Archives for February 2015

If you’ve been reading this site for any length of time, you know we are HUGE fans of the local library system in the South Sound! There are a variety of events to enjoy, for FREE, at your local libraries. Michael from the Tumwater Timberland Library wants to be sure that our readers are aware of the fun events they have in March.

Stuffed Animal Singalong Sleepover

Monday,  3/2/2015, 6:00-6:45PM
Bring your favorite stuffed animal for a sleepover at the Tumwater Timberland Library! After a singalong of songs and movement games, we’ll tuck the animals in and say goodnight. Come back the next day between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. to pick up your stuffed animal friend and find out what mischief the animals got into during their night at the library! This event is part of the Family Read & Sing Aloud, a Timberland Regional Library districtwide program.

Lion Dance: Celebrate the Year of the Goat

Tuesday, 3/3/15, 6:30-7:30PM
Join us for a special Lion Dance performance by the Olympia Kung-Fu and Tai Chi Club, followed by a participatory demonstration of Kung-Fu and Tai Chi movements. The Lion Dance combines skilled acrobatics with the dramatic musical accompaniment of drum, cymbals and gong. This traditional dance has been performed to celebrate the Chinese New Year for over 2000 years.

Irish Dance with Scoil Rince Slieveloughane

Saturday, 3/14/15, 10:30-11:15AM
Join us for a return performance of the Scoil Rince Slieveloughane Irish dancers who will perform a lively mix of traditional and modern Irish dance routines. Slieveloughane is the largest and most renowned Irish dance troupe in the Pacific Northwest. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tumwater Timberland Library.

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All events held at the Tumwater Timberland Library, 7023 New Market St SW, Tumwater WA 98501. Call 360-943-7790 for more info.

Looking for things to do with the family in Tacoma, Olympia, or Gig Harbor this weekend?

You’re in the right place for a whole list of kid friendly ideas.

Welcome to our guide to free and affordable family fun in the South Puget Sound!  We have one just like it up every Friday! Headed elsewhere? There is always lots more to explore  at ThriftyNWmom  thanks to frugal fun finder, Annaliese, of Grays Harbor Deals!

Friday

Music and Motion at the Gig Harbor Library 10:30  For babies and toddlers 0-3 with parents

Bounce Play in Gig Harbor  Free inflatable time for preschoolers and social time for parents hosted by Harbor Christian Church

Indoor Park at Pen-Met Indoor Soccer Center in Gig Harbor  Every Friday from 11:15-12:30; toys usually left up longer  2.00/child They also have a time on Tuesday mornings-9:45, I believe. Reader, Andrea, wrote in to say how much fun this was for her and her little guy.

Spring Model search at the South Hill Mall

Play all day with our friends at WiggleWorks at the South Hill Mall 7.00 come and go admission every weekday!  New hours starting soon. See their fb page for details. You can also download a pdf of their event calendar to keep up with all the fun.

Kids’ Night Out at Pump it Up! in Tacoma  Call for your spot! Tell ’em we sent you. It’s Glo Dodge Ball tonight!

 Saturday

You can read with a princess and celebrate Dr. Seuss Saturday at free library events all over. There are many other great choices in the list. Keep reading!

All Over

Kids’ Club at Michael’s Stores  2.00/child for 30 minute sessions between 10AM-12. It’s a personalized door hanger today.

South King County

Visit the HCC Mast Center  at Redondo   The center and its touch tanks of sea critters are free and open to the public every Saturday from 10-2

Puyallup/Sumner/Greater Pierce County

Hooked On Reading at the library  Special story time events with Dr.Seuss crafts, special guest readers (Daffodil Princesses), and more fun! Various times today at Puyallup downtown, Orting, Buckley, and Graham. Follow link for all the details.

Caspar Babypants at the South Hill Library 2PM  Great chance to see the popular, kindie rocker for free!

Tacoma

Kidical Mass Bike Ride  Family friendly bike ride starts at Legendary Donuts for, “Fuel,” and heads to Wright Park

Hooked On Reading with the Daffodil Princesses  Special storytime events with  Seuss crafts and fun, special guests, and more. Various times at most Tacoma libraries; others have Seuss events or storytime. Tacoma Library Calendar is here. 

Dr.Seuss event at the Moore Library 2PM

Seussical the Musical by Tacoma Musical Playhouse family theater  There is a pretty great deal  on tickets through Goldstar.

University Place Library used book sale  Be sure to visit our friends at Frog n Kiwi while you’re there!

Visit our friends at Jozee Rooz Indoor Petting zoo!  Now open regularly on weekends!  You can read my post here for more info. about this fun place.   Meet goats, rabbits, yaks, and special guests!

Children and all ages shows at the Pierce College Science Dome/planetarium  Children’s show at 12:30 or  2PM; all ages at 3:15. The children’s show is shorter and interactive. It’s Amazing Aurora today. All ages is Undiscovered Worlds. You do want to buy tickets in advance or bring cash. No cards are accepted at the door.

 Tacoma Concert Band spring performance featuring songs from cartoons, Oscar winners, and others. It’s free for kids 18 and under. Tickets start at 18.00 for the grown ups. 7:30PM  Tickets here

Olympia

Frozen Party at Capital Mall  Hosted by Miss Moffet’s Mystical Cupcakes Princess appearances, author visit by Barbara Jean Hicks; free event, books and cupcakes will be available for purchase

Oly Pie Fest Annual bakers’ guild event. Pay 3.00 or 3 cans of food for a slice of homemade pie. You can also enter your pie in the contest and buy whole pies.

Visit the South Sound Estuarium interactive marine discovery! Open 11-4 weekends at their new location.  You may want to call to confirm hours before you go.

Visit the LOTT Wet Science Center  free admission and science based activities every weekend. Link opens a pdf with detailed info. for each date. It’s game day today. Enjoy, “The Drip Stops Here,”  “Ocean Bingo,” or other fun choices.

Gig Harbor/Kitsap

Lego and building madness at the Gig Harbor Library 10AM Drop in and build with the library’s Legos, connector straws, and other materials.

Kids’ Club at Michael’s Stores  2.00/child for 30 minute sessions

Dr. Seuss Storytime at Sand Castle Toys  10AM free, weekly storytime. It’s a Dr.Seuss theme today.

Kitsap area readers may also like to get the free newsletter from Macaroni Kid Kitsap

Sunday

It’s Sukiyai Dinner time at the Tacoma Buddhist Temple

Know something great we missed? Just give us a shout! If you’re new here, there is tons to explore, new ideas every weekday, and an amazing guide for your weekend just like this one every Friday morning. I’d love to have you join us on Facebook, subscribe to my daily emails, or Follow me on Pinterest or Twitter! 

If you missed the first Read With A Princess date, you’re in luck! Our royal misses will be back at area libraries this weekend, Saturday, February 28th,  in conjunction with a special  Dr. Seuss celebration. Expect stories, crafts, and fun! Visitors to Pierce County Libraries may bump into Rainier’s  Mascot, Rhubarb, too!  These are FREE events, and you’re welcome to bring your camera.

This special  story time will be this Saturday, February 28th, and I have the locations and times listed below.  If you want to add to your own library, as I guessed, Amazon has their Seuss titles on sale this week.I found a nice deal on Dr. Seuss’s Beginner Book Collection (Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish, Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop, Fox in Socks) (my affiliate link). These are the ones my kids asked to hear over and over.

Daffodil and Seuss Storytime times and locations

• Puyallup Library-downtown location- 11AM
• Tacoma Main 10:30
• Tacoma Kobetich 10:30
• Tacoma South Tacoma 10:30
• Tacoma Swasey 10:30
• Tacoma Mottet 1:30
• Buckley Library 11:30AM
• Graham Library 10:30AM
• Key Peninsula Library 1PM
• Orting Library 1PM

In other library news…..This is not related at all, but I also wanted to be sure to point out that popular kindie rocker Caspar Babypants will be at the South Hill branch at 2PM Saturday.  It’s free, so you’ll definitely want to grab your cooolest friends in the 0-7 set and rock out!

If you happen to be in Puyallup and have little bit bigger kids, do go one post down to read about this year’s sign language camp for school kids at ERHS. One post down from That, I’ve got some cool scoop on Geocaching.

And, as always, I’ll have a huge list of weekend events and activities up for you Friday morning! Woot!

Reader Jessica asked me to share this fun event for school age kiddos in Puyallup looking to fill one of those upcoming early release days (You know about those right? )

It’s Sign Language Camp, an annual one day event put on by the cool kids with the ERHS American Sign Language club and their teachers, and boy is it a deal! You can check out all the details below. To register (You can’t do it here, folks) just email Jessica at MATTSJE@puyallup.k12.wa.us  She can also answer any questions you have.

Have you ever gone Geocaching?

You can be Geocaching in minutes, and there are tons of caches hidden around the South Sound, including many in Tacoma.

Geocaching is a real life treasure hunt you do with the GPS built right into your phone.

FREE, and it’s one of those rare family adventures that appeals to little and big kids. Perfect, in other words!

First, a few basics:

A Geocache is a small container. It contains a note so you can log the date when you found it before you put it back for the next searchers. Sometimes, caches also contain small trinkets, and you can take them and put in some of your own. Make sure to bring a few small things if you want to do this (think matchbox cars, marbles….some caches are just medicine bottle sized, so nothing large/extravagant).  Really, though, the thrill is in the hunting and the  finding.

Looking

You can find Geocaches to hunt for at a number of sites. We used Geocaching.com. It has a one minute video that would be perfect to show your kids, as well as lots of other information. You can get one version for free, but we ended up paying a modest amount for an app.

Once you’ve found a cache you want to find, you follow the GPS coordinates to the location. As you get closer, you’ll see a line on the map on your phone letting you know about how far you have left to go. Sometimes the hider has also left clues.

It sounds simple, but some Geocaches can be downright tricky to find. On our recent adventure, we went to Point Defiance. Lot of caches are hidden in parks, and I think it’s a smart idea to choose a destination that will be fun for your kids even if you don’t ultimately find the cache.

At Point Defiance there are quite a few hidden in and around the trails in the middle of the park and running along its edge. It’s a great way to explore an area that tends to get overlooked.

Finding!

We were almost right on top of the first one before my clever husband spied it. We never did find the second one, and boy, did we look! The clue told us to look near a log-turns out that wasn’t much help in the woods! Sometimes caches do disappear-someone who isn’t a geocacher stumbles on it and takes it (You need to try to be a little sneaky when you’re hiding if other folks are around), or an animal carries it off.

Logging our visit before returning it for the next seekers!

We might go have another try next weekend. Geocaching is addictive! A few things to know before you go!

• Do keep in mind that this is an outdoor adventure and dress appropriately.
• You will have the best luck if your phone gets a strong signal. If your service tends to be spotty, you might want to invest in an actual GPS unit.
• Once you’ve found a cache, be sure to replace it for the next family, and always be a good steward of the environment and be sensible while you’re out and about-don’t go on private property or wander around dead end streets at night (You knew that, right)?
• Be sure your kids understand that they’re probably going to find a container with a note, and that you’ll be writing in it and then returning it to its hiding place. If your kids would be bummed out if they didn’t find something to keep, you may want to pass on this activity.

I know lots of you are veterans of many Geocache adventures. I’d love for you to leave a comment with your best tips! Good cache locations to hunt would be particularly awesome for newbies!

This year’s kindergarten readiness series was underwritten by our friends with the GET program-Washington’s 529 prepaid college tuition plan. Check out their website for all your college planning questions, or  Visit them on Facebook

Is someone at your house going off to, “Big school,” next year?

It’s hard to believe, but most area districts are registering next year’s kindergarten class now or soon.

If you’re wondering if your child is ready, I think you’ll love this mini series of posts I did with local experts who know all about area schools.

• Here is a detailed post on how to help your child get ready for kindergarten. It has information on local classes, as well as a list of important skills South Sound experts I talked with said your child should have.
• I also have a post for you on the issue of keeping children back for an extra year.

If you’ve been thinking about having a child with a summer birthday wait a year, you’ll want to read it. It has lots of thoughtful pointers, and readers have left some great comments, too.  [Read more…]

Looking for things to do with the family in Tacoma, Olympia, or Gig Harbor this weekend?

You’re in the right place for a whole list of kid friendly ideas.

Welcome to our guide to free and affordable family fun in the South Puget Sound!  We have one just like it up every Friday! Headed elsewhere? There is always lots more to explore  at ThriftyNWmom  thanks to frugal fun finder, Annaliese, of Grays Harbor Deals!

Lunar New Year Celebrations Are Among the Fun Choices This Weekend!

Friday

Bounce Play in Gig Harbor  Free inflatable time for preschoolers and social time for parents hosted by Harbor Christian Church

Indoor Park at Pen-Met Indoor Soccer Center in Gig Harbor  Every Friday from 11:15-12:30; toys usually left up longer  2.00/child They also have a time on Tuesday mornings-9:45, I believe. Reader, Andrea, wrote in to say how much fun this was for her and her little guy.

Play all day with our friends at WiggleWorks at the South Hill Mall 7.00 come and go admission every weekday!  New hours starting soon. See their fb page for details. You can also download a pdf of their event calendar to keep up with all the fun.

The Monster Under the Bed opens at Olympia Family Theater   Not-so-scary show for the whole family

Kids’ Night Out at Pump it Up! in Tacoma  Call for your spot! Tell ’em we sent you.

Father/Daughter dance in Auburn; also Saturday-check for ticket availability before you go. [Read more…]

Update-Word is monkey shines are out for 2016. Updated Monday, February 8th, 206.

Our master monkeyshines post with pics and tips for finding monkeyshines around Tacoma this year is right here. Happy hunting!

PS New here? We’re The Source for South Sound family fun! I hope you’ll use one of those fun buttons up top to follow us on your favorite social channels, or just come back again!

Yes, Tacoma, Monkeyshines are out!

I’ve seen reports of finds in Proctor, the Lincoln neighborhood, and 6th avenue.

No clue what I’m talking about? Head here for all you need to know about this unique to Tacoma, real life treasure hunt! 

Happy hunting!

PS I have a round up of other Chinese or Lunar New Year Events here.

Hey, Tacoma, here’s a fun and informative event you’ll want to put on your calendars. Oh, it’s FREE, too!

The South Sound Sustainability Expo will be on Saturday, March 7th this year from 10AM-3PM at the Tacoma Convention and Trade Center (Yes, I will remind you).

I know it sounds fancy, but I promise there will be lots of down to earth and good for the earth fun and information for all.  I invited the organizers to send over some highlights. You’ll be able to

·         Explore resources for sustainable living including local food and gardening, community building, transportation choices, energy conservation, green construction and more

·         Bring goods to exchange at a free Book-Movie-Music Swap  How great is that?

·         Shop at a mini Farmers’ Market

·         Visit the Kids’ Corner for activities including a scavenger hunt, reuse crafting, and more with the Tacoma Nature Center

·         Participate in workshops, including a family friendly session called Save Our Salmon

·         Bring unwanted items to be collected by Goodwill

That’s a lot of great fun and learning for FREE! I know many of you try to make choices that are good for the environment and the community already. If you’ve been looking to incorporate more earth friendly living in your daily routine, you’ll definitely want to check this event out.  Do be sure to mark your calendars for March 7th, and tell a friend.  You can get more information about this event here.