City built for kids

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Cole Ofman, 31/2, of Valparaiso, Ind., rings up groceries purchased by Melissa Ofman during a learning exercise called City of Learning at Woodland Park in Portage, ind. | Michael Gard~For Sun-Times Media

Updated: March 17, 2012 10:17AM

Several preschool children arrested and fingerprinted their parents at the City of Learning recently.

The event was hosted by Woodland Park Preschool in Portage, where a “city” of nearly 20 cardboard box buildings included a dentist, airport, bakery and more.

Preschool administrator Judy Taylor asked parents to construct the community buildings, and staff members to create matching activities to help children learn about each location.

“This is the first year doing this. I love the buildings,” said Taylor. “I thought it would be great for parents to interact with their child and learn some of the skills they’ll need for kindergarten, such as abc’s, letters and numbers, learning how to follow directions, learning how to hold scissors and cut, counting.”

A white building, McKena’s Cut and Curls Salon, was adorned with drawings of a hairdryer, fingernails, nail polish, scissors, comb and other items. Preschoolers entered through the small cut-out door, then sat at a table containing strips of red, yellow and brown construction paper “hair.” They drew a face on a piece of paper, glued the “hair” into place, then cut it to the desired length and style.

Ethan Levin, 4, of Portage created a Harley Davidson building, in which children played that day.

“My favorite thing was coloring the shingles for the Harley shop and spray painting the building,” said Ethan. “My dad builds buildings. I picked a Harley building because I like motorcycles. My uncle and daddy and grandpa ride Harley motorcycles.”

Upon entering the hospital and veterinarian buildings, children donned gowns and masks, then checked temperatures and listened to heartbeats of toy dolls and stuffed animals.

At the nearby grocery store, they purchased pretend food items rung up on toy registers by preschool cashiers.

Others played connect-the-planets at a space station, painted flowers at a floral shop, gave puppet shows at a theater, played with coins at a bank and more.

Melissa Ofman of Valparaiso brought her daughter Cadence, 5, and son Cole, 3.

“We’ve been playing and making things out of Play-Doh. They have enjoyed the grocery store and the hospital. We’ve made the most trips there,” said Ofman. “They were very excited to come here today. They’ve had a blast doing this. It’s great.”

Next month, parents can register children for Woodland Park Preschool’s fall semester. Children ages 3 to 4 by Aug. 1 will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Ages 5 to 6 will meet Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.