Tag: Activities for Kids

Escaping the Dog Days of Summer

Salem Willows Park Sign
The dog days of summer have officially begun, and the heat that is associated with the season is definitely upon us. In fact, if you’ve been anywhere in the Northeast over the past couple of weeks, you’ve probably been watching your thermometer melt (if it hasn’t just quit on you in an outright act of defiance) as your next door neighbors attempt to cook their breakfast on the sidewalk. Fortunately, if the forecasts for this weekend are even remotely close to correct, the next few days should be a whole lot nicer. As a result, you may want to use this time to get out and enjoy the weather before your thermometer goes on strike again. And, if getting outside while it’s cool sounds like a good plan to you, you may want to check out one of the big summer festivals that is scheduled for this weekend.

First, if you’re a big fan of seafood or you just like hanging out by the ocean, you may want to head over to the Salem Willows this weekend. This is because the Salem Willows Seafood Festival begins today (July 11, 2014) at 12:00 P.M. This festival, which will run until 10:00 P.M. on Sunday, will give you and anyone you feel like bringing with you the opportunity to try some of the best seafood on the North Shore, to watch cooking demonstrations, to peruse a variety of items from local artists and merchants, listen to music from a variety of local bands, and entertain your kids with games and other activities. The festival will also feature fireworks, a lobster roll eating competition, and more. For more information on the Salem Willows Seafood Festival, please visit the Fest Events website.

Secondly, if you’re not really all that into seafood or you’re just a much bigger fan of the tried and true New England tradition of eating ice cream until you explode, WGBH may have the festival for you. This is because WGBH is hosting their annual FunFest tomorrow (Saturday, July 12, 2014) from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. This festival, which is definitely aimed at the younger crowd, will allow you and your children to choose from a wide assortment of ice cream favors while you listen to music, play games, and meet some well-known children’s characters like Arthur, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Curious George. For more information on the WGBH FunFest, please visit the WGBH website.

Photo credit: peretzpup / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Learning Can Be Fun

Learning doesn't have to be this way. It can actually be fun.
Learning doesn’t have to be this way.  Contrary to popular belief, it can actually be fun.

If you live anywhere in the United States, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ve seen the slogan “Reading is FUNdamental” somewhere.  In fact, this slogan, which was created by a literacy group called Reading is Fundamental, Inc., has been in wide-spread use since 1966.  As a result, anyone under the age of 48 has quite literally had their entire lifetime to  hear the organization’s motto and, hopefully, recognize its meaning.  However, even though reading is essential to our understanding of the world around us, it is not the only way that people can have fun learning new things.  You may, therefore, be interested in some of the ways that you can learn new things and have fun at the same time this weekend.

First, have you and/or your children ever wanted to design your own car or another similar type of vehicle? Well, if you have, the Boston Society of Architects (BSA) Space will give you the chance at its monthly Family Design Day this Saturday, January 11th from 10:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M.  This month’s BSA Space’s Family Design Day, which is entitled Rights of Way: Mobility and the City, will allow children ages 5 to 13 and their parents to see how people move through the city, how the city itself has changed as a result of the way people move, and how future changes to the city and the transportation system may improve the way everyone moves from place to place.  Best of all, each family will be able to use the information that they learn from the exhibits to design their own vehicles out of recycled materials.  For more information on the program and/or to register for the event, please visit the Family Design Day Eventbrite website or the Learning by Design in Massachusetts website.

Secondly, if you and/or your kids aren’t really into cars or architectural design, but you’re always up for some science, there’s no better place to go than the Museum of the Science.  The Museum of Science, which is open every day from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.  (with some special nighttime shows on weekends) will give your entire family the opportunity to learn about animals, color, computers, dinosaurs, energy conservation, engineering, light, lightning, mapmaking, math, nanotechnology, optical illusions, the tools and methods that scientists use, the universe, weather forecasting, wind power and other types of renewable energy, x-rays, and a whole lot more.  For more information on the Museum of Science, the events that are currently taking place at the Museum, and/or to order tickets, please visit the Official Museum of Science website.

Finally, it is important to remember that there is one thing that you may want to avoid if you are planning to head into Boston with your kids this Sunday, and that thing is the “T.”  Why avoid the “T” you might ask?  Well, you see, this Sunday is BostonSOS’s and Improv Everywhere’s Annual No Pants Subway Ride.  This event, which is exactly what it sounds like, will have a number of people riding the subway throughout the day in their underwear.  As a result, unless you want your children to learn that people are really weird (and potentially scar your children for life), you may want to find another way into the city.  For more information on how to avoid the Annual No Pants Subway Ride or, if you’re crazy enough, participate in it, please visit the Boston No Pants Subway Ride Facebook page.

Photo credit: Jean Marc Cote (if 1901) or Villemard (if 1910) / Foter.com / Public Domain Mark 1.0

Keeping Your Kids Busy During The Holidays

Lacing Up The Old Skates

With Christmas less than two weeks away, the countdown has truly begun. In fact, most parents and children are now running around faster than their electric meters in anticipation of the arrival of Old Kris Kringle. As a result, many mothers, fathers, and other guardians are currently in the process of trying to figure out how to alleviate some of their children’s excess excitement before they go out to get the gifts that their children are so excited about. Fortunately, if you are running around trying to find a way to keep your kids busy or, at the very least, find a way to keep them from tearing your house apart, there are a couple of holiday events this weekend that are sure to help.

First, if your children really love to see all of the holiday decorations and/or you prefer holiday decorations when their attached to someone else’s electric meter, the Somerville Illuminations Tour may be the way to go. This tour, which begins at Somerville City Hall, will allow you and your family to see all of the decorated houses in East or West Somerville (depending on the tour your choose) from the comfort of a trolley car. Best of all, you will not only be able to see all of the lights without driving around aimlessly, but will also be able to enjoy coffee, cookies, hot chocolate, kid’s crafts, and music while you wait for the trolley to arrive. For more information on the tour, which runs from 4:30 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. on Saturday (December 14, 2013), please visit the Somerville Arts Council website.

Secondly, if you’re looking for something to do later in the weekend or you had a traumatic experience with holiday decorating at some point (perhaps you never found the one bulb that burned out), the Charles Hotel in Cambridge may have the event for you. This is because the Charles Hotel is officially opening their ice rink on Sunday and, in honor of the occasion, the Hotel is hosting an Ice Rink Opening Party from 12:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. This party will allow you and your family to skate for free, drink hot chocolate, watch professional skaters demonstrate their skill on the ice, and keep your kids busy with arts and crafts if skating really isn’t their thing. For more information on the Ice Rink Opening Party at the Charles Hotel, please visit the Ice Rink Opening Party’s Yelp Page.

Photo credit: Minnesota Historical Society / Foter.com / CC BY-SA

Friday Fun: Salem Heritage Days

There’s no question that Salem, Massachusetts is typically associated with witches as even the city’s police cars have the image of a witch emblazoned on them. In fact, the city’s police cars not only have the image of a witch, but also have the words “The Witch City” clearly printed below the word “Salem” in almost every logo. As you might guess, this fascination with the witch hysteria (or this hysteria about the hysteria if you will) has caused the month of October to become the city’s big draw because everyone wants to be in Salem for Halloween. However, even though the city is already preparing for the festivities that will occur in a couple of months, there is an event that started this past week and will continue into the weekend that is more aimed at the local crowd than the tourists that come for the witches. This event is Salem’s Heritage Days.

Salem’s Heritage Days is a week-long celebration of everything that Salem has to offer. The celebration, which began last weekend and runs until this Sunday, features an antique car show, a comedy show, a Jazz and Soul Festival, a Kid’s Night with rides and games, music, a street fair, a women’s 5k run that includes wine and chocolate for each of the runners afterwards, and a bunch of other events. Best of all, these events are just the events happening this weekend as part of the festival and most of the events are free. If you’re interested in finding out more about Salem’s Heritage Day celebration, you can find all of the information you need and more on the City of Salem website.

Friday Fun: Easter Weekend

It’s Easter Weekend – a time for the devout amongst us to reflect on ourselves and a time for the children and the not-so-devout amongst us to hunt for Easter eggs, scarf down candy, and hug people in giant bunny suits. Unfortunately, baskets, egg hunts, and bunny suits don’t put themselves together on their own, and you may be running around like the chicks that are often associated with the holiday trying to put together some Easter-related fun at the last minute. In fact, if you’re one of the parents who forgot about Easter entirely, since it’s a little on the early side this year, you may be desperately seeking a way to keep your kids entertained without straining your bank account. Fortunately, if you’re looking for an inexpensive way to entertain your kids this weekend, you’ve come to the right place as here is a list of some of the Easter activities that your kids may enjoy.

First, if you’re looking for an Easter egg hunt, but you just don’t have the time to set one up yourself, you may want to check out your local mall. A lot of malls have special events this weekend, including Easter egg hunts, opportunities to meet and get a photo with the Easter bunny, Easter crafts, free stuff, and a whole lot more. For more information on these events, check out the website for your local mall or take a trip to your local mall’s activity board (they’re usually located right outside the entrance to the mall or right as you walk inside the mall.) If you don’t live near a mall or there are no malls with special events in your area this weekend, you may want to try one of the larger farms in your area. Some local farms will actually have Easter egg hunts and other spring-related activities this weekend as well.

Secondly, if your kids are into art, you may want to check out some of your local museums. A lot of museums have special exhibits and/or special events this weekend, including Easter-related artwork, kids arts and crafts, and other similar events to keep your kids busy and, hopefully happy, this weekend. In fact, if you can’t find a museum with any special exhibits or events, you may want to look in your local newspaper or use your favorite search engine to see if there is an Easter arts and crafts fair in your area. There are a number of large Easter-themed arts and crafts shows this weekend, and many of these shows will not only allow you to buy handcrafted Easter items, but will also allow your kids to make them.

Third, if you’re not really concerned with the cost of the outing and your kids are big fans of food, you may want to consider an Easter brunch. Many hotels, local cruises, restaurants, and other similar venues offer an Easter breakfast with more food than you could possibly ever eat, arts and crafts, music, a visit from the Easter bunny, and/or any of a variety of other similar activities to keep your kids entertained. However, you should be prepared to leave your wallet at the door because these events tend to be on the pricey side.

Finally, if you really can’t afford to go anywhere or you’re just looking for something to keep your kids entertained while they’re sitting at their grandmother’s house, you may want to consider bringing along your tablet computer or your laptop. There are a number of sites with Easter-themed activities and games to keep your kids entertained for as long as you need, including:

Primary Games – Easter Games

Girls Go Games – Easter Games for Girls

Kaboose Easter Activities

And

DLTK Easter Activities for Children