A tree house of fun and learning

• Traveling Tree House

Here’s a peak at what The Traveling Tree House will look like. (Contributed drawing)

Talk about it

Coming soon to a neighborhood near you: The Traveling Tree House, offering all sorts of fun and learning for children throughout the area.

The United Way of Douglas and Pope Counties is debuting the Traveling Tree House this summer.

It will be staffed by Early Childhood Education professionals who will be taking the bus to outlying communities, offering games, opportunities for learning and reading times.

There will also be meals on board to share with the children. The Traveling Tree House is a summer enrichment program developed for pre-kindergarten through 3rd grade to enhance educational opportunities for young people.

United Way leaders are asking residents to check around their house for books as they begin their spring cleaning. Drop them off at 2504 Aga Drive in Alexandria or at Gardonville’s sites in Brandon and Alexandria.

Those books will be given away to children who take part in the Traveling Tree House experience.

Here’s the tentative schedule for the Traveling Tree House, which will be rolling through the community on June 19 through August 23.

• Tuesdays: 8:30 to 10 a.m. at Dean Melton/Fillmore Park in Alexandria; 10:30 a.m. to noon at Alexandria City Park.

• Wednesdays: 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Carlos City Park; 10:30 a.m. to noon at Miltona Community Center.

• Thursdays: 8:30 to 10 a.m. at Garfield Park-A-While Gardens; 10:30 to noon at Brandon Lions’ Park.

If you have questions, contact United Way at (320) 834-7800.

Al Edenloff

Al Edenloff was born in Alexandria and later moved to Parkers Prairie where he graduated in 1979. While in high school, he wrote sports stories for the Parkers Prairie Independent. Al graduated from Moorhead State University with a degree in mass communication and started at the Echo Press as a summer intern in 1983. He worked as a reporter until 1990 when he was named editor. He's earned several writing and reporting awards from the Minnesota Newspaper Association (MNA) and the National Newspaper Association. He was presented with the Minnesota News Council's Journalism Accountability Award and is a three-time winner of the MNA's Herman Roe Editorial Writing Award. In his spare time, Al enjoys golfing, fishing, biking, watching sports, cooking and reading mystery novels.

Tags: local news, news, reading, books, treehouse