If you stay home with your toddler, chances are that you have realized that being a stay at home parent does not always entail as much staying at home as the title may imply. Some of this may be due to your own need to get things done like grocery shopping and other errands, but some of it depends on the temperament of your toddler. Personally, I spend quite a bit of time at home and I could stay at home for days, but Dylan likes to go places. In fact, if we don’t go somewhere on any given day, the next day he usually asks me whether we can go somewhere.
Fortunately, he’s pretty flexible as far as the types of things that he enjoys doing in order to meet his need to be out in the community. The grocery store is always a big hit, as it the playground or going to meet friends for a play date. Recently, I have been interested in finding group activities for him to participate in with other kids his age. Fortunately, I have found a couple that are free which we really enjoy.
Ever since he was about a year old, we have enjoyed the weekly children’s story time at the library. Of course we don’t make it there every week, but when we go we have a good time. The library in our town has two weekly story times, one for ages two and under and one for ages two to five. Recently, we started going to the one for ages two to five and that program has the added bonus of making a craft that goes along with the stories of the day. Tomorrow, we will add yet another level of fun to our library adventures. The library has teamed up with the concert hall next door to offer a program that incorporates stories, crafts, and music for young children.
This past Friday, I took Dylan to a local art studio that has drop – in art for kids one day a week. A friend of mine who has a seven year old told me about it, and she said that the woman who runs the program is great with kids. She was right. We went, and Dylan played with clay and paint. Even though he was more interested in the box of odds and ends that was on the floor of the art studio than in the actual art supplies, he had a great time and the woman was very kind and helpful to us. We’ll be back this Friday.
Some toddlers thrive in settings where they can be out and about meeting new people. Fortunately, many communities have opportunities for kids and parents to get together and do fun things without breaking the bank. What are your favorite free community activities?