SAHMs-- what activities/classes do you take your 2 yr olds to?

We moved this summer and I'm trying to find new ways to get the boys out and about so they don't go stir crazy stuck in the house with me. I had originally planned on letting them do a Mother's Day out program, but we've decided to put it on hold for now because a) the only one we found that we felt comfortable with was about a half hour away (there could be others closer, but being new, it's hard to find) and b) we really don't have Joel's "potential asthma" under control and the slightest cold gets him all messed up for a week or so.

In our old city, we did Kindermusik, but there doesn't seem to be a class nearby here. There is a Little Gym, but it's a little pricey, and based on a friend's experience I don't know how well it would work with just one adult.

So any ideas?? I feel like my poor guys are going nuts and I just don't know what to do! I think story hour at the library starts next week, so I might try that, but that's all I've got!

 

Story hours at library and local bookstores, parks, local museums or zoo [many have a very reasonaable annual fee].

Did you ask about a Little Gym discount. My Gym around here has a 50% discount for the 2nd child.

Is there a YMCA?

Parks and Rec?

Is there a children's magazine for the area? We have a bunch that list all sorts of activities as well as topics of the month.

How about a twins/multiples group?

Best of luck!

 

It's sometimes easier when you have a group of people. We have a church group and do things twice a month:

Grocery store tours
Holiday activities (games, crafts, etc.)
Swimming (even just a wading pool in the yard or a waterfight or sprinklers)
McDonalds (play land for the kids, breakfast for the moms!)
Petting zoo

Most of those you could do without a group. We do a lot of crafts at home. And if all else fails we have a little swing set in the backyard and I just stick them outside.

 

Here's stuff we love to do:

-Playgroup - there's one run by EI that's a mix of free play and structured activities & it's really good. (Don't know how you'd go about finding something like this if you're not in EI, though.)

-Children's museum!!! Is there one near you?

-Storytime. Both at the library and at a local independent bookstore. (Always worth checking at the bookstores! They may even have more activities than the library sometimes.)

-Farms. There's one where you can go watch them milking the cows, and another where you can pick your own blueberries etc. (Kind of crazy-making with two toddlers, but then again, so is staying at home...)

-Bakery. Just being somewhere different sometimes helps a lot, and for them, a pumpkin walnut muffin is a HUGE treat!

-Zoo - ours is free one day of the month.

-Parks, of course!

-Beach - just a little dinky one by a pond.

-Running with mommy (in the stroller).

-Play with water in the yard: just get the hose, fill up a couple big stock pots with water, give them ladles, cups, sieves, etc, and let them go nuts!

-Do a yardwork/construction tour of your neighborhood. Take them for a walk (in or out of the stroller) and check out all the contractors' trucks and landscapers' trailers. (Mine will stand transfixed for like 20 min just checking out all the rakes, shovels, mowers, etc.) Anything with tools and/or machines is solid gold!

 

I just found a playgroup on meetup.com - maybe you could find something near where you live?

Some activities we do:
- Children's Museum (annual membership for frequent visits - ours is awesome and just a few blocks away!)
- Zoo (annual membership)
- Parks
- Bounce House places
- Library & Bookstore storytime

We also recently signed up for some classes through the city: parent/tot tumbling and an art class.

I look for locally-oriented websites to get ideas of what's going on, too. When it's cooler here, there will be more to do.

 

Oh, there's another I forgot to add: the fire station! You can call the one near you and see if you can bring the kids to visit. The ones by us are really nice - at one, you can just stop by anytime to check out the trucks, and at another, you just call ahead and then visit. Very cool (and free!).

 

We are going to start a mommy and me gymnastics class this Fall.

We go the to the Fire Station all.the.time!! They also like the library, going out to lunch, the mall, stroller rides in the neighborhood, etc.

 

Like Erin said, go to meetup.com. There are alot of playroups or SAHM groups in San Antonio. I just started one in Kerrville (Kerrville Mom & Tots Club), but that is probably to far for you to drive. In San Antonio, the children's museum is really neat. There is also an indoor playcenter in SA called Dynamoze that we go to every now and then. It is perfect for the younger kids. Maybe even get a Season Pass to the Zoo or Seaworld. We have season passes to Seaworld and my SIL and I will often just take the kids for a couple hours to run around in the splash park they have. Also, here is a neat website: SA our kids for a list of different things to do in the area.

 

I agree, go to www.meetup.com and find your local playgroup. I am a member of a playgroup and also an organizer for our twins' group. My twins' have plenty of friends and enjoying their summer with park, zoo, storytime, indoor bounce, McDonalds, splash pad, and etc.

Have fun!
RJ

 

Thanks ladies! Looks like I need to check out meetup.com! :lol: I like the fire station idea- I bet they'd like that! Laura, thanks for the links too! I'll check those out. I thought of doing the seaworld passes thing, but lately it's been so stinkin' hot that we haven't wanted to go! But we'll have to at some point!

 

When mine were 2 we did playgroup (with our twins club) and My Gym and storytime at the library.

 

Mine go to Gymboree (and I can take them alone easily) and library storytime. Sometimes we'll go out for lunch at McDonalds or Chic Filet and they can play in the playcenter. Water outdoor play is really big too in the Texas heat.

 

You're Welcome! I know what you mean about the heat. Honestly, we only saw 2 shows all summer. The rest of the time was spent in the water park. It was just too stinkin' hot!!

 

I'm a member of a local MOMS Club, and that really helps. I've made some good friends through it too.

 

Not a GREAT idea, but a decent way to pass 30 minutes or so....

We had a blast at the pet supply store (Petsmart or Petco - one of the two!) today. Lots of animals for the kids to check out - cats, fish, reptiles, birds, hamsters/rodents, and other customers' dogs. They simply love going to the pet supply store. We did buy something today for our cats, but sometimes we will just stop by if I want to kill some time and have fun without making a big day of it.

 

For us (we're close to 2!):

Parks
Zoo (annual membership - it's ONE mile away, so if we only can an hour, it's no biggie!)
MOMs group playdates
Playstructure places
Mom/Tot programs, it's a great pre-cursor to preschool!
If I do something, like a weekly class with my church, they go into the nursery. So it's just like a play date for them .

Hope this helps!

 

Since I'm Canadian, my problem isn't the heat, but the lack of it! Finding warm, indoor activities during the fall and winter is a challenge. Apart from the ideas above, including zoos, museums, meetup.com, etc., I've found the following ideas helpful:
- our local bookstore has an awesome kids' section, complete with cozy beanbag chairs and a kid-sized train for sitting in. Bonus: I can drink coffe while the kids play.

- we ride the subway to a mall downtown, do some quick window shopping, and then ride the subway back again. Because I drive to the subway station and park underground, and take the pedway system up to the mall, we're indoors for most of the trip. And the kids LOVE the 'choo-choo.'

- our local YMCA has a fantastic indoor playground.

 

I moved to a new place one year ago. I joined the local mother's club and immediately started going to playgroup for the boys' age range.

More recently, we started going to My Gym - the boys love it. One of the benefits to My Gym is 1) they let you have one adult for 2 children and 2) they give you a 50% off twin discount (meaning you pay full price for one twin, 50% for the other).

Other than that, we go to the park and keep fairly busy. Local park and rec usually has some classes, too, but I found that a lot of organizations require two adults for two children.

 

I'm not a total SAHM (I work full time, but at night), but hear ya on needing to get these 2 yr olds OUT OF THE HOUSE!

We're in WI, so it's starting to get cold, & I've scoured for indoor activities for the winter.

Check your local Parks & Rec. I signed the boys up for five 1 hr classes throughout the winter that they should enjoy & that can be 1 parent to 2 kids.

We also will do story time at the library (I haven't tried this yet, so I'll let ya know !!!!) I know some of our local bookstores do it, too, so I need to look into that.

Our Children's Museum isn't super exciting, but the boys love it. We have a year pass, so it's great even to kill 30 mins & not pay a fortune. They also do organized activities there. Last time we were there, the boys were content for 2 hrs!

We have an indoor sports center here that has free play from 9:30-11 on their indoor soccer field. For $3 a kid, they can run around, play with balls, jump in bounce houses, etc. They do organized activities during that time, too. I look forward to going this year, since last year the boys were a little too little.

Our mall has an indoor play center. It's pretty lame, but the boys don't really care. We can also do window shopping & if it's quiet enough, I let them run up & down in the mall.

Surprisingly enough, haircuts are a treat around here! The boys get SO excited!

I'm not a fan of McDonalds, but we have done it. All the germs gross me out. Plus, my duo are a little too little for all the equipment in there, but we try.

The boys actually enjoy going shopping (for short periods of time) & the Pet Store is a huge hit.

In warmer temps, we

Go to the park. We mix it up to keep things fun by going to different parks.

Our local 'zoo'. It has a few animals, some parks, & a splash pad (and it's free). It kills a little time anyway.


Lucky for me, a LOT of my friends have kids around the boys' age, so we do lots of playdates. We also have lots of neighbor kids that they play with outside.

Things that we do around the house include side walk chalk, bubbles (they LOVE those), go for walks, take drives around town to look at stuff, play with our sand/water table, play in our baby pool, play playdoh, color, go to the store, etc etc. Stuff like that. I much prefer to get out of the house, but at least staying in is an option to help save money & keep the boys quarantined if they're sick or if the weather is too icky (ie raining, snowing, too hot, too cold, etc).

Good luck, I'm dreading this winter with these 2. I'm hoping to find SOMETHING to get us out of the house daily, but with our wicked snow storms up here, it's hard to say! We bought a cool 2 seater sled, so now I just need to find WARM snowpants for all us so we can play outside, too!

 

go to www.mops.org

It's mothers of preschoolers and it's international. It is a WONDERFUL place for you to meet friends and form great relationships.

 

Oh yeah, ditto Petco! It's a really fun field trip for them. First time we went, as we walked past the ferrets & guinea pigs, Ivy said, "Maybe they will have elephants!" :lol: (Had to make do with parakeets and goldfish.)