Summer Reminders

I just signed my kids up again for Kids Bowl Free for the summer, have you signed up?
Don't forget to look back through our posts and activity list to the side for other summer ideas!

Consignment Sales

In case you read us in your Reader, without looking at our other pages, I wanted to make a special note for you to check out our Consignment Sales page. We have updated all of the dates for the Spring Consignment sales, some of which have already happened, many of which are coming up in April.

We'd love any comments on bargains you've found! Consignment sales are a great place to find gently used items for MUCH cheaper than you would pay for them new.

Enjoy shopping!

Room to Romp

The YMCA of Northern York County offers a program called Room to Romp on Wednesday mornings at 9:30 in the old Dillsburg Middle School, off of Rt. 74. It is located in the school's gym, and offers a variety of free-play options for children 1-5. At $4 for one child, and $6 for a family of 2 or more children, it is one of the most affordable options we have found for burning off our cabin fever this winter.

There are some tumbling mats and toys for climbing, and a variety of ride-on toys available for the children to play with. There is also a small basketball hoop, which one of my sons is drawn to every week.

The workers will usually get a parachute out for 10 minutes or so at the end of each session, where they let the children shake, and sit in, and run under. This is also a big hit with my boys.

The program runs Wednesdays through April 27th.

Help with Ideas

I'm making another call out there for any ideas that you may have to share.  March can still be difficult with young children if the weather is not warm enough to play outside.  On the other hand, spring offers some new opportunities for activities that we may not have included on the blog yet.  If you have an idea, no matter how small you may think it is, please sent me an email.

Also, if you have found anything useful on this website, please let us know.  It's so exciting when we discover that our work on this blog has helped others!

Thanks!

Grantham Church Sing and Play

   During the school year, Grantham BIC Church transforms its gymnasium into a play area for preschoolers and toddlers.  Sing and Play is held on Fridays from 9:30 - 10:15, or 10:30 - 11:15.  A $1 donation per family is requested.  There are 8 play centers, including a riding toy area, dress up, craft table, rice/bean/corn boxes, tunnels, etc.  In other words, your child will not be bored!  It's a great opportunity for the kids to burn off some energy especially during those cold months when you are stuck inside WAY to much. 
   After some initial free play, the children pull up a carpet square (doesn't that bring back memories?) for Circle Time, a short time of singing and listening to stories.  The children are then free to continue playing until the end of session.

That Fish Place/ That Pet Place



The stingrays in the touch pool

That Fish Place/ That Pet Place is really just a HUGE pet store, but my kids love to go and spend an hour or two.  The biggest highlight is a touch pool with probably a dozen stingrays swimming around.  My son could spend
the whole time waiting for the stringray
s to
come up so that he can "pet" them... don't worry the stingers have been removed.  This is an easy feat for adults, but for a small toddler sometimes this takes some patience since the water is just a little too deep for his small arms.  The pool also
includes several fish, and a small shark that eludes us even after several visits.  Take home pamphlets about the various sea creatures in the pool also provide an educational experience to continue learning at home.  Demonstration feedings of the stingrays are held on Saturdays and Sundays.

    Not into stingrays?  They have a room with Princess Alice, a 16 lb Flemish rabbit.  This is one big bunny!  Sometimes she is allowed to roam around the room, but whether in her cage or roaming, she is always available for petting.  This is my daughter's favorite place in the store.  They also have two ferrets that I have heard are sometimes out.  However, they always seem to be sleeping when we visit.

    Additionally, they have a reptile room, and sometimes at your request you can have them take one out to see, or you may just want to observe as a prospective customer examines a creature.  There are birds as well to watch.  In the fish room, there are a large variety of both freshwater and saltwater fish to see.  (Our neon tetra and fancy guppies came from here.)  Again, this can be very educational for a fish lover!  Maybe next time we'll play a scavenger hunt for different types of fish...

Monkey Joe's - Camp Hill, PA

We have been waiting for Monkey Joe's in Camp Hill, PA to open, and we finally got to go today!
Monkey Joe's is an inflatable/bounce gym for children up to the age of 12. The cost of admission varies from $5 for children 2 and under, up to $10 for older children on the weekends and holidays. (Weekdays are $8). This adds up a little too quickly for me to take my three children frequently, but will definitely be on our once-in-awhile list, or the we-can't-stay-in-this-house-one-more-day cabin-fever list.

There are security measures in place, where they tag each child with a numbered bracelet at check-in, and then label the parent with an identical number. Supposedly, this is to ensure no adult leaves with the wrong child. However, nobody checked my tag on the way out. I could assume that that's because my clan is easily identifiable, and nobody else would be crazy enough to walk out with 3 boys under 3. Let's go with that. Otherwise, it's just a waste of time at check-in when the kids are antsy to get to the giant colorful inflatables.

The inflatables are great. My 2-year-olds had a blast, and there were kids there maybe in the 8-10 age range who also looked to be having fun. I will say that they weren't quite 1-year-old friendly, even though they still charged for my 13-month-old. But, he did manage to have fun, anyway.

The workers are also really good - willing to help the smaller children up into the equipment, and even sliding down the slides with children unwilling, or unable to go down themselves. I should say not just "willing," but they seemed to be enjoying the children, which is always a plus! It definitely made me feel comfortable enough to not need to keep an eye on them at all times. Which really isn't even possible for me, but at least I didn't feel guilty about it. Adults are allowed to "assist" children under 4, but are not permitted to "bounce" on the equipment.

There is a snack bar on-site, and the prices didn't seem overly inflated. A large pizza was $13, and I saw one come out that looked like it would be pretty tasty. I think popcorn was 99 cents. I forgot to check the drink prices, but there was a water fountain, and the worker did give me a free cup to use for it (not always a given at places like this).

It was much more crowded than I expected for having just opened. But maybe we aren't the only ones who've been closely watching for the "Now Open!" signs.

So, while I wish they had a different pricing structure, or at least offered discounts to families with more than one child (they do offer a "frequent user" card, but it only helps those 3 and over, at $70 for 10 uses), it was a lot of fun, and I hope to take the boys again soon!