FAIRFIELD – As the temperature climbs into the 70s, kids in Southeast Iowa are already thinking about summer and spending the day at the local pool.

Though Fairfield’s outdoor pool won’t be open until school is out, its indoor pool was full of youngsters Tuesday who had come for the rec center’s Spring Break Pool Party. Kids got to play with toys that are not normally allowed in the pool, such as innertubes, noodles and squirt guns. A number of the swimmers showed off their skills on the diving board, doing flips and cannonballs.

Fairfield Park and Rec employee Jessica Sirdoreus planned this event, which was intended for children ages 8-18. She said the rec center puts on these special events throughout the summer, to give kids an opportunity to get out of the house. About once every other month, the rec center hosts an open gym for teens on Saturday night, after the rec center has closed to the public.

“We sometimes do themes, but we have figured out that the kids don’t really care [about themes],” Sirdoreus said. “They just want somewhere to go where they can go hog-wild. A lot of these kids are too old for day care, but they need to be entertained.”

Sirdoreus said the indoor pool was fortunate this year that four of its lifeguards stayed in Fairfield during spring break, and two of them opted to volunteer their time during the Spring Break Pool Party so they could get community service hours toward their high school graduation.

“Some of our lifeguards are in Florida or Colorado, and one is in Hawaii,” Sirdoreus said. “But these four didn’t have spring break plans, and we said, ‘Would you like some extra hours or to do your community service,’ and they were like, ‘Sign me up.’”

Sirdoreus said a second Spring Break Pool Party is planned for Thursday afternoon, March 14, from 1-4 p.m. Though these events don’t align with all the spring breaks in the area, it does align with the spring breaks of Fairfield and Cardinal, and students from those schools were well represented Tuesday. Sirdoreus added that some homeschool students also showed up.

Rec center staff were pleased with the turnout, and Sirdoreus said about 50 kids were waiting for the pool to open for them at 1 p.m.

“It was cool to see,” Sirdoreus said.

The next special event on the rec center’s calendar is its Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 30 at Chautauqua Park. The free event begins at 10 a.m. and is intended for children in grades preschool through fifth.