Tiny Tots Play and Learn Series Begins

Pearce Community Center is offering Tiny Tots, a series of six-week classes for ages two to five years, beginning the week of February 10. Each class in the series offers age appropriate activities to help develop the cognitive, physical and social skills of children as they play and learn.

The Monday Play ‘N Learn class is offered from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and includes song and dance, arts and crafts, ABC’s, 123’s, and story time.  This class allows the parent or babysitter to drop off children or observe the instructor-led class. The parent or babysitter must stay in the center but is allowed to leave the class area.

Evening parent and child classes, offered from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., promote togetherness while playing and learning alongside each other. Big Fun Gym is offered on Mondays. Activities include sports games, mat tumbling and obstacle course and interactive circle time. On Wednesdays, Music ‘N Motion participants will sing to childhood favorites, dance along to the beat, interact in movements games, and play a variety of sounds on creative instruments. 

The cost of the class is $15 for Foundation members; $20 for members; and $30 for non-members. For more information on the Tiny Tot series, or to learn how to become a member of Pearce Community Center, call (309) 274-4209 or visit Pearce at www.pearcecc.com.

Tiny Tots Play and Learn Series for Ages 2 to 5

Babysitting Class Offered at Pearce

Pearce Community Center is offering the Safe Sitter® program, a six-week babysitting class, beginning Monday, February 3, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for ages 11 to 17.

The class will develop knowledge of first aid, rescue skills, and behavior management techniques as well as provide the experience to handle medical, behavioral, or household emergencies. Participants will also learn how to feed and diaper small children and create their own personalized toolkit of activities, crafts, and games to take with them to babysitting jobs. The class will conclude with hands-on experience babysitting at Pearce, mentored by trained staff.

The cost of the class is $30 for Foundation members; $40 for members; and $50 for non-members. Register for the Safe Sitter® program at Pearce.

For more information on the class, or to learn how to become a member of Pearce Community Center, call (309) 274-4209 or visit Pearce at www.pearcecc.com.

Safe Sitter Babysitting Class at Pearce
Begins Monday, February 3

Severe Weather Impact

All morning group fitness classes have been cancelled; however, all afternoon and evening classes will be held.

PCC member Taylor Larson is collecting teddy bears for the annual 97.3 NASH FM Teddy Bear Drive, and Pearce is proud to serve as the drop off point for her efforts. Please bring new teddy bears with tags still attached to our lobby by Thursday, February 6.  Taylor’s box is decorated with hearts—you can’t miss it.

This cause is especially dear to her as she received one of these bears during a stay at Children’s Hospital several years ago. That bear comforted her when she was scared, and she wants to give that comfort to other sick children.  

Teddy Bear Drive donations

No School on Monday!
What Will Your Kids Be Doing?

Your children will be out of school on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but you probably still have to work. We're offering day camp for kids in grades K-6th. Your children will enjoy swimming (bring a swimsuit!), arts and crafts, our Exergame room, and gym time under the supervision of our trained counselors. Camp runs from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., but we also offer before camp care for a small additional charge. Stop in to register or call us at (309) 274-4209. 

Lots of Activities for Seniors each Friday at Pearce

Seniors are invited to participate in a variety of activities.

9:30 a.m. - Line Dancing on the stage, free to members, $2 non-members
10:00 a.m. - Bingo offered by Meals on Wheels in the Community room
6:00 p.m. - Cards including pinochle and hand & foot, held upstairs in the senior room, free.

Play pinochle every Friday night at 6pm at Pearce

School's Out Monday, January 20

IVC School District 321 will be closed in observance of Martin Luther King Day on Monday, January 20. What are you going to do with the kids?

Pearce Community Center's
School's Out Day Camp
Monday, January 20

Register now for Pearce Community Center's Day Camp, a fun-filled day of activities designed for children in K-6th grades. Depending on the weather, your kids will enjoy gym time, swimming, outdoor games, Exergame room, library, field trips to local parks, playgrounds, arts and crafts, and much more. Bring a sack lunch, swimsuit and towel, a smile, and be ready to have fun.

Camp is staffed by trained counselors with a 7:1 counselor to child ratio. 

Camp begins at 8:00 a.m.; however before camp care is available beginning at 6:30 a.m. for an additional fee. Campers must be picked up by 6:00 p.m.

Per Child Day Camp Fees:

• Foundation Members $27
• Members $30
• Non-Members $45

Space limited. Advance registration required. 

De-Mystifying CrossFit-Style Training

About ten years ago, fitness enthusiasts created a high intensity training program in order to reach even greater strength and endurance goals and named it CrossFit. Over the last two years, this training method has been added to more than 6,000 facilities across the country. ESPN now covers the annual national competition.

Media representation has created a popular perception of CrossFit practitioners. They are typically men, 20 to 35 years old, in extraordinary physical condition, with ripped abs and bulging biceps. “That perception couldn’t be farther from the truth,” explains Pearce Community and Fitness Center program manager and personal trainer Liz Thorp. “In fact, it’s harmful because it scares away people who could really improve the quality of their life. This style of training is customized to each person’s unique fitness and ability level. We have all shapes and sizes of 16 to 67-year-old men and women in our classes.”

CrossFit-style training does not contain a set of super-secret exercises that only elite athletes can perform. It is functional training—training that improves your ability to complete everyday tasks—but the objective is to build intensity with the help of an individualized training plan, the one-on-one attention of a personal trainer, and the encouragement and support of other class members who are also pushing themselves as hard as they can.

“Our class size allows us to offer an average ratio of four students to one trainer, providing the focus and personalization of a personal trainer as well as the encouragement of your comrades,” explains Gavin Sullivan, sports and league manager and personal trainer at Pearce. “Each day we develop our workout of the day. It’s the first thing my students want to see when they arrive for class.” Some workouts are cardio-focused, while others are focused on strength. Each one includes weight lifting, whether it’s equipment or body weight exercises like lifting yourself during pushups and sit-ups. “It’s the load, intensity and duration of the weight lifting that determines if the exercise is strength or cardio focused.” Rowing and biking are part of the training as well as running both inside on the track and outside weather permitting.

CrossFit-style training at Pearce is led by Sullivan and Sean Gillen. Both are certified personal trainers, and both earned bachelor degrees: Sullivan in sports management and Gillen in exercise science.

 

Pearce remodeled the free weight room about a year ago to facilitate this specialized training style. The remodel created more open space to facilitate the camaraderie between participants, a trademark of this training style. It also brought new multi-functional equipment to reduce the space required to accommodate many pieces of equipment for each type of training. 

The 70,000-square-foot Pearce Community and Fitness Center offers an indoor swimming pool and a wide variety of group exercise programs including Zumba®, Spinning® and Silver Sneakers®. Pearce also offers two gymnasiums, an indoor walking track and one of the area’s largest weight rooms. Before and after school programs, day and summer camps, and soccer, basketball and volleyball youth leagues for kids are also available.

Pearce Community and Fitness Center is located at 610 West Cedar Street in Chillicothe. For more information, visit www.pearcecc.com or call (309) 274-4209.