Category — Indoor Playtime

Here’s a guest post from Rose. She didn’t get around to sending one before I went to Disney, but she sent this along when I whined earlier in the week. In fact, I was lazy and didn’t even add the links. Thanks for letting me slack off, Rose!

Most of the time, I concur with Katie’s “embrace winter” philosophy. After all, we live here. Year round. And if anybody should be able to handle the challenges of the northeast, it should be us. We are tough. One time I showed up during a snowstorm for story time and there wasn’t one. Because the schools were closed. What did I know? I have one toddler who is not in the school system. I’ve biked with my (well-bundled) toddler in 40 degree rain. I’ve heard that people in Alaska say that there is no such thing as weather that’s too cold. It’s simply a matter of dressing properly. My philosophy is that if I wait for perfect weather at this latitude I’ll go outside a couple of times a year. And that’s not cool. So to speak. But sometimes it’s too vicious outside for even me. And when cabin fever sets in, here are some options outside the house:

Colonie Center Mall. This one is probably obvious. Wide open(ish) warm spaces, a padded play area, and a food court (snacks!) But think about the other things you can do: run the kid around on the second level. Looking down a story is really neat, especially if you can keep them from climbing over the railing. Also, going up and down the escalators can be the toddler equivalent of an amusement park ride. When the play area is overcrowded (which happens a lot on nights, weekends, and really nasty days), we will often visit the train table in Barnes and Noble’s children’s section. If you’re lucky, you might even be able to watch a kid-friendly movie at the theater.

Wilton Mall in Saratoga. Depending on where you live, it might be a drive, but if you want to change it up, this mall features a soft-surface play area that’s double the size of the one at Colonie Center. That area is free. There is also a bouncy-bounce area that you have to pay for, but from my understanding it’s open year-round and can be a great way to burn off older-kid energy.

The Empire State Plaza. If you have a cooped up kid who just wants to stretch their legs, the Empire State Plaza is a great place, especially after regular business hours, when most of the people in suits are gone. Here’s what the place offers: a. Long, long corridors with the occasional bench and interesting store. b. The State Museum, where admission is a voluntary donation. They occasionally have kids programs, and they have a discovery area where little kids can just play. c. For older kids, you can always take a free tour of the capitol building. d. The carousel is open during certain hours, and did I mention?  More escalators!

The Children’s Museum at Saratoga. I haven’t been there yet. I’m saving it up for this winter. 5. Other museums. Check your local library. Many have free passes to local museums.

Libraries. Lots of local libraries have play areas with puppets, train tables, and puzzles. The East Greenbush Library has a room with a Lego table, a nice selection of wooden blocks, a couch for parents to sit on, and a whole parenting collection (including parenting magazines) to peruse. Full disclosure? I work there. And it’s awesome.  Libraries also offer lots of free programs for kids of all ages including storytimes and many sessions wrap up with playtime or a craft.

Paid places to play. This includes Tumbling Tykes in Colonie, Joyful Jumpers in Latham, The TreePaad in Malta, and places that offer gymnastics and swim lessons. I don’t go to these often, because it can really add up, but it’s nice to know they are there.

Inside the House

A really miserable day might mean you can’t leave the house at all. So here are some things to try:

Bring outdoor toys inside. We’ve hung a plastic bucket swing from the rafters in our basement, brought a small plastic slide into our dining room, and filled the kiddie pool with balls to make an indoor ball pit in our kitchen. Obviously this won’t work for all toys or all indoor spaces, but depending on what you’re working with, it could be worth a shot.

Play with your food. Depending on the age of your child, they might be able to help make a special recipe. You can also plop a toddler in the kiddie pool with measuring cups, spoons, and a bowl of dried rice or beans.

Bring out the special toys or activities. These can be toys you’ve hidden for a while (they suddenly become new), or messy projects like finger painting, home-made (or purchased) play-dough, or other usually off-limits arts supplies.

Indoor water fun. Pull out the bath and bath toys or pull up a stool and let the kiddo play in the kitchen sink. Of course, they would need to be supervised closely. But water will keep my little one fascinated for ages.

That’s what I have for now. I’d love to hear your ideas. With snow in October, this could be a long winter. Who’s ready to face it? We are!

How cute is this? J decided to draw a “map” to plan her day the other morning.

Sort of clockwise from lower left, that’s:

• Swing on tree swing
• Shop with mom at grocery store
• Lie down on bed
• Go to piano lesson (she climbs stairs up to the house)
• Jump rope
• Ride bike
• Read bedtime stories

Yep. That about covers it. It’s a good life!

As for our day today, we beat the heat by skipping the pool and visiting My Place to Play near us in Rotterdam. I’ll be writing a bigger review later for Kids Out and About (have you signed up for the newsletter yet? little yellow box, lower left), but for now, a couple of pictures:

M getting super-competitive with the air hockey:

J doing some bouncing:

Funny: just looking at those pictures made me laugh. Clearly, the girls have inherited my calves!

Alright, I don’t know where the heck I’ve been all summer, but today I finally discovered that there’s a new indoor playground in East Greenbush called MiMi’s Kids Club.  Luckily for everyone involved, I figured it out mere hours before her gala make-your-own-sundaes Family Event tonight from 3-7 pm.   Who doesn’t enjoy some free ice cream?

If there are readers out there who’ve noticed possibly fun places like MiMi’s and have wondered why oh why Katie is so slow and hasn’t figured it out yet, please, look within yourself and ask, why oh why didn’t I tell Katie so that she could share the fun? Please, think of the fun karma you could be receiving.  I just don’t want you to miss out.

Meanwhile, I’m going to a school event today which includes a Cake Walk.  I hate how those nasty-tasting-but-gimmicky looking cakes always get picked first, like a grocery store cake with a food coloring rainbow explosion, or maybe one of those gooey fruit-on-devil’s-food numbers.  So I made a regular chocolate-on-chocolate cake and then pondered what I could do that was gimmicky enough to be sought-after, yet would not interfere with my Culinary Integrity. . .

Ta Da!!

That’s right, baby!!  Silly bandz knock offs!  Right?  Right?  Don’t you think that it’ll go quick?  I’m feeling optimistic. . . .

Yeah, I know.  It’s a lot of heat.  You know it’s bad when you spend an inordinate amount of time on fan placement strategy.  We have two window A/C units, and it’s not enough.

For those of you who are new-ish to the blog, I thought that it might help to get you oriented with some beat-the-heat favorites.

• Water. The post on Getting Wet has pools, beaches, spray fountains, streams, etc.
• Frozen Delights: Even if you read the original Signs of Spring post about seasonal spots opening for ice cream and grill-type food, I’ve been gradually adding links to other blogs, so it might be worth a look-see again.  Or if you want to stay home and/or be nutritionally virtuous, here’s a Smoothie Recipe.
• Movies: At Regal Cinemas at Crossgates and at Clifton Park Center, there’s the free Family Film Festival series on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (and Thursdays at Crossgates) at 10 am.  At Bowtie Cinema in Schenectady, there’s a Kid’s Club Film Series on Tuesdays and Wednesdays  at 10 am from June 22nd to August 18th.  Not free, but cheap:  I love Scotia Cinema.  I did a post on Drive-ins, too, but it’s too hot for that!
• Indoor Fun: Go to the Library.   There’s a post of Secrets of the Libraries as well as a list of my favorite Girl Power picture books.  Or go to a Bowling Alley.  Check out Small-bany and you might even get to go for free.  Or go ice skating–sounds chilly, right?   Albany Kid put together a list that includes several rinks available year-round.  Check out the Big Ol’ List of Links for sections on  Indoor Playtime Geared for School-Age Kids, Toddler Play Activities, or Museums.

Have fun, and drink plenty of water!

I’m quite proud of myself because after barely managing to scrape together that playground list, I’ve written myself directions for the future. . . now I can update it in 13 easy-to-follow steps!  Yay, me.   And 13 is my lucky number.  So I’m just feeling good all over.  I’ve also made it easier to find this little gem any time.  I’ve put the Playground List & the Playground Survey on the Big Ol’ List of Links, and it’s also over on the left-hand side, there, along with the link to my Facebook page.   Ahhhh.  I have to tell you, this is very satisfying.   M and I were doing a new 96-piece fairy puzzle this morning, and the puzzle and the playground list were similar processes for me.  First, seemed simple enough, and a lovely idea.  Then, despair when I thought I’d never get the dang thing done, and finally, a thing of beauty made all the more beautiful because just 20 minutes ago I was tearing my hair out.  Hooray.

Okay, enough self-congratulation.

Yesterday we went to Tree Paad in Malta.

The kids had a great time.  We organized with friends and negotiated a group rate, so if you can manage that, oh–you should.  The big attraction was Fort Ballocity.

Fort Ballocity

The kids ran around like maniacs.  They had a wonderful time.  Some of my mom friends also ran around like maniacs and had a wonderful time.  There were also toddlers enjoying themselves, with their moms trailing them and trying their best to shield them from the overzealous “big kids”.  I felt a little bit bad, because usually these moms probably have the place to themselves, so I’m sure that they were not loving our group, which was definitely preschool to elementary.  They do have a separate toddler area–nothing fancy, but safe.

The kids also played a game of Lazer Tag.  It’s not as dark as other places, and they had a few teensy vests.  My children don’t have a great deal of experience shooting guns, so this was new for them.  J enjoyed it, and M was frustrated because she didn’t really understand how it worked, except that she could tell that she was sucking up, big time.  And, yeah–she was.

J also did the Spider Web, because I was being Wimp Mom.

Spider Web

Originally J didn’t want to do Lazer Tag and opted for the Spider Web instead.  Then, of course, when all of her friends ran for the tag, she had a change of heart, and I just didn’t have it in me yesterday to tell her no.  This is partly because the Spider Web just wasn’t terribly exciting.  I’d say it was fun, generally, but paying $3.50 to climb up three levels and slide down a few times seemed a little bit ridiculous.  The Tree Paad folks were very conscientious about safety, which is good, but. . . I just thought that if I were J, I’d have been bummed by my choice, too.

Here’s the thing:  I’m a fan of the all-inclusive resort.  I hate having to pay for separate things.  I just spent the whole visit thinking, cha-ching, cha-ching.  There were also the many token games that you could redeem for fabulous prizes like a Tootsie Roll or a Pixie Stick in a plastic wrapper that would only open if you tore at it with your teeth.  Oy.  I also hate the over-stimulation.  I swear, if I’m in a shopping mall for more than 2 hours I start worrying that I’m going to get hives.  So by the time lunch rolled around, I decided that I had to escape and spread my money to other sectors of the community.  We skipped the food (standard stuff that would make Jamie Oliver squirm–pizza, fries, etc.) and evacuated.

I can see that on a normal weekday, it would be a nice, mellow place to take a toddler who was too little to ask for tokens and Lazer Tag. It’s also a fab-u-lous place if you want to ensure a nap for your kids later in the day.  They were completely exhausted into submission.  I overheard moms talking about how it was the Best Birthday Party Destination Ever.  And my friends who really do enjoy Lazer Tag and chasing their kids around Ft. Ballocity love it.  This is one of those situations where I’ll have to admit that, in spite of the blog, I’m not always the most fun Mommy ever.  It’s not my cup of tea.   My  kids would love to go again, and it’s worth a once-in-a-while trip.  I’ll just make Daddy take them next time.

No, neither am I.  It’s way too cold for me.  But did you realize that, during the school year, places offer the opportunity for some overnight fun?

The Children’s Museum of Science and Technology has camp-ins that cost $30/child and include activities, a planetarium show, a light snack, and breakfast.  Individuals can come to a scheduled camp-in or groups of 30 or more can schedule their own.

The New York State Museum hosts camp-ins on Friday and Saturday nights during the school year for 1st through 6th graders.  You can choose Life in a Longhouse or Once Upon a Time in New York, and a snack and breakfast are included.

USS Slater has an overnight program as well.

Yeah, okay. . . that’s all I’ve got today.  And even this was some draft that had been hanging around waiting for me to get off my butt and find other indoor camp locations.  But I’m just slacking off.   I’ve been saying that the blogging’s supplanted working out, but the truth is I haven’t gotten either done today.  It’s been a bit of a crappy day, really. My 7-year-old, who is–I know this sounds like a mother, but seriously, objectively–lovely, is currently unhappy with her appearance.

And then the suckiest mother in town managed to screw up a date so that we didn’t go to M’s art show.  Never mind that she didn’t even like the picture that they’d chosen.  She was still, rightly, very upset.  And I almost threw up my dinner when I realized last night.   I’ve been spending the day obsessively creating a new calendar system (because clearly the small weekly calendar and the Yahoo group calendars were not working) and trying to catch various  other things which are falling through the cracks.  Like the ants, which Santa chose not to have ready on Christmas.  Of all of her presents, J was most excited about her ant farm, and now it is March and the ants still haven’t arrived.  The order form was sent in December, the check was cashed in late January.  Jeez, Uncle Milton, are you freakin’ kidding me?

But wait:  there’s more.  Remember how I broke my water filter pitcher?  Well, today I bought a new one and then oh-so-cleverly left it in the bottom of my shopping cart in the parking lot and drove home.  Luckily someone turned it in, but I still had to schlep the girls back to the store to go get it.  And driving there and back, the girls were sniping at each other so much that I did one of those screech-over-to-the-side-of-the-road things.  I got out and fetched the second neck rest (this was the current argument, because my poor, delicate children are simply too weak to actually support their skulls on their necks for the ten-minute ride home) and then I leaned into the car and chided them with something along the lines of, “If I hear one rude, negative, or unpleasant peep out of either of you, I am pulling over again and we will just sit on the side of the road until everyone learns how to shape up.”  At which point I flounced down onto my seat and, I kid you not, a flurry of white feathers flew up into the air and drifted slowly down around me.

- – - – - – - -

Actually, I began that rant before dinner, and my mood has improved somewhat. M and I had a conversation that briefly touched on religious freedom, puberty, and death, and I believe that I maneuvered with a fair amount of success, so my mothering stock rose slightly from last night’s art show plummet.   Then as W arrived home I was helping J with her bath and she was just so cute coated entirely in soap suds that it was difficult not to cheer up.  And then M had lined up the multiple pages of her report card for W to inspect, and I thought, hey, I forgot all about the report card–at least she knows she’s smart.  Not to mention that she is kicking the average 7-year-old girl’s butt in push-ups.  So I’m going to quit blogging and attempt to do just a teensy bit of yoga.  Because I’m all about serenity, baby.

Wow, when it’s this cold, I just want to stay inside.  Luckily, there’s lots to do this weekend, but the freezing weather and a visit to Mohawk Commons last night reminded me that I have another list I’m working on, which I like to call  “Indoor Desperation”.  You know–for when you must get out of the house,  but it’s cold or rainy and so you’re looking for something indoors.  Now, I already have a list of Indoor Playtime spots on the Big Ol’ List of Links, but some days you just have an hour to kill, or you’re feeling cheap, or whatever.  So if you have suggestions that you think might be appropriate for the Indoor Desperation list, please do email me.

One of my best timekillers-with-little-kids has always been that strip in Mohawk Commons that includes Old Navy, Petsmart, and Barnes & Noble.  Years ago, now, Old Navy had that cute talking dog.  Last night I visited, and they had some groovy game projected on the floor that had kids kicking a virtual ball around.  In fact, one family was so busy playing that I didn’t even get a chance to try it out.  So if you need to kill some time (or you’re dying for a pair of flipflops), Old Navy is your destination.  Then, of course, Petsmart has animals.  With the under-six set, you can spend an hour there, especially if they’re grooming dogs or they have the cats out for adoption.  And Barnes & Noble!  So many fond memories from around the Thomas table.  Like the time I told 3-year-old M that she had 5 more minutes because J had a pooper.  And, like, 3 different adults stumbled over each other to offer to watch M so that I could go change the pooper right away.  Wow, thought I, she must smell extraordinarily bad.  Poor little stinkball.

Anyway, we’re heading out to store up an insulating layer of fat, ourselves.  On Saturday mornings, we usually split up for classes and then spend a little Quality Time and lunch as a date, 1 parent per child.  But this week my cute husband has another engagement, so we girls are headed over to the Golden Phoenix.  While it’s not overwhelmingly authentic, the buffet has kid delights like dumplings and mandarin oranges and jello, while I get some Mongolian barbecue.  And we all appreciate a self-serve ice cream machine.  And J could easily spend half an hour at the little fish pond if I ever let her–it would be great for killing time if we ordered food, but there’s no need to kill time.  Nothing like a buffet for immediate gratification-yum.

Stay warm!

Perhaps you all think that I’ve been Slacky-McSlackster because it has been the longest stretch ever that I’ve gone without a post.  Au contraire!  I am systematically going through all of those links I put together to try to get on everyone’s email lists and RSS feeds to serve you better!  And it all takes more time than I expected, of course.  So I was sitting here working on this and it occurred to me that perhaps you didn’t pore over the entire link page (like I did).  Therefore, may I please call your attention to some items that I am excited about?

Albany Art Room As soon as I found this I started hearing about it everywhere, like on NPR and linked hither, thither, and yon.   But before that I’d never heard of it.  A bunch of art supplies, do what you want.  Also clay and pottery classes for kids.  It sounds like the kind of thing that’s more about passion for art than making money, so I just want to support it and go.  It’s on our list, can’t wait to try it.

Hyde Collection I’d heard of this museum, and in all fairness, I used to work in an historic house, so it’s my cup o’ tea.  But poking around their website made me excited, because I have a feeling that they’ve got an attitude that I like.  First, suggested donation!  I love it!  And not just because I’m cheap (although you know I am), but philosophically, I think that luring people in, making them love you, and then asking for money is the way to go, if it’s at all economically feasible.  And then, they have a regular weekly free after-school art program.  I like that. I wish more places would do that sort of thing, especially because as a former museum educator, I know how grateful people are.  I could rant about this for several paragraphs, but I’ll save it for another day.

Treepaad Fun Center Okay, I was torn on this one.  When I stumbled on the website, I was all [insert celestial sounding, "AAAAHHHH!" here], wow, looks so fabulous.  And then I was looking at prices and the fact that it was in Malta and I was pondering, hmm, is it worth it, I wonder?  And then I came to post, and what was in the comments from my lovely friend Hollow Squirrel?

Katie, we just returned from a most fantastic 5th birthday party up in Malta at TreePaad. You must bring the girls up to check it out. I’m not sure the cost (since it was covered for the party), but it’s a GREAT outing. We didn’t play LaserTag, but we played games in the arcade (takes tokens and all the games worked, unlike some arcades around here). They have a huge 2 story climbing/sliding/shooting balls area that was great fun for adults and kids. My 20 month old enjoyed all the areas, even the kiddie area with lots of cool, clean climbing/tumbling mats and a train table. The place also serves food (the pizza was actually nummy– I even asked where they got it) and the toys that you can score with the tickets were pretty decent comparatively! They also feature a build-a-friend station and many side rooms for birthday parties. I promise it’s worth the drive up to Malta. Oh, and did I mention they will even do adult parties with alcohol?

So, there you have it–gushing!  And I noticed that during February break, they’re doing a 2 hours for $20 unlimited activities deal.  Uhh, it’s still some cash, but for a couple of times a year (particularly during the fearsomely cold week of February) maybe worth it?  Although perhaps it will be a mob scene?  Well, I’m up for a trip sometime. . . who’s coming?

If anyone wants to weigh in on one of these, I’d love to hear about what you thought.

Finally, one item for tomorrow is that there are free Music Together classes in Loudonville: check out Heidi’s Place for more info.

On a Saturday I took J to dance with Ginny Martin. The lessons are wonderful—Ginny is a warm and positive presence, the children are uninhibited and joyful, and, unlike many dance classes, there’s no prescribed dress code except bare feet. I sat with a friend who had two daughters—one attending class, and her sister, who was not yet old enough to enroll. Little sister pulled off her shoes and socks so she could be barefoot like the dancers, and she watched intently, entirely absorbed. It’s true that she’s too young to participate in the class and feel successful (that’s what Ginny would say), and lucky for everyone, she’s still content to watch. But eventually the desire to dance and participate will be overwhelming, and sitting on the sidelines for 45 minutes will be torture.

When you have a very small infant, you can stow the precious child in the infant car seat and carry her around like a rather heavy, clunky handbag.  Your older child can spend some blissful time pretending like that new kid doesn’t exist (oh, wait, was my kid the only one who felt that way?   Why did all the other big siblings cover their babies with kisses?). It’s an excellent transition time. Then, sooner than you might expect, your baby will be grown-up enough to have strong opinions about your activities.

Back when J was a tiny infant, I took her along with me & M to Tumbling Tykes. This was Tykes “old school”, before Stacy bought the place, back when Marcy was usually the teacher. Moms would casually park their infant car seats in a corner and gossip while the toddlers had fun. But at a certain point, leaving the child parked just didn’t seem nice anymore. No problem, I thought, I’ll pop her in the Baby Bjorn.  Now, I don’t know if they still do it, but back then, there was a rather threadbare puppy-dog puppet, Tyke, who would dance about on Marcy’s hand welcoming each child by name, often complete with a kiss. The kids loved it. But the problem was, Tyke only welcomed the paying customers. I could certainly understand Tyke’s position.  And yet.  J was probably only 5 or 6 months old when I realized that she was watching the puppet attentively, looking forward to a sweet little puppy cuddle and greeting, and then watching the fleabag pass her by with no acknowledgment whatsoever. You could see her teensy infant confusion—can Tyke see me? I’m somebody, too, right? It was heartbreaking. And next thing I knew I was forking over money for a “gym” class for a child who could not even walk.

Tumbling Tykes was (and probably still is) a terrific mixed-age activity for the very young set, if you’re willing to fork over the cash. Same with Music Together and similar music programs.  It’s an opportunity for everyone to do something fun together, even if they’re enjoying it on different levels. Singing and dancing together is a great bonding activity at our house—we do a lot of it.   Sure: during class, will you spend part of the time nursing or diaper changing when your toddler urgently begs you to participate?  But that’s how it is all the time, everywhere.

Is it possible that what’s super-fun for your bigger child is just way too much for the infant? Alas, yes. For a little while, I was doing some activity followed by a trip to the wonderful Guilderland Library.  Unlike many of the libraries I’d visited, their storytimes included two of my favorite elements together: mixed age group and the elusive drop-in (instead of registering ahead for a program).  I used to go on Thursday mornings with Miss Barbara, and the reading/music/more reading/film/craft was simply unbeatable. For the first few months of J’s life it was fabulous, and then, without warning, J began shrieking uncontrollably at the end of each storytime.  In the library.  Every single time we went.  We just had to quit going for a while—it was way too stimulating.  A few months later J had matured a bit. We picked up again and everyone could enjoy the activity.

It’s pretty rare to find an organized activity that’s exactly appropriate for both of your kids. They’re probably at least a year apart, and a year means a lot when you’ve only racked up two or three of them so far. And yet your sanity requires that you come up with some things to do. Casual, open-ended activities might work best—of course playing outside is terrific, but it can be tough to come up with stuff indoors. Indoor playgrounds are an excellent option. My girls were always big fans of Joyful Jumpers. Come to think of it, I love it, too, especially because there are comfortable couches for the grown-ups to sit and/or nurse on, and you can eat snacks or lunch, too—a plus now when it’s too cold to picnic. It might be worth it to invest in a family membership at a local museum, especially since many museums have special programs for free or reduced admission elsewhere. For example, as members of the Schenectady Museum, we were able to visit the Boston Children’s Museum and Boston’s Museum of Science as well as Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ–all for free!

Finally, there’s the glorious playgroup. Getting together a good playgroup, even if the ages of the children are pretty mixed, might be the best & cheapest way to keep everybody happy during the long winter.  In fact, it’s well worth its own post, one of these days.