Tag: winter

January 6, 2015

WDM Community Center

We checked out another indoor play area last week! The West Des Moines Community Center located in Valley Junction. Another place that was recommended by Des Moines Beyond 4 Walls!

The WDM Community Center has been around for awhile, but we just decided to visit because they changed their hours! They are a little bit more convenient for those with little kiddos.

It is open Monday’s & Wednesday’s 10 am – Noon

The kids had fun, but I was not overly impressed with what they had to offer.

They had several toy cars, four-wheelers, little motorcycles, a plastic stroller with baby, and tumbling mats. The room was very large, so the kids enjoyed running around and riding back and forth.

I felt that they could place more things out to play with such as plastic slides, toy houses, etc. I was expecting more, something a little more similar to Waukee Tot Lot.

After we were there for awhile someone mentioned there might be more things to play with in the closet, but it was locked 🙁

Overall, I think this is a great place to take your kids to burn off some energy in these colder months, but I think they could offer some more items to play with! We will probably check it out later this winter to see if there is more 🙂

December 13, 2014

Holiday Pinterest Crafts

This past weekend one of my good friends came to town with her kids and we did some FUN Holiday Pinterest crafts! Every year we get together before Christmas to have a gift exchange and do fun crafts. Here are a few things we did, that I highly recommend checking out!

Fleece Christmas Tree

I came across this idea, last year, but never got around to doing it, because I was so nauseous with baby Amelia 🙁 But I finally got it done and Monte loves it! The daycare kiddos also enjoy it so it’s a win-win!

Canvas Snowflakes

This was a perfect project for the older kids. They got to choose what colors to use and had fun painting! Monte always loves painting and the hardest part is to tear him away from the paints when we are done. All you need is paint, canvas, and masking tape. Place the masking tape on the canvas so it looks like a snowflake. Then let the kids paint …

After they are done painting and the paint is completely dry, slowly remove the paint …

You end up with a pretty snowflake! An awesome decoration for the home that can be used all winter long!

Mistletoes

I absolutely loved this project and it turned out great. It is very easy to do with a baby and even easier if you have a helper to help place the painted feet on the canvas. We made one on a canvas for a decoration and made more prints on card stock for the Grandparents.

What holiday crafts are you doing this season?

November 23, 2014

The Playground for Kids

We checked out another FUN indoor activity … The Playground for Kids!

Another great place recommended by Des Moines Beyond 4 Walls!

Playground for Kids is such an awesome place, located in Ankeny. It is full of so many activities. We went on a Monday and for the first hour we were there, we were the only ones playing!

You know when you go to carnivals and other kid events, they have the bouncy houses and inflatable slides? AND your children have to wait in line for their turn to go?! Well, we had none of that! Monte was so excited to go up and down the slides, over and over again. No one telling him to WAIT!

There was also a large tree house you could climb up and there were tunnels up above, that you could crawl around and slide down the many, many slides available to get down.

There was also a fun bouncy house that had a large “hoop” that you could throw balls into!

Admission into The Playground for Kids is $8.50 for 2-12 year old. Walker up to 23 months are $5.50. They also offer a $50 punch card for 10 plays, which saves you $3.50 each time you visit. I highly recommend purchasing this now, because this is a place where you will WANT to take your children to burn some energy this winter.

They also offer a3 month membership for $99, which allows discounts on concession treats, birthday parties, and unlimited visits!

I mentioned birthday parties … check out the awesome packages they offer! They also offer rentals of their inflatables if you decide to have your own party, at your house!

I definitely recommend visiting! You could even ask for a punch card OR membership for the holidays!

November 18, 2014

Imagination Playschool

Winter has hit and settled in the Midwest! Sadly, no more parks for awhile, so we are checking out some great indoor places to run and burn off some energy. We checked out another great place last week … Imagination Playschool.

Imagination Playschool is located at the Pioneer Columbus Center is Des Moines. This was another place I learned about from Des Moines Behind 4 Walls!

It’s a large gym that is full with fun activities to do including foam blocks, play houses, tumbling items, and even a walk climbing wall!

Monte’s favorite were the cars and cars that went down a hill, kind of like a roller coaster!

Imagination Playschool is not officially open full time yet. They are hosting a few preview dates and last Wednesday was one of them. They have the following preview dates …

November 26th, 9 am – 2 pm

December 10th, 9 am – 2 pm

Starting in January it will be open certain days of the weeks, every week! It’s $2.50 per child to play. It’s well worth it, to keep the kiddos busy on a cold, wintery day!

I highly recommend putting this on your list of places to check out!

Have you ever been to Imagination Playschool?