Family

When it comes to teaching kids to be safe around water, you can't underestimate the fear factor. Take 5-year-old Waylon, who barely put one toe in the pool during his first swim lesson and didn't speak until his third. As his YMCA Safety Around Water sessions continued, however, Waylon became more comfortable with the water, his classmates, and the instructor. His mother was so impressed with his progress she signed him up for more lessons.

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State and National Leaders on Early Childhood Coming to Western North Carolina to Talk About How Communities Can Improve Early Childhood and Build Strong Communities Get Set Transylvania is excited to announce a workshop featuring Dr. Mandy Cohen, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Director, alongside Dr. Jeanette Betancourt Senior Vice President of United States Social Impact for Sesame Workshop at Brevard College on March 21 from 8:30-2. Dr. Cohen will be presenting the newly released statewide Early Childhood Action Plan to Western North Carolina counties for the first time and talk about how she plans to lead NC DHHS forward to improve the lives of children and families in our state.  “This plan was created through the input of nearly 1,500 stakeholders from across the state, and is informed by careful data analysis to prioritize the needs of North Carolina’s young children. We have a rich history in our state of leading the country in early childhood innovation—the Early Childhood Action Plan helps us continue to lead with a collective focus on achieving measurable goals for children and families,” Dr. Cohen said.  “North Carolina has long been recognized as a national leader in early childhood education efforts …

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Earth Day Kid’s Festival began 5 years ago as a way to bring the community together in celebration of our natural environment. A variety of environmental non-profits and organizations will come together to foster environmental consciousness and encourage our next generation of stewards to cherish our natural resources.

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Asheville Outlets will join forces with area nonprofits to host a Kids Day (And Then Some!) event on Saturday, April 13th from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Kids Day will feature interactive booths and displays, live music, games, strolling magic, crafts, balloon art, face painting and a wide variety of other family-focused events in the center and parking lot.

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Show your child’s favorite stuffed animal some love! Critter Check Up is a chance for your child to get a clean bill of health for their stuffed animal friend from a veterinarian at the WNC Nature Center. Visitors are invited to bring one plush, stuffed animal in for a vet check up between 10a.m. and 1p.m. on Saturday, February 16 th though tickets must be purchased in advance.

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Now celebrating our eighth annual, the Gnarliest Kids Adventure Race (a.k.a. THE GNAR presented by Providence Construction Group, offers kids ages five to fourteen the opportunity to experience adventure racing, alongside all of its thrill! This race is meant to expose kids to multisport events in a fun manner, while teaching invaluable lessons about teamwork, sportsmanship, and working to achieve goals in a suitable manner that they can bring with them for the rest of their lives. All proceeds from the race will benefit The Mountain Community School in Hendersonville, NC.

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This October, the Friends of the WNC Nature Center was a recipient of a $25,000 Ribbon of Hope grant from the GlaxoSmithKline Foundation to support the Center’s Outreach Education Program.

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Smart Stop, iHeart Radio-Asheville and Paramount KIA will team-up with Asheville Outlets to welcome Santa and host the official Tree Lighting on Saturday, November 17^th at 5:00 p.m.

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