By Samantha Pond, Contributing Writer

The Farmington Recreation Department by Sam Shirley.

The Farmington Recreation Department by Sam Shirley.

    While school-age children are finding themselves stuck at home without access to activities and sports, the Farmington Recreation Department has stepped up to bring the community together.

    Farmington Parks and Recreation, also known as Farmington Parks and Recreation, is an organization that provides activities and facilities to all members of the community. This organization is where children often attend after school programs, sport practices, and fun activities. COVID-19 has created unforeseen struggles within the organization, but they have found a way to bring the community together through the Internet.

    The Farmington Parks and Recreation Facebook page has become an outlet for the community to learn new things, have access to arts and crafts, and partake in fun activities. Marissa Goodwin, a second year student at UMF, has been a part of the Farmington Recreation Department for two years now. She has also been a part of providing an outlet for children online. “We started creating online videos of all sorts of things so that the kids could watch them and learn new things,” Goodwin said. “We have all kinds of things like cooking, exercising, ice fishing, sign language, yoga, and the list goes on.”

    Each activity targets a wide range of people, not just the youth of the community. Parents can also learn new things from the short videos alongside their children.

    The videos have become weekly for the recreation department. At the beginning of each week one can find a day-to-day schedule of activities to watch for free. The Facebook page also provides updates on sports opportunities and updates for the local ice skating rink.

    COVID-19 has played a role in every decision this year and definitely brought some difficulties to the recreation department, as the usual activities for the recreation department came to a halt. “The [Recreation Department] decided that it was safer not to have the after school program,” said Goodwin. “So instead, we have been extremely busy trying to think of ways to keep the children active.”    

    Although this has overall been well-received by the local community, it will always be hard to replicate in-person activities because the energy isn’t the same. “Things are a lot quieter when I go in now. Normally there is lots of noise because of the kids,” Goodwin said. “I love going to work and joking around with the kids. I miss being able to run around and play games with them the most.” 

    The Farmington Recreation Department has been constantly coming up with new exciting ideas for the community. “We recently put together a February vacation box with a bunch of activities for the children to do over break.” Goodwin said. 

    These activities have provided a break for parents who have become overwhelmed with remote learning and those who are struggling to find activities for children to be involved in. “I think the kids are getting entertainment from the videos and activities we have been putting out for them,” Goodwin said. “I think it is a really great thing, especially for the kids who don’t have a lot to do at home.”

    If community members or UMF students are interested in getting involved with Farmington Parks and Recreation, Matt Foster can be reached via phone at (207) 778-6538 or you can email the Farmington Recreation Department at info@farmington-maine.org.