Archives for September 2015

Sunday

It’s fair time in Puyallup. Read this post if you need tips on how to save, what to see, where to park, or anything else!

Just Between Friends Seattle sale  Kids’ consignment event in Burien  many items half off today; free admission

Free family Nature walk at Sehmel Homestead Park in Gig Harbor

Kids love comics at the Olympia Timberland Regional Library  Meet comic book creators, participate in comic book readers’ theater and more fun!

Crafts of the Past at Ft. Nisqually  1800s era crafts and trades are demonstrated each weekend. Included with fort admission.  We think the fort is of most interest to school age children, but kiddos of all ages will love exploring the towers.  Craft is Cyanotypes -photographic images made using sunlight.

Visit the South Sound Estuarium   open 11-4 weekends You may want to call first; they may be doing something in conjunction with Harbor Days.

Sensational Sea Otters at the Point Defiance Zoo   Special themed activities included with admission. The zoo does get spendy. We suggest investing in an annual pass unless you can take advantage of monthly free days for City of Tacoma residents.

And……if you love using this list to plan your family’s weekend, we’d love your vote for Best Parenting Blog over at Evening Magazine’s Best of Western Washington. Thanks so much for that!

As always, if you know something we missed or you’d like publicity or advertising for your group, get in touch! You can email me at soundsfunmom@gmail.com or use one of the icons up top to find us on your favorite social media.

Do  you need something great to do with the kids this weekend? We’ve found all kinds of great free activities and events for families in Tacoma, Lacey, Gig Harbor, and beyond this week. The fair continues in Puyallup, and there are several don’t-miss, end of summer festivals, too!

Don’t forget we have an awesome list just like this every Friday, just for South Sound families, and tons of other fun ideas every other day of the week!

All Weekend 

It’s fair time in Puyallup. Read this post if you need tips on how to save, what to see, where to park, or anything else!

Just Between Friends Seattle sale  Kids’ consignment event in Burien

Saturday

All Over

It’s Batman Day at Barnes and Noble stores. 11AM. Free comic while supplies last and more special fun. We have found participation to be inconsistent even when stores are listed as participating, so we suggest using the link to check for a location near you and then calling to confirm.

Kids’ Club at Michael’s Craft Stores  It’s a candy corn banner from 10AM-12  2.00 per half hour session

FREE DAY at National Parks and other federal lands in honor of National Public Lands Day.  If you’d like to visit Mt.Rainier National Park, check out this post with kid friendly hikes at Mt.Rainier.

Smithsonian Free Museum Day

Lowes Build And Grow It’s a fire truck today. Advance registration is now required for these popular, free kids’ building workshops. I do see spots in some stores, but they are going fast.

South King County

The circus is in Kent this weekend. That and dozens of other family activities are on our awesome weekend list!

Duvall Heritage Festival cider making, Pioneer era job/craft demonstrations

Visit the HCC Mast Center at Redondo   Touch tanks with sea critters free and open to the public Saturdays from 10AM-2

The Barnum & Bailey, Ringling Bros. Circus is in Kent

ICYMI: Be sure to check out our post on the new Hall Pass deal with our friends at Trampoline Nation. A great deal for your frequent jumpers!

Puyallup/Sumner/Greater Pierce

Harvest Day at Tehaleh wagon rides, face painting, food trucks

It’s fair time in Puyallup. Read this post if you need tips on how to save, what to see, where to park, or anything else!

Tacoma/South Tacoma/ Spanaway

Crafts of the Past at Ft. Nisqually  1800s era crafts and trades are demonstrated each weekend. Included with fort admission-two of you can get in FREE if you sign up through Smithsonian Free Museum Day. It’s also FREE to all City of Tacoma residents Saturday-proof of residence such as a utility bill, plus photo id required.  We think the fort is of most interest to school age children, but kiddos of all ages will love exploring the towers.  Craft is Cyanotypes -photographic images made using sunlight.

Spanish/English block party at the Parkland/Spanaway Library 10-11:30  free time to drop in and build with blocks and other tools. Open to all, with a special invitation to Spanish speaking families today.

Play and grow storytime at the Wheelock Library 10:30

Lego and building madness at the Parkland/Spanaway Library 11-12:30  drop in and build with Lego, connector straws, and more building tools

Tour the lighthouse keeper’s cottage and museum at Brown’s Point Lighthouse Park 1-4PM   Much more fun continues below! Keep reading! 

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Here’s a fun and free event I thought I’d highlight for our Gig Harbor area friends. I think lots of folks don’t realize that there are trails at Sehmel. Here’s a chance to explore them, and the weather is supposed to be great this weekend!  Do keep in mind that the playground is awesome, and your kids will want some time on it-so plan for that before or after your walk!

Here’s the scoop from our friends with GreatPeninsula.org- Go on a guided trail walk at Sehmel Homestead Park and learn more about the park’s natural areas, history and life on the homestead. Free! Perfect for families and people new to exploring the outdoors. Everyone is welcome. RSVP to Mary atmary@greatpeninsula.org. For more information, visit GreatPeninsula.org.

This is a sponsored post written in collaboration with the WeAreTeachers team and the National Fire Protection Association! 

As you might know if you’re one of my many teacher or homeschooler readers, October is Fire Prevention Month and Fire Prevention Week is the first week of the month.  If you’re getting ready to share fire safety materials with your students, or if you want to make sure your family is safe at home, you’ll want to check out this new, FREE app developed by our friends with the National Fire Protection Association.

It’s called Sparky’s Brain Busters, and my whole family enjoyed it. In fact, my tween downloaded it to his phone. I know!

You play by spinning the wheel and answering questions, which are a mix of general knowledge questions and fire safety topics. There are different levels and there are multi player options, too.

Some of the questions on the level my son picked were pretty hard. The tween collapsed with laughter when I got a question about the French and Indian Wars wrong. At least I know he learned something last year! Henry was puffed up with pride when he bailed me out on the pop culture questions about Nate The Great and Despicable Me. It’s not cheating if you gave birth to the person helping you. #Thatsarule

The spinner gives you categories at random, so you might answer four or five before one pops up about fire safety. I actually think this is great. Let’s be honest: Most kids aren’t going to be super psyched to play a fire safety game. This way they’re getting the information, but it’s mixed in organically, in a format kids are going to want to play over and over again.

If you’re a classroom teacher, this app would be perfect to use during transition periods, for a, “Brain Break,” or any other time you want to have some quick, but educational, activity. I think you’ll want to experiment with the levels first yourself, to figure out what suits your needs best. I would also keep track of the questions that came up about fire safety, so you can follow up with those in more detail.

In addition to the app, the National Fire Prevention Association has many other free resources for teachers and families, including lesson plans and a new video on the Great Chicago Fire with Laura Tarshis, the author of those I Survived Books.

If you have an intermediate age class, this is a great video. Really interesting information on the causes of the fire (Turns out Mrs. O’Leary’s cow probably got a bad rap), plus information on what was learned about fire safety in the aftermath. Look-I just planned a whole Monday morning for you. You’re welcome.

You can find that video on YouTube here.

You can get the app here on iTunes  or

here on Amazon for Android

You can also see the Sparky app trailer on YouTube.

Teachers-Be sure to check out the SparkySchoolHouse site just for you. And…...lesson plans! 

If you end up using these in your classroom, we’d love to hear about it. I know the team at the NFPA would love your feedback, too! They’re dedicated to making safety everyone’s business all year round!

We hope you enjoyed this post written in collaboration with the WeAreTeachers team on behalf of the National Fire Protection Association! As always, the opinions are all my own!

I had so much fun hanging out with the McChord MOPS moms this morning. Many thanks to Lana for inviting me, Linda for meeting for me, and all of you for such a great morning.

Here are links to posts and more information on everything I talked about. I think, “Regular,” readers will like them, too, especially if you’re a newer reader…..think of it as a, “Best Of,” list! Some of these posts are older, so the information is good, but you will want to confirm hours and pricing before you head out.

• My indoor playground guide is in the top under Rainy Day Play. I have separate posts for playgrounds, bounce house places, and malls with play areas. It’s organized by region and has links to sites, along with info. on hours and fees.
• Here is a link to  Pierce County Parks and Rec. I’d call and request a paper catalog, because their site is kind of wacky to navigate. Or here is a link to their current youth programs-info. on the tiny tots open gym is on pg. 22
• Here is a link to the Pierce County Library System. There is TONS to explore there. Use their calendar to find a story time or other program of interest. They do have some just for babies and toddlers. Play To Learn is the program run in conjunction with the Children’s Museum of Tacoma. It’s great!
• Here is my post on how to get a free museum pass from your library. (Pierce and King County Library systems and passes)
• Here is a post on how to get a pass to the Hands-On Children’s Museum in Olympia.  This is a little tricky. As we talked about, you might want to go on a free first Friday evening. If those are too busy for you, we do think it’s worthwhile to invest in an annual pass. A Pt.Defiance Zoo pass is also a worthwhile investment. Neither of these are cheap-think about using Christmas money from grandma? We are also running a giveaway to the Boo Bash at the HOCM soon. Stay tuned for that!
• Here is a review of the Hands-On Children’s Museum we ran shortly after it re-opened. It will give you an idea of what to expect.
• Here is a post on how to see salmon returning to spawn.
• Here is a post on apple themed events, though there aren’t really picking options. Here is a link to the Curran Orchard if you want to adopt a tree and do that next year! Yes, in the summer you can berry pick!
• Here is the page for the LOTT Wet Science Center in Olympia. I include these events in my weekend list, up every Friday.
• Here is the page for Olympia Family Theater.  I forgot to mention this one-look for their 5.00 weekday morning plays just for little ones.
• Here is info. on the South Sound Estuarium in Olympia.
• You can click on that ad in the sidebar (below content on your mobile)  for the scoop on the Science Dome at Pierce College. They’re a sponsor! Tell ’em I sent you!
• Here is a post with more info. on Jozee Rooz Indoor Petting Zoo in Spanaway.
• Here is my list of South Sound area pumpkin patches.  This is last year’s list, but it will help you find one.  Here is the home page for Schilter. Here is the one for Lattins. 
• Here is a list to the interactive parks guide from the city of Lacey. I forgot to mention the hikes in Dupont. Here is one that starts right behind city hall.
• I have information on the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge here, in this post on area nature walks-one of our most popular!
• Here is one on Priest Point, a favorite of ours in Olympia.
• Here is the Facebook page for Hike It Baby, a fun moms’ group to join if you like the idea of walking or hiking with your baby or toddler and other moms (and dads). The Tacoma group is very active, and I do believe an Olympia one has just started up. It’s free.
• Here is information on the Auburn Veterans’ Day Parade. I forgot to mention this one, but if you want to go to a Veterans’ Day Parade, it’s one of the only ones around, and it’s the biggest west of the Mississippi. It’s great!
• Pierce College has mom and child programs for babies as young as 18mos old.  You might also check Bates Technical College. Local hospitals also often offer baby and mom groups; I know Good Samaritan in Puyallup does.  Readers-If you know of other good playgroups or outings for very young babies, will you let me know? Thanks!

I’ll have a list of Harvest Festivals up soon, followed by  Halloween events right after that, and then our great, big list of holiday events, including tree farms, Santa visits, the half-off nights I mentioned at Fantasy Lights, neighborhood light displays, and much more.

Phew! That was a lot of fun wasn’t it? If you need help finding more, or you have questions about anything we talked about, feel free to send me an email or leave me a comment.

I have a calendar and new ideas here every day, plus a big weekend events guide that goes up every Friday morning.  You also might want to subscribe to my emails or like the site on Facebook!

If you’d like me to come talk to your group, just send an email to soundsfunmom@gmail.com. I’m seriously so honored that you would share your time with me. Thanks for that!