SANDPOINT — With Lake Pend Oreille School District students out of class Oct. 3-4, working parents will be making plans to ensure their kids are supervised. Thanks to a new city program, that task has become easier.

Sandpoint Parks and Recreation will hold its first non-student day camp next Thursday and Friday — a pair of 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. days of games, crafts, and other activities. The camp will be the first in a series of activity days designed to keep kids busy on weekdays without class. 

“We want to give them a place to go where they're learning something, and they have other kids to play with,” said Katie Bradbury, Sandpoint’s recreation services superintendent and organizer of the camp. 

The inaugural camp will be held at Sandpoint Community Hall and overseen by Bradbury and high school student counselors. Activities for the days could include group games, a visit to Creations for Sandpoint, or a trip to the park. 

“We just want to try to keep them busy throughout the day — give them options and things to do,” said Bradbury. 

In addition to providing activities for local kids, the program doubles as a practical way for parents to have their kids supervised. 

“We're trying to make it affordable to be able to have a place for children to go,” Bradbury said. “I know when I was a babysitter, it was $5 an hour or something like that, and that is definitely not the case anymore.” 

“The recreation department has a great scholarship program,” Bradbury added. “All (parents) need to do is tell us that they would like to use our scholarship fund.” 

If residents demonstrate interest in the program, Bradbury plans to continue to hold camps throughout the year. LPOSD has six more non-student days scheduled for this school year; students will have numerous weekdays off during the district’s Thanksgiving and winter breaks. 

Bradbury also envisioned moving the program to the community room at the James E. Russell Sports Center when the facility opens and expanding offerings to cater to middle and high school students. 

“Everything is kind of coming into place for that area,” Bradbury said of Travers Park. The area features tennis courts, baseball and soccer fields, and a newly expanded skatepark, and is within walking distance of Sandpoint’s public library. 

“I'd like to really give it a solid shot, if this is something that the families of Sandpoint need,” Bradbury said of the future of the program. 

“I feel like Sandpoint is a blank canvas for me as a recreation professional to keep creating these programs and throw some ideas against the wall to see if they stick.”