Monday, August 1, 2011

Tip for Tuesday--Field Trip Edition

 Last week the boys and I headed out for some fun at an indoor park.  It was absolutely gorgeous--just check out my lunch-time view:


 It was a cool oasis of lush green in the midst of a very warm and humid day.  Ahhhh.


In addition to enjoying the stream with several waterfalls meandering through the park, and admiring the real plants growing in the park, we were able to use the multipurpose room containing a bounce house, tons of fun riding toys, and some basketball hoops and playground balls.  So much fun!  Our boys l o v e d these hand-powered scooters.

And, of course, the main attraction was this several-stories-high play structure, with several slides and tunnels, and areas for climbing, swinging and bouncing, which brings me to a great tip.  Play structures like this are super fun for kids to explore, but tend to be anxiety inducing in parents who find it impossible to keep their children in sight. 















To make it easier to spot your children when you're in a crowd, like at an amusement park or museum, or in a big play structure like this, dress them in matching, distinctive, brightly colored clothing.  Child care centers and schools have been doing this for years--why not adapt it for use with your family? 


My boys were so much easier to spot sporting these red, white and blue tie dye shirts.  As an added bonus, should one of them go missing, it's easier to remember and be able to describe to searchers what the missing child is wearing when they're all wearing the same thing (on the down side, if your children are behaving badly while wearing their matching, distinctive, brightly colored clothing, it's easier for other parents to figure out whom to glare at disapprovingly--thankfully, I didn't have that issue during this outing).

We had such a great time, and I was able to easily keep track of where my children were!

Bonus tip: if you're thinking of visiting a fun place like this, it might be worthwhile to call first to ask if any groups will be using the facility that day.  We intended to visit this park on Wednesday, but when I called, I was told that there were two large (totalling 100 kids) groups scheduled to visit on Wednesday, but none on Thursday.  We postponed our visit, and had the place nearly to ourselves for a couple of hours.

1 comment:

  1. The added bonus of the matching bright colored outfits is that if your Jr. High aged child sees any of his Jr. High aged friends, they have something to ridicule him with for years to come.

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