The Lollipop Road

Posts Tagged ‘kids activities’

October is one of the best months to enjoy the outdoors with your kids. The summer heat has mostly faded and the fall colors have started to appear. Oh, and don’t forget Halloween – what could be more fun than dressing up in costume and getting candy! In the spirit of fall, we’ve put together five of our favorite fall activities to do with the kids.

• The best part about raking leaves is jumping in them! I like to think of this as a three part activity. First, everyone can pitch in and with their size appropriate rake, make a couple of giant sized piles. The next step is the most fun – jump into the pile, through the pile and roll around in the crinkly, crumpled mess. The final step is cool too. Everyone gets to make their own pumpkin. Buy several Halloween pumpkin plastic trash bags and fill them to the stem with leaves. They’ll make a great decoration through the holiday, then you can easily dispose of them. Who knew “work” could be so much fun!
• Let’s stay on the same path and talk about all of the cool projects that you can do with leaves. I like to think of this as the fall version of shell collecting – leaf collecting. Have a scavenger hunt. See who can find the biggest leaf, the smallest leaf, the most colorful leaf and the most interesting shaped leaf. Collecting is definitely half of the fun. Next, you can press the leaves between the pages of a book overnight (don’t use dry leaves as they make quite a mess). Now they are ready to use. You can make collages, trace them and color your own or make a placemat. Check out some other fun ideas.
• One of the outings that we all look forward to each year is the trip to the pumpkin patch. This year we chose a crisp fall day and headed out to the farm to find the best pumpkin in the whole world. We loaded up the wagon and started the hunt. Thirty-five pounds later we had two winners! The activity doesn’t end there. As Halloween gets closer, you can have a big carving event. Both of our kids love gutting the pumpkin and making all sorts of funny faces. With the inside pulp, teach the kids to make pumpkin bread or pumpkin spice cookies. One pumpkin – three activities.
• One of the more stressful activities for parents and fun activities for kids is selecting and making a Halloween costume. We’ve had a baby (our son was born on Halloween), a pumpkin, two wizards, a cowboy and a pirate. Get the kids involved and have a brainstorming session by flipping through catalogs or websites. Try to stick with costumes that are innovative and require as little sewing as possible (unless you have the talent and equipment). Shopping for supplies is probably the most stressful, but let your kids assist in the process. By getting them involved, they will gain a sense of accomplishment and their special costume will always bring back fond memories.
• Fall is a great time to do some repurposing – have the kids get together a few old toys and some winter clothes to donate to the less fortunate. Go shopping as a family and pick out a turkey and trimmings to bring to a local shelter. Donate your time helping an elderly neighbor clean their yard. ‘Tis the season to be jolly and generous. Teaching kids the rewards of giving is probably the best activity of all.

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Kids love going to the bakery. I remember when I was a kid; I used to sneak behind the counter and help myself to a cupcake. Of course, I’d be mortified if one of my kids did that…ahh how our perspective changes. While visiting grandparents recently, we had the chance to go to a bakery – or farm – or both – oh, they’re the same place. Wright’s Farm & Bakery in North Smithfield, Rhode Island offers a unique experience – a working dairy farm combined with a yummy bakery. We’re so there!

The farm maintains a herd of approximately 150 cows that produce lots of milk that is sold in their store every day. And if you go to the farm between the hours of 3 and 5 PM any day of the week, you can see them being milked.

As we made our way down a short trail to the big red barn, we weren’t quite sure what to expect. The trail is filled with wooden signs that tell you about lesser known and sometimes strange cow facts. There is also a group of picnic tables nearby where you could sit and have lunch, a snack or perhaps, a pastry? Once at the milking barn (aka the big red barn), there is a little viewing area set up for onlookers. It is quite small and can only accommodate a couple of kids or 2 adults comfortably, but it does get you up close and let’s say…utterly personal. The farm hand doing the milking that day didn’t interact with us while we were there, which was slightly disappointing, but I suppose they may have been able to answer questions if asked, but I didn’t.

After a few minutes of watching the cows at the milking machines, the kids grew restless, so we headed over to the other barn where most of the cows were penned. There were goats and chickens on the way, but I think my oldest son had cake on his mind because he didn’t seem too interested. When we arrived at the other barn, we were startled by a cow who came “galloping” around the corner of the pen! In fact, I think she may have been more frightened than we were because she almost lost her footing before finally catching herself and racing away. I had never seen a cow running up close before, so that was pretty exciting, although I did feel badly for both the cow and my youngest son, who was crying hysterically. “Not to worry”, I thought; I know how to quickly “fix” this situation.

A short walk later and we had arrived at the bakery. Ahhh, every child’s delight (and adults too)! People who haven’t been here in awhile will notice that it has been remodeled. With beautiful hardwood floors and lots of wood shelving, you take a small step back in time once you step inside. The kids, of course, ran directly to the glass enclosed pastry counters, filled with lots of yummy looking treats. While I was looking around at all of the breads, honey and specialty products, I suddenly had a vision of my 22 month-old peering at me through the other side of the bakery case. Thank goodness it was just a fleeting illusion.

After collecting our goodies, we said goodbye to the cows and thought about what tasty treats would await next time we visited. All in all, it was a fun trip for everyone. The kids enjoyed seeing the cows and who doesn’t enjoy going to the bakery? This is not a teaching farm, so don’t expect too much in terms of learning all about milking, but it is fun to be reminded about where your milk and dairy products come from once in awhile.

Wright’s Dairy Farm and Bakery is located in North Smithfield. The bakery is open M-Sat 8-7PM and Sunday 8-4PM. The cows are milked at 3PM daily.

If you’ve enjoyed these photos, please visit Photo Friday at Deliciousbaby for more.

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The idea of having a relaxing family vacation, especially when you have young kids is a bit oxymoronic.  I was reading a great article the other day that talked about how the euphoria leading up to vacation quickly wears off once you return.  It’s so true, isn’t it?  You’d like to be able to count that meltdown in weeks, but when you have kids, days or hours is probably more accurate.

Well, according to the researchers, people who described their vacation as “very relaxing” experienced a more extended period of post vacation happiness.  Hmmm, sounds great, sign me up!  Oh wait, do I still have to change diapers? 

Here are our Top 5 Tips For Making Your Family Vacation More Relaxing:

1. Plan stops throughout the day that allow the kids to unwind and have fun.  Playgrounds, parks and wide open spaces will give you an opportunity to relax while the kids burn off all of their extra energy.  Bring a snack, read a book or just indulge in some much needed adult conversation.
2. Reserve a room by the pool or other venue of evening activity so you can easily sneak away once the kids are asleep.  Bring baby monitors or two-way communication devices that can be set to always be on so you can keep close tabs on them while you enjoy some quiet adult time.  If you are cruising, reserve a cabin with a balcony; it can serve as your secret and secluded evening retreat.
3. Choose a resort or cruise line that offers babysitting and supervised kids activities.  Family friendly resorts and cruise lines will provide activities for your toddlers and teens.  Use your newly found free time to enjoy a spa treatment, sit by the pool, nap on the beach or sneak back to your room for some private time.
4. Keep it simple!  Don’t  try to cram too many activities into one day.  Choose family friendly restaurants and keep an ample stock of your kids’ favorite snacks.  Reducing expectations and allowing yourself to go with the flow will reduce stress and make your time together more enjoyable.
5. Travel with friends or extended family.  By traveling in a larger group, you can pool resources and take turns “escaping” for a few hours.  If you travel with other families, the kids will have playmates to keep them busy and it will give you a little extra free time to relax.

Traveling with kids can be a tremendous joy, but escaping the day-to-day responsibilities that come along with them may be impossible.  Be sure to schedule time for yourself individually and as a couple.  Relax, enjoy and maximize your post-vacation high!

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