Helpful Mom

Kango Play Center wants everyone to come and play for free at Kango Play Center on Friday, February 5th. The rules are simple. Post your Facebook Status as “I can go to Kango Play Center”, print the page out and bring it in. Your printed page will serve as a coupon for free admission for the day.

Science Playhouse at the MOST

A couple months ago I went to the MOST in Syracuse, NY for the first time to visit a friend who was moving away. It won’t be the last time I take the girls either, they just loved it.  The MOST is the Museum of Science and Technology in Syracuse, NY.   It is much smaller in size compared to the Rochester Science Museum but it is packed with hands on displays and great play areas.  The girls absolute favorite is the Science Playhouse which is this enormous climbing structure that is about three stories tall and big enough in scale for adults to climb through too; think a McDonald play center structure on steriods.  (Don’t forget your socks)  This museum is definitely geared more toward the preK-grade school set of kids, although teens would probably still get a kick out of the Playhouse if they aren’t already too cool for that kind of thing.  In addition to the Playhouse there are giant models of body parts, a Discovery cave which includes a dinosaur dig site, and the most amazing replicas made entirely of toothpicks.

Dinosaur Dig at the MOST

The museum is open Wednesday-Sunday from 10am-5pm with extended hours on Saturday for the IMAX theater.  During some holidays and school breaks the museum may be open on Monday or Tuesdays, check their website for dates and hours. Admission for adults is $5, kids 2-11 are $4, and Seniors 65+ are $4.  Members for the museum are free and they are part of the Science museum receprical program so we were able to get in free with our Rochester Science museum membership.

They do offer a variety of Omni movies on their IMAX screen which cost $9 for adults, kids and seniors are $7.  Or you can do a combo of admission to the museum and a movie for $11 for adults, kids and seniors are $9.  This museum has an interesting membership perk you can sign up for for only $15.  It’s their IMAX Passport which allows you to watch all the regular IMAX movies as many times as you want all year long.

Toothpick Replicas

If you are planning a visit here you need to make note that there is not a cafeteria or restaurant onsite.  There is a small cafe area which offers a number of vending machine but these are only stocked with drinks and snacks no actual food.  There is a small microwave provided though along with plenty of tables and chairs.  You are permitted re-entry if you want to leave to eat and come back as long as you keep you receipt.

Also the museum does not have it’s own parking lot so you have to either find a parking lot, which costs about $6-7 for the day, or find on street parking which is limited to 2 hrs. And meters are free on Sundays.

We loved it so much the girls begged for days afterwards to go back again.  It is an easy hour and a half drive from our home in Henrietta, NY.  But even though we get in free with our membership we do still have to pay gas and tolls to get there so we haven’t gone back til this last week when we took along friends.  I bet they will be going back too.

My kids aren’t always tired when it’s time for bed.  A friend of mine suggested that they have their kids listen to Adventure in Odessey on the radio at bedtime.  We have embraced this idea and it works fairly well for us.  We got the girls CD players for their rooms and a few CDs that they love to listen to again and again.  Telling them to lay down and listen to the songs or stories til they are done is usually enough to get them to relax in bed and by the time it’s finished they have fallen asleep.  It’s not without it’s cons.  We have to drag the CD players on vacation with us cause it’s tradition, but tradition does help make a strange place more homey.  And of course some nights getting them to pick which CD they want can be frustrating.  But over all the benefits out weigh the cons.

And to keep the stories and songs fresh, we borrow books on tape or CD from the library.  They also have large selections of songs for kids.  My girls are currently loving a book with CD of American Folk Songs, they have to take turns each night trading it back and forth.  Or you can download podcasts of Adventures in Odessey from Focus on the Family and burn them onto CDs.

This is my annual event to not be missed for any reason.  My favorite garage sale and the biggest one around is the Ronald McDonald House sale.  It’s coming in October, don’t have the dates yet will post as soon as I know them.  Right now they are preparing to accept our donations for sorting and pricing.  You want to donate because you get a special invite to a donor only sale before the general public can go in.  This is a crazy night of long lines, think day after Thanksgiving type lines!  But the selection of stuff is unbelievable, I bring my bookcart and fill it with all kinds of treasures.  Anyways whether you want to go to the donor sale or just want to clear out some clutter make a trip to donate.

Saturday, September 19              9:30am - 2:30pm
Wednesday, September 23       10:00am - 6:00pm
Thursday, September 24          10:00am - 6:00pm

*  Non-compliant cribs, or any infant car seat
*  Children’s swimming pools
*  Waterbeds, mattresses or box springs
*  Mini blinds, vertical shades or traverse rods
*  Skis & Ski Boots
*  Driveway Basketball Poles
*  Tires
*  Magazines, textbooks & encyclopedias
*  Medical Potty Chairs
*  Pianos & Organs
*  Records
*  Old TVs, computers, monitors, copy machines
*  Old, heavy microwave ovens
*  Electric typewriters
*  Major appliances
*  Construction materials/remodel removals
*  Pianos and organs

Darien Lake theme park car load deal!  Bring as many people as there are seatbelts in the car for one price!  Just $29.99 plus tax for as many people fit in your car with seatbelts.  No buses.  This week only thru Sept 4.  Open 10:30am-10pm.

What is a WeePeat sale you ask?  It’s a children’s consignment sale, of all things children.  Selling quality, like new kids stuff such as toys, baby equipment, books, DVDs, and clothes.  Located at the Dome Arena on Calkins Rd in Henrietta, NY.

Friday, September 25 9am-6pm

Saturday, September 26 9am-4pm

Sunday, September 27 9am-12n    50%off sale

There is an admission to enter the sale cause it’s in the Dome, $3 on Friday for 18yr and older, $1 on Saturday, and FREE on Sunday.  There is an ad on page 71 of the Genesee Valley Parent(which you can get free at most library branches) which will get you a dollar off admission.  Also check out their website to see how you can sell your stuff at the sale.

I’m looking forward to the movies tomorrow. Last year I took them to see “Veggie Tales Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything” and it was great with the kids. They don’t turn the lights off all the way so you can see to take your kids in and out to the bathroom, and they don’t stop you from bringing your kids food and drinks in with you. It’s free so if your kids can’t make it through a whole movie you don’t feel too bad leaving early. And it’s a great place to hide out in case of heat or rain. And I get to sit and rest before having to get back to playing with the kids again, a welcome break.

For movie listings in your area check out their website, Regal.

Today we went exploring.  I told the girls I’d heard about this splash park but the directions I had weren’t specific so we’d drive up and down the road it was on in hopes of finding it.  The adventure was on.  It ended up being relatively easy to find, less than 2 miles from our favorite farm to visit, Springdale Farm in Spencerport.

I have heard tell of the spraygrounds in Geneva, NY but have not yet taken the girls what with the mix of my kids having some fear of the water, which this summer they are finally getting over, and the hour long drive to and from that park.  But when I read about a few closer to home on the Kids out and about website I thought I’d look into those since they are free so if they don’t like it nothing lost.  So today being a beautiful day and having all day to do whatever thought we’d go explore and see what gem we might discover.

Since I wasn’t sure if the girls would like the water or not we started by going to Springdale Farm for the morning and then going in search of Pineway Ponds Park in Ogden(Spencerport), NY.  It’s a public town park so it’s completely free.  If you take 531W from Rochester to the Spencerport exit Rte 259, go north on 259 about a mile, it’s just past the town center on the left.  They have a spray ground that is awesome.  There are all kinds of fixtures that spray in different ways as well as jets of water that shoot straight out of the ground.  The park also has a very large playground right next to the water so if you have kids with different interests you can keep an eye of all of them.  My girls enjoyed it immensely and want to go back tomorrow.  Well we most likely won’t go there tomorrow, but we might go check out the one in Webster…

I have a couple websites that are my “go to” sites to check out regularly, like Focus on the Family, MOPs, Hearts at Home.  But the one I’m particularly interested in today is Rochester Kids out and about.  For those of us who live in the Rochester, NY area it is a gold mine of info for parents.  It has lists of events happening around the area for kids, such as the various free events at the libraries I love so much.  Reviews of museums and restuarants by other local parents so you know where to go, or not go.  And even has pages with lists of local playgrounds with photos and descriptions describing the park, wheither it has bathrooms or not, etc.

I love to just go browse through the various pages every once in a while because I never know what fun event I might find to do with my girls.  And since I’m always looking for something different to do it’s a wonderful thing.  And for those of you who aren’t fortunate to live near here I know we aren’t the only town to have a website like this for our town.  I’ve found them for other cities like Baltimore, MD when researching attractions for vacations.  Try a quick google search for kids activities and attractions in your town you might be surprised what you find.

If ever there was a time to go visit the farm this is it!  It’s my favorite time of year to go because all the animals are having their babies.  Yesterday we went out to Springdale Farm in Spencerport and they had a baby goat so small the kids could pick it up and carry it around!  They have a number of baby goats, lambs, chicks, and even bunnies.  They put most of the animals in their petting zoo area where they can run free and you and your kids can get their hands on the animals.

We love going to the farm regularly and it’s fun to watch these little babies grow from trip to trip.  There are quite a number of opportunities for the girls to observe and learn about animals and gardening throughout the farm.  It’s nice to have a place of learning that I enjoy going to as much as the kids, especially on the cheap.  The farm itself is free, the petting zoo is $1 per person, and you can take tours of the dairy barn for $3.  So wheither you live in the area or not search out a farm experience so you can enjoy those babies while they last.