Laurel Hills Community Center

With the weather being overcast and uncertain we needed to find another indoor place to romp around.  So, on the 11th day of Raleigh Parks Christmas we went back to Laurel Hills Park to visit the community center for Tot Time.

The community center is two stories and has a few meeting rooms, art rooms, dance studio, fitness center, vending machines, and large gymnasium with two basketball courts.  The friendly staff in the lobby can help register you for classes and answer any questions you have about the facility.

The Tot Time program is for kids ages 5 and under and runs every Tues and Thurs from 10am-noon in the gymnasium.  And it’s FREE!  During Tot Time they put out large play mats, toddler slides, tot bikes, recreational equipment, and other fun toys for the kids to play with.  This is a fantastic place to bring the kids on a cold, rainy, or extremely hot day to burn off some energy.  Ashley crawled all over the gym and played with every toy.  She even tried going up the slides, slide first and crawled through the tunnels and played with the other tots. Tot time is a fantastic play option for the winter months, especially for the non-walkers!

There are several different Tot Times going on throughout the week allowing you to hop around to different places.  Here’s the schedule starting in Jan 2012. I know where we’ll be in the winter months!

  • Mon from 10:30am-noon: Glen Eden Park
  • Mon/Wed from 10:30am-12:30pm: Millbrook Exchange
  • Mon/Wed from 10am-1pm: Tarboro Rd Community Center
  • Tues/Thurs from 10:15am-12:15pm: Laurel Hills Community Center
  • Tues/Thurs from 10am-noon: Green Rd Community Center
  • Wed from 9:30-11:30am: Lake Lynn Community Center
  • Wed from 10-noon: Barwell Rd Community Center
  • Wed/Fri from 10:30am-noon: Optimist Community Center

Thumbs up: play equipment, large open space, FREE admission, indoor options for bad weather

Thumbs down: nothing to report