Looking for some fun for the kids. I have a new baby and an 8-year-old boy. I'm running into trouble finding fun places to take my son during the day while my husband is working where my baby girl won't be too uncomfortable. It's sooo hot outside that I'm looking for indoor or very shaded activities. Some places are out because they require two adults. I can't really take my son swimming because I need to be able to be close to him down near the water - but I don't think baby girl can really spend lots of time in the water yet. Pools have chemicals, lakes look a little too nasty & the beaches water is a little too rough. I've taken my son to play games & play laser tag at adventure landing. Mondays & Thursdays are great because of the inexpensive all you can play deals. We are going to Frankies & the Museum later this week. I've also taken my son skating & bowling & to a few movies. Does anyone know of other fun activities in the area that might be fun for the kids? My family has been camping a few times - but me & baby girl pretty much hung out at the campsite while my husband & son go out on bike rides and boating. We have also gone to Rush Hour so my husband & son can race while baby girl & I watch. We are planning on spending a few days at Wolf Creek Lodge in the next couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to that because the indoor slides will be fun for my son - but the temperature will be cool enough for me & baby girl to watch. Anyone have other fun vacation suggestions for a family with a new baby?
We went to the NC Science Museum on Tuesday. It is located in downtown Raleigh and you may have to park in a deck two blocks away but once you get there-you can stay all day! It is free and has a lot of hands on activities. There is a discovery room that is basically a science related play room. You could spend a lot of time in there with a young child. Good Luck!:-D
Kids don't always have to go somewhere to have fun. Have him invite some friends over to play. While the baby takes a nap, do some crafts w/ him. Yes, even boys like to do crafts(okay boy crafts!). My kids went to Michaels and each picked osmething to build. Kits were only a $1 each and they had so much fun doing it. There were cars, tanks, airplanes, birdhouses, etc. to choose from. There are all kinds of free stuff on the internet to do. I know movies dont' work well w/ a new baby but what we did last weekend was convert the living room into a movie theater atmosphere for the kids. Popcorn & soda in the living room, brought out a "concession" stand box for them to choose from, etc. That way, your son enjoys movie w/ the family while the baby's asleep. Kids love to just kick back in summer. Ours went for bike rides this morning. It's the simple things. Let him help plan and meal and have him make it. Menu, supplies, shopping for them, etc. Gets them thinking and they have a blast doing it. We find keeping things simple at our house works. There was a free carnival last weekend at 40/42 . Simple, but alot of fun and baby could have been walked in a stroller while your son enjoyed the activities. I knwo how hard it is to mix age groups and find something for all to do. We have 7 kids. 2 of those are 8yo' so I know where you are coming from. You can also get a disposable camera and let him be a photographer for a day. The kids love to see what comes out when you get the film back. These are just a few suggestions. I know some sound boring but our kids love doing these things. Our ages that we have to blend into one activity are 4, 7, 8, 8, 11, 12, & 14. 3 girls, 4 boys. Trust me, I know wherer you're coming from on finding stuff for everyone to do. Oh, there is also the library. Doesn't seem exciting but making a "day trip" out of it can be when you combine it w/ going out to eat or going to the park. Sometimes (not today..too hot), we'll go to the park (great for all ages) and have a picnic. After that, the older kids can go rollerblading around while the younger ones play on the playground. Don't know how old your baby is but this might work if you push the stroller around while he rollerblades, bike rides, etc. Have him make a list of things he wants to do this summer and go from there. We did this last night w/ our 12yo son. Shocked that none of it was amusement parks, water parks or whatever. It was more simple things. Still don't know where he got the reading in the dark but we're going to let him this weekend when he gets the Harry Potter book. Have them "camp out" in their rooms while he reads the book in the tent to them. Then, he cross it off his list. Kids like simplicity. We keep it very simple here but throw in the big stuff every once in awhile. We went to Tweetsie earlier this summer. Don't know if that helped or not but I tried--LOL. Good luck. School starts soon! Can't believe it. Got to run. Take care, Stephanie.
Where is Wolf Creek Lodge Wolf Creek Lodge - - Where is this located? Is there a website?? I tried to google and came up with everything but somewhere in NC?? Sounds fun!!
When we were camping at the beach a few weeks ago there was a young family with children very similar to Melynda's and they came up with a great idea. Mom sat down on the beach so the older one could play in the waves and the baby was sitting in one of those little blow up pools with an umbrella in the sand blocking the sun - that was really neat and fun for both kids.
