Marana Unwrapped

If you think you want to enroll your preschool-aged child in a Marana Unified School District preschool this fall, your time is almost up.

The first step is the lottery, and the deadline for the application (which is free) is March 28, 2008. Luckily you can fax the application. The schools that have a preschool are Coyote Trail, Desert Winds, Estes, Twin Peaks, Roadrunner, and Quail Run. Make sure you DO NOT drop off the application at the schools.

Once your child is accepted, you have to go through the enrollment process (which includes an enrollment fee, shot records, etc.).

For more information, and to obtain the lottery application, go to the MUSD website. The link to the application is in the column to the left on that page, along with links to other pertinent information about the preschool program.

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Today was the Easter egg hunt at Marana’s Hip Hop Holiday, and overall my daughter and I had a good time. It was hotter than I thought it would be (that Tucson sun is fierce), but there were shady spots here and there.

I was disappointed with the egg hunt, though. The 2 & 3 year old hunt was supposed to start at 10:30, but it started almost 5 minutes earlier. That may not sound like a lot, but I wasn’t the only parent running to get there when there should have been 5 more minutes to spare. It’s hard getting toddlers ready to go anywhere, so being early is great, but sometimes it’s a struggle to be on time. I’m glad I wasn’t on time. We’d have missed it.

So my daughter only got 4 eggs.

On the other hand, the 1-year-old and special needs field had too many eggs. In comparison, the 2-3 year olds were done in a few minutes, while the other field took at least 5 minutes to clear. I would suggest next year that they start on time (or even a few minutes late), and have more eggs for the agile and eager 2&3-year-olds. I’m not sure how the other hunts worked out, but I’m guessing they could have used more eggs too.

I enjoyed the clues and the hunt for the golden egg that was eventually found in a fire pit. It would be great if they had even more extra-hidden eggs for people to find.

Will I be going back next year? You bet! I’m sure it will be even better than this year’s.

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Looking for some fun for your kids on Easter?

The Continental Ranch Community Park is having its annual Easter egg hunt, Hip Hop Holiday, this Saturday, March 22, from 10a.m. to 1p.m. Children aged 11 and under will be able to hunt for eggs in certain parts of the field. Each hunt time is for a certain age range, so don’t worry that your 1-year-old will have to compete with 11-year-olds.

The free event also includes jumping castles. And no Easter egg hunt would be complete without the Easter Bunny!

Parking and a shuttle services will be at the new Rattlesnake Elementary School on Coachline.

Check out the flyer for exact hunt times for your children’s age groups. For more information call (520)382-1950. Hip Hop Holiday is a Marana Parks & Recreation event.

Stay tuned to Marana Unwrapped to find out about more events.

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Marana’s Founders’ Day 2008 was a great event to take my daughter. She’s now almost 3 and a lot of fun (and work) when it comes to outings, so when it rolled around this past weekend we jumped at it.

There was really almost too much to do for such a little one, so we concentrated on the area designated for kids. Wouldn’t you know it, though? My daughter preferred to play on the jungle gym, which she could have done any day of the week almost anywhere in town.

The highlights were the free pony ride (which my daughter decided not to do after standing in line for 20 minutes) and the tractor ride. We got to sit in one of those HUGE John Deere tractors. It was a blast, even though the tractor was stationary.

Marana really knows how to throw a celebration, so the next time there’s something at Ora Mae Harn park, be sure to check it out.

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