Macaroni Kid: a great resource for local activities

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered a great resource called Macaroni Kid. My neighbor actually tipped me off to this resource by forwarding the weekly email she got when she signed up to get their newsletter, which was packed full of fun things to do in our area.

From their website, they describe the site as "Macaroni Kid and its family of Publisher Moms are dedicated to delivering the scoop on all the family-friendly events and activities happening in their communities each week."

For our area, it appears they have NE Columbus (which includes the NE section of the city from Polaris/Sunbury all the way over to Reynoldsburg/Pataskala), North West Columbus (Worthington all the way over to Hilliard) and South Columbus covered. I have received two of these newsletter emails so far and love them. You will find everything from fun and free library and metro park programs, to kids eat free nights at local restaurants or free movie days at local theaters, to local festivals, to new exhibits at local attractions (like Franklin Conservatory, COSI, etc), to local festivities, and much, much more. It includes things for all ages from small children to teens, as well as child based to family fun activities/events/programs. All gathered and emailed right to you (if you subscribe to the email), how convenient and easy is that?! Or you can opt to check the website every week, rather than get the email if you prefer.

The other great feature is "My Macaroni." As you see events/activities that you like in the list, you can add them to "My Macaroni." Once you are done picking the things you want to do that week, you can click on "My Macaroni" throughout the week as needed for planning. Or you can create a pdf of that list and print it for your reference. It's great!

You can view your local events and activities on their website (what you see there is essentially what you will get every week in the newsletter as well). Here are the local Macaroni Kid sites:

NE Columbus

North West Columbus

South Columbus

There are also many other locations in Ohio that are covered, as well as most other states. Use the main website to find areas other than what I listed above. This would be great for finding fun kid activities where your planning to vacation too!

If you haven't yet checked this site out, you should. It is a great resource!

More Fun With Kids!

The Works- http://www.attheworks.org/
This is similar to Cosi but on a much smaller scale. The cool thing about The Works is that a family membership is only $60. With this membership you are able to get into Cosi and thousands of other science museums around the country and several other countries. We have used it for ones in Cleveland, Nashville, Dayton and Helena, Montana. We have paid for the membership several times over with getting in free at all the different museums.

Columbus Metro Library-
The downtown branch has several great activities through the summer.

Alum Creek State Park
Many great areas to go exploring, fishing, boat rentals and the beach. I have found that this beach gets a little crowded for us, but we have usually been there on the weekend. It may not be bad during the week.

Columbus Museum of Art -
Admission is free on Thursdays.

Discover Ohio- http://www.discoverohio.com/
The website is filled with lots to things to do. For instance I found that this weekend in Cincinnati there is an exhibit on butterflies of Japan down in Cincinnati. They will also send you a free packet with tons of info and maps.

Rising Park -Lancaster, OH
We go here often. My parents moved down here about 2 years ago. The city has completely redone the playground and it is wonderful and picnic areas. My boys could play here for hours. There is also a pond for fishing, tennis courts, basketball, and horse shoes. And don't forget about the hike to the top of Mount Pleasant. Just a word of advice. This hike is really steep and there are very limited hand rails when you get to the top. So please watch your children very closely.

Thanks to CMOTC mom Mahala for sharing these fun summertime activities with us!

Free Summertime Fun!

CMOTC member, Michele K., sent us the posting below, that she found on the Money Saving Mom blog, to share with the club.

Going along with our series of how to bust the summertime blahs, listed below are a ton of free summertime programs and activities, as well as free or cheap movie admissions.

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Looking for some FREE activities to fill up all that extra FREE time your kids have over the summer? You’ve come to the right place! Here is your guide to all things fun and free (or really cheap!) for your kids this summer with thanks to Kaley from Cha-Ching on a Shoestring for compiling this list for us. Have a seat, grab a pencil and your calendar and let the planning begin!

Reading Rewards Programs:

• Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Club: Kids in grades 1-6 can receive a free book from Barnes & Noble by reading 8 books over the summer. They will need to fill out a SummerReading Journal and bring the journal to a B&N location when they are finished. They will then receive a coupon for a free book.
• Borders Double Dog Dare You Reading program: Kids 12 and under can join the Borders Double Dog Dare You Reading program. They will earn a free book when they read 10 books, fill out this form and bring it in to any Borders, Waldenbooks, or Borders express store by August 26, 2010.
• Hebuddy.com Summer Reading Club: HeBuddy.com is offering ‘cool prizes’ to kids who read 10 books this summer. (Younger children can have parents read to them.) After your child is done reading, just fill out the form here and mail it in by October 1, 2010. (It appears that one of the cool prizes is a free t-shirt.)
• Half Price Books Feed Your Brain Program: Children 14 and under can earn a free $3 gift card to Half Price Books each week they read (or are read to) for 15 minutes at least five days. You can easily find books for less than $3 in their clearance section which will result in a free book per child each week! This program runs from June 1 – July 31, 2010. See more details here.
• TD Bank Summer Reading Program: Kids ages 18 years and younger can get $10 added to their new or existing TD Bank Young Savers Account when they read 10 books this summer. Offer valid May 3 – September 30, 2010.
• Pottery Barn Kids Book Club: Pottery Barn Kids holds story time every Tuesday from 11:00-11:30. (Check your local store to confirm the time and date). After attending 5 times, your child will receive a free gift.

Free or Cheap Movie Admission:

• Regal Free Family Film Festival: Beginning in June, select Regal Theaters will offer free family friendly movies starting at 10 am each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. Tickets are only available the day of the show and first-come, first-served seating is limited to theatre capacity. Go here to see if there is a participating theater near you.
• National Amusements Bookworm Wednesdays: Kids can get free admission to a select children’s film every Wednesday at 10 a.m. when they present a book report at a participating Showcase Cinemas, Multiplex Cinemas or Cinema de Lux box office. Accompanying parents or guardians and children under six also receive free admission and do not need to submit a book report. Program begins July 7 and ends August 11.
• Cinemark Summer Movie Clubhouse: Participating Cinemark theaters are offering $1 family-friendly movies on select weekday mornings throughout the summer. You can opt to purchase an advance pass for all ten movies for just $5 making them only $0.50 each! Find a list of participating locations, dates and times here.

Free Activities:

• Kids Bowl Free Program: Kids can bowl free this summer! By participating in the “Kids Bowl Free” program, children can bowl two free games per day. Go here for more details and to find a participating location near you.
• Free Bowling at AMF: Your whole family can bowl free by joining the AMF eClub. Receive a coupon for up to 10 free games (one for each member in your party). Coupon expires 30 days from signing up.
• Target Arts + Culture: Target sponsors 2200 free or reduced-price admission to arts and cultural events nationwide at over 120 museums and cultural organizations. Find out if there is anything going on in your area.
• Free Admission to National Parks: The National Park Service will offer free admission at more than 100 National Parks on the weekends of June 5-6 and August 14-15. Go here for more information.
• Lowe’s Free Build and Grow Clinics: Workshops are offered on Saturdays at 10 a.m.
• Home Depot Free Kid’s Workshops: Workshops are designed for children ages 5-12 and are offered on the first Saturday of the month between 9 a.m. and noon at all Home Depot stores.
• Apple Summer Camps: Select Apple Retail stores are holding summer camps where kids can make movies, create photo slideshows, write and record songs, put on a show for everyone, and learn how to do new things on a Mac. Apple Camp occurs at selected Apple Retail Stores, and each free workshop lasts three hours. Recommended for kids ages 8-12. More details here.
• BoA Free Museums: If you have a Bank of America Credit, Debit or ATM card, you can get free admission to over 100 participating museums, zoos and science centers the first weekend of every month.

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I think that AMC and Marcus also have cheap summertime movie programs. Some of the schedules are updated and some are not. Here are the links:

• AMC - AMC's Summer MovieCamp isn't free, but your $1 donation will go to a good cause. All admission proceeds for their Wednesday morning summer movies for kids will benefit Variety - The Children's Charity and the Will Rogers Institute. Movies start at 10 am every Wednesday at participating theaters. The 2010 schedule is not up yet, but will be soon.
• Marcus Theaters - Starting on June 23, Marcus Theatres will offer $2.75 movies for kids every Wednesday and Thursday at 10 am. Plus, you can get a free complimentary-size popcorn. Their schedule is up.
  

Does anyone know of programs not listed here? Please share? Or if you have other resource sites for this information, please send us the links!

I'm Bored...Relieving the Summer Blahs

This is the beginning of what we hope to be a multi-part post regarding the Summer Blahs. If you have kids (and we know you do!) you know what we mean. School is out for just a few days and kids are already stir crazy.

Member Holly Bowman has posted a few ideas to keep those Summer Blahs at bay. If you have a few ideas of your own, we'd love to hear from you.

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In our family we spend the weekend on adventures. We pick an activity from some of the choices below and go see what they have to offer. We usually pack a picnic to save money and enjoy finding out more about Ohio. I was asked to post some of the suggestions so here they are. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Factory Tours: http://www.factorytoursusa.com/
Ohio Festivals: http://www.ohiotraveler.com/

Buck Creek State Park: www.ohiodnr.com/parks
has a large beach, camping and many other activities- it is about 45 minutes west of Columbus off of I-70.

Hocking Hills State Park: In addition to the great trails there is a nice pool there too. I believe it was $12 for 4 of us last year. They have a large section that is only 2-3 foot deep then it gradually gets deeper and then has 2 slides in the deep end. We like to go for a good hike and then spend the afternoon at the pool.

Young's Dairy- http://www.youngsdairy.com/
If you go to Buck Creek you must travel the additional 20 minutes to this great ice cream place. In addition to great ice cream you can see them milk the cows whose milk they use for the ice cream and pet goats. They also have many other things to do that are free. They also have putt-putt and some other activities that they charge for. They have to restaurants one is a fast food type in with the ice cream parlor. The other is a sit down family friendly restaurant called the Golden Jersey. They have really good food.

Slate Run Metro Park-http://www.metroparks.net/
Really any of the Columbus Metro parks are great. They offer lots of activities to do. We have tried several of the things lead by the naturalist and have really enjoyed them.

Wright Patterson Air Force Museum- Dayton.OH
Admission is free. They just ask for a donation at the end. If you can great if not they don't mind.

Disc golf- http://www.pdga.com/
There are hundreds of disc golf courses in Ohio and all over the country. My husband has been into disc golf since the 80's when he was stationed in California. We have been taking our boys out with us since they were 2. It is a great way for the family to get some lite exercise and enjoy the outdoors. If anyone has any questions about this sport let me know and my husband will be happy to answer them.

Libraries - A great place for free programs and activities!

Libraries are great learning places for children of all ages. Creating the love of reading, that excitement and thrill of getting new books to look at and read, is undeniably priceless to children. Teaching children how to look for books on the computer catalogs and in the aisles, is exciting even for us. As is their first library card!

However, the library is so much more than a place to just get books, movies and CDs. The other absolutely wonderful thing about libraries are all the fun programs they offer children of all ages. Better yet, these program are FREE!

Here is just a sampling of some of the programs you will find at your local library, both during the day/evening and weekdays/weekends:

• Storytimes for children six months to six years old, that incorporate age appropriate stories, songs, finger play and dancing. Some libraries even have pajama storytime at night and potty training themed storytimes!
  
  
• Music programs that feature songs, finger plays and dancing for children ages two to five.
  
  
• Ready to read programs for children five and under that feature easy, interactive crafts that are based on the six early literacy skills and will actually help your child get ready to read.
  
  
• Reading program with a yoga twist for children three to eight that incorporate games, singing, listening and acting out of stories using different modified yoga poses.
  
  
• Career exploring programs for grades kindergarten through third grade where they explore popular careers through stories, songs and activities.
  
  
• Adventure reading groups for children in kindergarten through third grade where they learn about the nature through stories, songs and activities.
  
  
• Puppet shows put on by the library staff for all ages.
  
  
• Family movie nights where you can bring your blankets, pillows and snacks to enjoy a movie on a big screen.
  
  
• Hand's on science programs for children ages six to eleven where they get to explore and experiment.
  
  
• Tween theatre programs where they work on sketches to perform at different library events.
  
  
• Tween writing and illustrating programs where they learn about writing contests, where to get published and also just be inspired.
  
  
• Writing programs for teens where they can share their love of stories (reading them, writing them and/or illustrating them), get some tips and make new friends. Some libraries have writing contests for short stories and poetry, as well as open mic nights where they can share their works.
  
  
• There are even programs for tweens and their Pokemon cards, Yu-Gi-Oh decks and Battle Brawlers. They all meet to play games and have fun.

These are just some of the free programs your local libraries offer children of all ages. There are also a whole host of great programs for adults too! Log onto your library's website and search the events calendar to see what cool programs are offered.

So, when you are looking for fun activities to do with your kids that don't cost a penny, always remember the great offerings your local library has to offer.


What library programs have you taken your children to that they have loved? Which programs do you recommend? Share your library program experiences and advice!