Once again it's summer. Once again it's hot. And once again I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth. I always do a column or two in the summer with ideas for outings with your kids that are free or cheap or at least cool. But at the same time I think more and more that summer should have plenty of days when your kids do nothing but make their own fun at home.
Last summer I wrote a column urging more unscheduled summer days for kids. Let me repeat something Anna Quindlen wrote last year in Newsweek: "Downtime is when we become ourselves, looking into the middle distance, kicking at the curb, lying on the grass or sitting on the stoop staring at the tedious blue of the summer sky. I don't believe you can write poetry, or compose music, or become an actor without downtime, and plenty of it. A hiatus that passes for boredom is really the quiet moving of the wheels inside that fuel creativity."
Her words had a lot of impact on me last summer. Some of our best days were ones spent at home with no agenda and no television. Still, summer is also a time to do things with your kids that you may not have time to do when there's homework or school projects. So here are a few new ideas and some old ones to sprinkle in here and there between downtime at home. If you work full time, try them in the evening or on weekends.
Great Explorations is the hands-on children's museum at 1925 Fourth St. N, St. Petersburg. To me this is the greatest invention for summer since the swimming pool. My kids can amuse themselves inside Great Ex for at least two hours straight and it requires no sunscreen. Great Ex moved from the Pier and reopened April 1 next to Sunken Gardens.
There are about 30 exhibits that kids can operate with their hands and minds. Mine love the computer and camera system that allow them to make their own mini-films by manipulating plastic creatures and different backgrounds. We also spend a lot of time in the mock pizza parlor where they load felt pizza crusts with foam toppings, cook them in a stone oven, box them, deliver them to tables and work the cash register. There's also the race car track, magnet games, the giant slingshot and a rock climbing wall.
We spend a lot of time in the corner that's gated off for kids 6 and under. My 4-year-old puts the feathery bird costume on and goes straight for the Big-Bird-sized nest. There's a life-size pirate ship with a periscope and pirate, sailor and mermaid costumes as well. One section of this corner is filled with bins of building toys. There's also a cozy book area.
Admission: Children 3 to 11 and seniors cost $7. Adults costs $8. Children under 2 are free. Family passes cost $50 a year for a family, including grandparents. It's open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4:30 p.m. Call 821-8992 for more information.
The Shell Store is at 348 Corey Ave. in downtown St. Pete Beach. We discovered this shop last summer when there was a downpour right when we reached the beach. It's filled with every shell you can imagine selling for 10 cents to $2,000.
There's a craft area where children can pick out 12 shells for 50 cents then go home and make something out of them. The shop sells mirrors and boxes they can decorate starting at $3. My daughter still keeps the sculpture of three little pigs nursing from a bigger pig made out of olive and scallop shells in her window ledge. The "shell art" of animals, flowers and more are embellished with eyes, noses and tails and range in price from 75 cents to $2.95.
So if you need a break from the hot beach, have your kids take their allowance for a fun stop-off at this shop. Corey Avenue is right off of Gulf Boulevard. The store is open Monday to Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Call 360-0586. Lake Seminole Park is on Park Boulevard about 5 miles west of U.S. 19. When it comes to parks, shade or a breeze are prerequisites if I'm going to take my kids there in the summer. The big playground at Lake Seminole has both, though more shade than breeze. Actually, there are two playgrounds. The one for kids age 2 to 5 has brightly colored slides, bridges, ladders, steering wheels and monkey bars. The other playground for ages 5 to 12 has a plastic rocky ledge leading up to one side along with twisted, wavy and traditional monkey bars. It also has a spiral tube slide and a set of three "racing" slides side by side. Between the two playgrounds are two rocking dinosaurs built for two and a 5-foot high red turtle for climbing. Along with a huge lake, of course, the park also boasts trails for biking, running and skating, numerous picnic tables and shelters and several front-porch-type wooden swings around the smaller lakes.
Playtime Express is an indoor playroom that recently opened across from Tyrone Square Mall just off 68th Street. There are times for open play for $6 a family as well as scheduled craft times, cooking activities and Spanish, sign language and music classes. Classes also cost $6. Owner Monica VanLandingham is a Music With Mar instructor. The spacious and bright room has a plastic playhouse, tree house and light house for kids to climb in and slide down. It has about eight plastic cars they can ride around in along with a small ball pit, two giant bouncing balls and a plastic roller coaster. My 4-year-old and I had fun playing there for a good hour. There are also comfortable rocking chairs for moms with babies and a separate snack area. Kids and parents wipe their hands with sanitary wipes when they enter. Call 344-6143 or click on www.playtime-express.com
Here are a few more ideas from summers past.
Largo Central Park has a very big, shady playground, train rides on select weekends and a cultural center with kids' plays in the summer. Call 586-7415 for more information.
Bill Jackson sporting goods store on U.S. 19 in Pinellas Park is full of tents and Scuba suits and stuffed buffalo, moose and owls kids love to gawk at.
H&R Trains on U.S. 19 in Pinellas Park is filled with trains and dollhouses kids can play with, and there's a big model train behind the store.
Your local library has story hours for all ages each week in the morning or evening.
Kids like visiting pet stores as long as they understand they can look but not buy.
Your local fire station offers free tours to groups as small as six.
Highland Family Aquatic Center in Largo is a great city-operated water park with giant slides, fountains, a wading area and a jungle gym in the middle of the pool. 518-3018.
The SPCA in Largo is open to the public and allows kids to interact with all types of animals from dogs and kittens to bunnies and goats. 586-3591.
- You can reach Katherine Snow Smith by e-mail at snowsmith@verizon.net or write Rookie Mom, St. Petersburg Times, PO Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731.
