This Week's Tour

This week's stop on the tour is a new Metro Park- Scioto Audubon. Typically, I don't put Metro Parks on the tour because we are always doing their programming (see below for additional informtion on that!) http://www.metroparks.net/ParksSciotoAudubon.aspx

There is an amazing climbing wall and many other fun things to do in this park. I love the urban feel this park has with it being so close to downtown!

Programming:

If you have not experienced programming with the Metro Parks- I encourage you to do so! They have specific 'Preschool Programs' (all which are FREE!!) and there are more family programs as well. Typically, the Preschool Programs are fine with siblings coming along and I think they are some of the best programs around. Some you need to register for in advance, others are open and you just show up! The entire schedule can be found here: http://reservations.metroparks.net/programs/

As with most activities, you will find some parks that you will prefer over others. Our favs are Inniswood, Battelle, Highbanks, and Sharon Woods. The others are great too- but these parks are a good hour of crafts, songs, nature education and I feel they go a bit more above the other parks.

When making plans to visit- make sure you read what is needed. Some classes require you to wear closed-toed shoes or that there will be a hike involved. Most of the times, these hikes aren't for strollers. And don't think because it is cold outsite you will be inside! Dress like you are planning to be outside no matter what the weather is like! (Speaking from experience!!!)

We try and go to every program we can with the Metro Parks. I hope that you will do the same! :)

Toy Story 'Little Green Alien' Cupcakes on a Rainy Afternoon!

After a couple of rainy and super-hot days, we decided to make the most of our indoor fun! Going with a theme of Toy Story....we watched Toy Story 2 and made 'little green alien' cupcakes!

I used a chocolate cake mix and used foil cupcake holders. I colored the icing green and used the following for decorations:
*Mentos for eyes
*cut up green sour gummi bears (poor guys....) for the ears, antennas
*black gel icing

The boys loved helping and there was plenty in this project each of them can do. Originally, the idea came from Family Fun Magazine, but I did edit it a bit because of the boys ages (3 and 5) to make them easier to get the same look. I iced the cupcakes for them and let them go to town on the decorating. I made one 'example' and let them do the rest. One alien only had two eyes and there were some other differences, but in the end- they looked cute and tasted great!! :)

High of 95 today....

http://www.10tv.com/live/content/weather/weather.html

Today is suppose to have a high of 95 with an air quality alert. We are suppose to be playing at the All Children's Playground in Worthington http://www.worthington.org/services/cityparks.cfm. Please use your own judgement based on how your kiddos act towards heat.

Some alternatives if you would like to stay out of the heat:

Firefly Play Cafe- geared towards ages 2-5- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=853729874#!/pages/Columbus-OH/Firefly-Play-Cafe/123559237656633?ref=ts&ajaxpipe=1&__a=23, located just south of Morse Rd on High Street. Additional information is provided in the previous post.

Library- Did you know Columbus Metropolitan Library was named the '2010 Library of the Year'? And there is many good reasons for that. They have great summer programming at each branch. Schedule of events can be found here: http://events.columbuslibrary.org/evanced/lib/eventcalendar.asp?Lib=ALL&dt=sd or for the Worthington branches here: http://www.worthingtonlibraries.org/. You can also look for craft books there that offer many 'supplies that you have on hand' crafts and games to do.

Carriage Place offers $1.50 movies: http://www.cinemark.com/theater_showtimes.asp?theater_id=172

Local malls all have indoor play structures



COSI - Cosi.org









Next week we are visiting Huber Village Park in Westerville: http://www.westerville.org/Portals/0/Huber%20Village.pdf. Hopefully the heat wave will be done with by then! Thank you to all who are making this a fun and successful event!

$1 Movies On Tuesdays At AMC

I heard about this last summer, but it was only Easton that did the showings. Then I heard that Lennox was also doing the showings. So, I decided to go today with a friend at Lennox and it was wonderful! The movie was 'Monsters Vs. Aliens' and admission was $1 a person! Plus, there wasn't very many people there at all, where at Easton it was really crowded! I thought I would pass this along to anyone is is interested! We will be planning to go on most Tuesdays as long as it fits in our schedule!

http://www.amcentertainment.com/smc/

Schiller Park- still on!

It looks like the rain is going to stay away! So we will go to Schiller Park! See everyone there!! http://www.10tv.com/live/content/weather/weather.html

Possible Rain Tomorrow???

Well, the weather does not look good for tomorrow- however, I want to stay positive!

However, if it does rain, I am hoping to post by 10 am if we are moving the playground and I will post it on the blog. If there is rain, we will be playing at Firefly Play Cafe in Clintonville. The play cafe isn't open to the public yet- so it will be a fun little sneak peak to what will be offered! I will post details more in the morning if we are playing there for sure.

If we do end up at the playground, tomorrow is Schiller Park in German Village. This isn't a huge playground, but there is a lot of open space. We will bring the soccer ball again and if anyone else wants to bring balls or other outdoor activities, that would be great too! http://germanvillage.com/visitors-center/stroll/schiller-park

Our tie-dye plans were delayed from last week due to no running water, and I don't believe Schiller Park has any either. I do know that Fancyburg (next week's stop) does have running water, so that will be the next time to tie-dye!

Thanks to everyone who is making this successful!!

Fun at Homestead!

Today was wonderful! Thanks to all who came out! Please post a comment if you did attend so I can remember who you all are! I think we had around 30!!

Next week is the wooden playground at Olde Sawmill Elementary School (Olde Sawmill Park). Directions are here: http://www.mapquest.com/maps?name=Olde+Sawmill+Park&address=2460+Sutter+Pky&city=Dublin&state=OH

We will plan on bringing tie-dye materials again so please bring anything else you would like dyed! I think the tie-dying was a success and a lot of the kids enjoyed it! My hands are still a little stained, but nothing that won't go away soon enough!

Some people asked, and this is the initial kit I bought at JoAnns. I did also bring some Rit Dye and mixed those in as we went along. The kit runs $29.99 but I used a 50% off coupon and this was cheaper then buying the bottles and tablecloth, etc separate. http://www.ilovetocreate.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=b4eb23ed-38de-409c-8907-30a096d3490f It's called SuperBig One-Step Tie-Dye Kit.

Follow-up instructions with the tie-dye:

*Let dry before you take off the rubber bands.

*Once it's fully dry, was in a mild detergent with cold water (Woolite, free and clear, etc) and dry (dryer or hang to dry) before you wear it.

I found this site to be a great resource: http://www.wildflowerdyes.com/howtotiedye.html

A lot of people I think enjoyed the activity. Any feedback would be appreciated! Also- I would entertain the idea of having an activity at each 'stop' of the tour if this is something you think the kids would enjoy. They would be small craft projects, etc for them to remember each park by. Thoughts?

Thanks again to everyone who came out! It was a lot of fun! Hope to see you all next week too!

~Jaylene

Homestead Park- Kick Off Party

This Thursday will be the big kick off party for Columbus Playground Tour 2010!! I am hoping a lot of people are able to make it. If you would like, please bring a shirt or other white clothing item to tie-dye. We will have all of the supplies available to help the kids make their item very colorful.

We will be visiting Homestead Park http://www.wtwp.com/parks/homestead.asp and we will be meeting by the large playground. For those of you who haven't visited Homestead before, it's an amazing park with a lot of different sections. The area will be meeting and playing at is the first large playground on the right when you pull in. (there are two smaller ones on the left when you drive in, but keep going!). There is a large shelter house there as well that has bathrooms and some picnic tables. There is also a large sand box as well.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions- jaylenemarie@yahoo.com

First Tour Stop!

Although it was raining in the beginning, we still made it to the park! Fryer Park/Discovery Park is a great park with a lot of interesting play equipment. They have a music area with chimes and other percussion instruments the kids all enjoyed. There is also a sandbox- but it was too wet to play in it!

Tomorrow we are visiting the Columbus Arts Festival downtown and going to the Pearl Ally Market. The Arts Festival is free and Pearl Ally Market always has great live music and they both are kid friendly!

http://www.gcac.org/about-gcac/press-room/hands-on-art-activities-for-entire-family.php

In Case Of Rain....

If there is rain on any of these days after June 21st..... our back up plan is to play at the new Firefly Play Cafe in Clintonville.

I will update the blog when a decision is made that we will be moving locations. We do still plan on playing on the playground if there is clouds and a chance of rain. If there is thunder/lightning, obviously we will change locations. I'm using what I call 'pool rules' as far as weather goes. If anyone has any questions, feel free to email or text me. I check both thru my phone- jaylenemarie@yahoo.com or 614-270-9336

Website: http://www.fireflyplaycafe.com/

$5 for kids over 2
FREE for kids 2 and under and any grown up

Free Wi-Fi

Kids must wear socks. If you forget, you can purchase a pair for $1 at Firefly.

Become their fan on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=110458238973966#!/pages/Columbus-OH/Firefly-Play-Cafe/123559237656633?ref=ts&ajaxpipe=1&__a=12





Address: 4822 N. High Street, Columbus, OH 43204


Phone: 614-596-0179





They are a modern indoor play space that has custom designed play areas kids can enjoy while drinking coffee, tea, reading a magazine or chatting with friends. They are opening soon! :) If you have any questions, feel free to email me!

Columbus Playground Tour Schedule

We will be planning on meeting at 11:00 each Thursday. Many of us are planning on packing a picnic lunch to eat afterwards!!

June 3rd- Fryer Park (Discovery Park)- http://parks.grovecityohio.gov/cityParks/communityParks/

June 10th- Homestead Park- Big Kick Off Party! Sarah and I will be bringing tye-dye materials. Bring what you would like to dye and we will help you! This will help everyone in the group recognize who is in the group. http://www.wtwp.com/parks/homestead.asp

June 17th- Olde Sawmill Park at Olde Sawmill Elementary School- http://www.mapquest.com/maps?name=Olde+Sawmill+Park&address=2460+Sutter+Pky&city=Dublin&state=OH This playground is wooden.

June 24th- Schiller Park in German Village- http://germanvillage.com/visitors-center/stroll/schiller-park

July 1st- Fancyburg Park, Upper Arlington- http://www.uasupersite.com/ParksUA.htm

July 8th- All Children's Playgroun- Worthington- http://www.worthington.org/services/cityparks.cfm

July 15th- Huber Village Park, Westerville- http://www.westerville.org/Portals/0/Huber%20Village.pdf

July 22nd- Goodale Park, Victorian Village- http://friendsofgoodalepark.org/index.asp

July 29th- Scioto Audubon Park- http://www.metroparks.net/ParksSciotoAudubon.aspx

August 5th- Selby Park- Worthington- http://www.worthington.org/services/parks_recreation.cfm

August 12th- Carriage Place Park- http://parks.columbus.gov/Facility.aspx?id=25594

August 19th- Park Of Roses- http://parks.columbus.gov/Facility.aspx?id=25948&terms=park+of+roses

August 26th- back to Homestead Park to play in the water area! http://www.wtwp.com/parks/homestead.asp

A Little Introduction

Last year a friend asked me if I was interested in joining a 'playground tour' where each week they visited a different park around Columbus. Being a nanny, I am always looking for different things to do with kids and I'm always looking for new places and new friends to occupy our time. We enjoyed the playground tour so much that we we looking forward to it for this summer. When my friend told me she was going to be gone most of this summer- I decided to plan this years Playground Tour!

This years Playground Tour will kick off on June 10th at Homestead Park. For the first three weeks, we will bring materials to tye dye tshirts. Bring whatever you would like tye dyed and we will help you make it colorful! tshirts, tank tops, shorts- whatever you would like! We will also have the shirt screen printed with the tour information if you would like too.

This group is open to everyone- moms, dads, nannies, or any other caregiver. Come every week or just a few times. After the summer is over, we will still plan weekly get togethers for those with younger kids.

Also on this blog, I am hoping to post other ideas of things to do with kids that are either free or frugal. So check back often!

If you have any questions, comments, or park ideas, please feel free to email me at jaylenemarie@yahoo.com

Looking forward to a fun summer!