp opportunities for our youngsters, our hometown is where the most cherished experiences happen! See you at camp, Southlake!
Marianne Burton, membership services coordinator at Champions Club at The Marq Southlake was featured in Southlake Style magazine as part of their Faces of 2021 campaign.
Marianne was named The Face of Community Recreation, and her work ensuring that all Champions Club members feel like they are part of the family was highlighted.
Indeed, Champions Club strives to be the premier destination for Southlake families looking for a way to have fun and stay active together. When asked about her main drivers for going to work each morning, Marianne stated that “Our members are a part of our family. Creating a positive experience for them is what drives me.”
If you are looking for a world-class wellness experience, look no further than Champions Club. If you happen to see Marianne walking by, make sure to stop and say hello!
Congratulations on your hard work being recognized by the community, Marianne! We are glad to have you on our Community Services team!
The Bob Jones Nature Center hosted the City of Southlake’s 2nd annual Monarch Butterfly Festival on the morning of Saturday, September 26. 280 guests of all ages joined in the release of 400 monarch butterflies to celebrate the monarch migration.
The Perennial Garden Society (PGS) sponsored the butterfly purchase with a $1,500 donation. Master Gardeners from the Tarrant and Denton County chapters spent the entire summer working hard to prepare the garden beds around the Nature Center for butterfly and human visitors alike. Their hard work paid off, too, because the grounds are absolutely stunning.
With help from PGS, all 400 butterflies were “tagged” with a small sticker on their outer wing printed with a unique identification number. All butterflies released are registered with Monarch Watch, a University of Kansas research project focusing on the migration and well-being of the monarch population. Any citizen who finds a tagged butterfly can contact Monarch Watch, report the identification number, and assist researchers in tracking this year’s migration.
The monarch migration continues to be one of the most intriguing events in natural history that inspires and amazes scientists, naturalists, and onlookers alike. “Being able to partner with the Perennial Garden Society to be a part of this research project is so important for us,” said Nature Programs Coordinator Hannah Nyquist. “Southlake’s position along the migration path gives residents the opportunity to observe and aid monarchs as they make their journey. Having a combination of nectar plants and milkweed (a host plant for caterpillars) available is incredibly important for the success of the monarch population.”
This year, the COVID-19 outbreak posed a unique challenge for the event’s organizers considering the event has seen hundreds of attendees in years past. However, the Southlake Community Services team was able to successfully recreate the structure of the event in order to keep attendants safe while still hosting a beautiful and educational celebration of the amazing monarch butterfly. “At first we weren’t sure we were going to be able to have the event,” says Special Events Coordinator, Sarah Binion. “But this event is important for the community and we were determined to find a way to make the festival happen. It brings so much joy to the people who come and we didn’t want our residents to miss out. Especially in a year when so much has already been taken away, we wanted to be able to give the community this special day.”
Instead of one large gathering and a scheduled release of all butterflies at once as is typical for the festival, the event was divided into pre-registered sessions to maintain smaller numbers. Each family group was escorted to a private station where they were instructed about how to release their butterflies. This new setup inadvertently created a much more intimate and personalized setting for each group to move at their own pace, making this year’s event a truly unique experience.
For more information on how to help monarchs year-round, please visit monarchwatch.org.
UPDATE MARCH 12, 2020: Celebrate Southlake has been postponed. Read more here.
Join Mayor Laura Hill and her Alliance for Unity & Culture as they Celebrate Southlake, March 20 -22 in Bicentennial Park.
Celebrate Southlake is a community event designed to bring the people of Southlake together in celebration of our cultural diversity and inclusion that makes our beautiful city so special.
As Mayor Hill has said before, “I believe in Southlake, and I believe in anyone who is willing to stand up with me to make Southlake the best it can be.”
Celebrate Southlake events provide an opportunity and location to gather and have conversations that contribute to creating meaningful change and inclusion in our community all while enjoying food, music, performances and entertainment.
New this year will be three days of different events to help celebrate our great community. If you can’t make it to one event, there will be two other opportunities to celebrate with us!
On Friday, March 20, take some time to talk with Mayor Hill and members of her Alliance for Unity & Culture while enjoying a meal in Bicentennial Park, appropriately right on Unity Way. The Community Dinner kicks off at 5 p.m. Sit side-by-side with your neighbors, taste a variety of world cuisines and feast on engaging conversation. It’s a special opportunity to really break bread with your Southlake neighbors and get to know them. Sharing a meal is always a great opportunity to sit back, relax and take time for conversation. The Community Dinner gives you the opportunity to do just that while enjoying a variety of local cultural cuisines available for purchase.
Saturday, March 21, the fun moves to Aria Amphitheater and The Marq promenade to bring back the cultural festival that started Celebrate Southlake three years ago. We invite you to “Travel the World” with us and visit cultural booths. While you’re learning more be sure to get your Celebrate Southlake passport stamped. The passport will make the perfect keepsake to commemorate all the different cultures that make up Southlake. When you’re not learning more at the booths, take in some of the cultural performances and entertainment. Some of the entertainment will include Indian music and dance, the music of China and much more. Kids and adults will enjoy lawn games and various interactive cultural activities.
Celebrate Southlake wraps up on Sunday, March 22 at Champions Club with a family-friendly trivia competition. Teams of six will compete to answer questions and prove their knowledge of local and world history and culture all while enjoying small snacks and refreshments. Prizes will be awarded each round, with the last team standing taking home the grand prize.
We hope you will save the date and join us. This promises to be a special weekend so tell your friends and neighbors and we hope to see you there. For more information, please visit our website or give us a call at (817) 748-8019.
Are you a fan and frequent visitor to the Southlake Public Library? You’re in good company.
In 2019 alone, the library received more than 135,000 visitors.
According to a recent Gallup poll, Southlake isn’t the only city across the country receiving attention from visitors. The survey, taken from December 2-15, 2019, revealed that Americans visit their local public library an average of 10.5 times per year. That’s nearly twice as much as attending a movie at a movie theater, which occurs at a rate of 5.3 times per year.
A quick stroll through Southlake’s Public Library, and you’ll understand its popularity and draw. From free coffee or tea to reading nooks for children and adults alike, the library has a cozy, quiet atmosphere. It also has a host of resources for all ages, including computers, meeting rooms and, of course, stacks of books.
If the book stacks are intimidating, you might ask the library staff for help locating a book or even reading suggestions. If there’s a younger reader with you, the team might suggest checking out their most popular book, Barbie: A fairy secret, which has been checked out 1,093 times!
While books may line the walls, the library offers much more than just reading material.
“Our goal is to make the library a fun place for discovery and a welcoming place to spend time,” Cynthia Pfledderer said. “We look at every aspect of the Library and ask – how do we make this the best it can be with our available resources?”
For staff members, improvement at the library is always a moving target because the needs and interests of the community are continually evolving.
“Fortunately, our staff is energized by the challenge. We love finding new ways to delight our patrons,” Cynthia said. “There’s just no substitute for knowing your community, and the trick is to stay connected to them so the ideas come organically.”
Items available for check out at the Southlake Public Library include audiobooks on CD, eBooks, eAudiobooks, digital magazines, DVDs, music CDs, magazines, business journals, online research databases, and online children’s books. Library cards are available to Southlake residents with a proof of residence address or property ownership. Children under 16 years old must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to obtain a library card.
The Southlake Library is located on the first floor of Town Hall in Southlake Town Square at 1400 Main Street, Suite 130, Southlake, TX 76092. The library is open Monday through Thursday from 10 am to 8 pm, Friday and Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm and closed on Sunday.
For more information on the Library, visit https://www.cityofsouthlake.com/93/Library.
February is Black History Month! Join us at the Bob Jones Nature Center and Preserve on Saturday, February 15 from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. to honor the legendary Bob Jones. Guest speakers will discuss his legacy and ties to the Southlake community.
Jones was a former slave, husband and father who became a prosperous landowner and rancher in the Roanoke-Southlake area.
He and his brother purchased 60 acres of land now known as Roanoke from their father in the early 1860s. He later relocated to Denton Creek where he started a cattle and farming operation.
Between the late 1860s and early 1870s, Jones was one of the largest landowners in the area, owning over 1,000-2,000 acres on the Tarrant-Denton County line. Some of that land is located under Lake Grapevine.
By 1875, Jones married Almeady Chisum and they had 10 children together. Due to ‘Jim Crow’ laws, his children could not attend schools with white children.
In the 1920s, Tarrant County created districts for “colored” schools. Jones donated an acre of his own land and built Walnut Grove School. The school later closed around 1951 because the seven students enrolled eventually had to attend junior and senior high schools, which were located in Fort Worth.
Jones was held in high esteem by both whites and blacks throughout the area. His legacy will always be remembered throughout Southlake and Tarrant County.
The Legacy of Bob Jones event is FREE, but registration is required, please register online here.
Apex Arts League and Texas Winds Musical Outreach announce an upcoming Chamber Music Concert.
“Mozart and More: Musical Gems for Oboe and Friends”
Sunday, Feburary 9, 2020
6 p.m.Grace Chapel at White’s Chapel UMC
Tickets, $20 adults, $15 seniors/Apex members, $10 children/students, are available online at apexartsleague.com or at the door.
The concert will feature Eric Barr, Principal Oboe Emeritus of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, performing famous works of the Classical repertoire, including a movement from the Mozart Oboe Quartet; as well as melodies by Gershwin and Berlin that will encourage humming or singing along.
This program will then travel to several North Texas nursing homes, hospitals, cancer clinics, and Head Start centers as part of Texas Winds Musical Outreach. The mission: to engage, comfort and celebrate the spirits of isolated seniors, hospital patients, veterans and children in North Texas through live, professional musical performances.
Join us for this “Gem” of a performance and learn more about how Texas Winds “turns dining halls into concert halls,” taking live music out of the concert hall and bringing it directly to people who have little opportunity to experience it.
About Apex Arts League
Now in the 13th season, Apex is dedicated to presenting world class arts talent to Northeast Tarrant County. Variety, close to home, affordable. Apex is also looking at potential arts space in the community.
Apex Arts League and OnStage in Bedford are pleased to announce “Radio Theater Live.”
The dinner theater will take place Thursday, January 30 at 7 p.m. at The Marq Southlake. Doors will open at 6:45 p.m. Seats will be assigned.
The theater will bring back the days when families sat around the radio. Historically, radio drama depended on dialogue, music and sound effects to
help the listener imagine the characters and story. With the addition of the finest local thespians on the stage, it is sure to entertain. Expect drama, intrigue, humor, cool sounds and old tim advertisements.
A full dining experience hinting to 1940s family dining with a contemporary twist will be provided by City Kitchen. Wine will be included.
Get your tickets at Apexartsleague.com for $45, $40 for Apex members.
Apex brings excellence in the arts to Northeast Tarrant County. Music, dance, theater, art, film. Something for everyone. Close to home. Affordable.
ONSTAGE in Bedford is a volunteer-based theater providing accessible, diverse and high quality live entertainment to North Texas.
For details, ticket sales and more, go to ApexArtsLeague.com
