Acitivity Ideas from Locals . . . Please!

If I hadn't joined a playgroup when I first moved here I would never known about the plethora of indoor play gyms and kid-friendly coffee houses all over the Seattle area! Our original playgroup has since dis-banded, with the kids all school-aged now, but the play areas remain the same.

I live in Lynnwood and once a week looked forward to my drive down to one of the north Seattle play gyms - Ravenna Eckstein CC, Meadowbrook CC, Greenlake CC, Magnuson . . . just look at the Seattle Parks and Rec site and you'll find all the times listed. http://www.seattle.gov/parks/Children/play.htm
Other helpful sites I use for ideas are:
ParentMap: http://www.parentmap.com/?option=com_pmcalendar&regio...
Red Tricycle: http://www.redtri.com/category/play/
Find a Meetup play group: http://www.meetup.com/

Enjoy!

Yeah... the reason we're not out in the rain, by and large, is that 40 degrees and raining -aka october through may- just makes you sick. Literally sick. The racking cough and sniffles that don't end. For sports practices, or puddle jumping, or other occasional things we'll be out and about... but not as an every day thing. Whenever the sun comes out we'll STAY outside if it starts the drizzle, but when it actually starts raining, we head back inside. "Or bwee end up being biserable. Bwith sick cwanky kidsh." Also... playground equipment is DANGEROUS when wet (aka slippery). Don't fret though... June is 50/50 for good weather. But summer starts around here (and our definition of summer is 60-80 degrees and not raining MOST of the time... we still get 50 degree days and rain in summer) July 5th. The day after independance day until early september. Until then:

- Seattle Gymnastics Academy - for kids 5 and under
http://www.seattlegymnastics.com/lakecity/events/indoor-p...

- Indoor Pools
http://www.seattle.gov/parks/pools.asp
( for shoreline, edmonds, mountlake terrace, bellevue, redmond, issaquah pools you'd need to google... as each mini-city here in greater seattle has their own)

- Community Centers (some have indoor play spaces, others have gyms for basketball, others have pools... they're all really different from each other)

- Fast Food Play Places

- Woodland Park Zoo has a giant indoor play place (if you buy a wolf pass, you can get free entry into the zoo year round) http://www.zoo.org/zoomazium

- REI downtown (for their giant "treehouse")

- Jump Planet (drop in times, Bothell) http://www.jump-planet.com/

- Stone Gardens Climbing Gym (Ballard Locks) http://www.stonegardens.com/

- Seattle Science Center

- Riding a Ferry (as long as you skip the commute times, you can run around inside, as they're practically empty, and if the rain lets up go for a windy walk... plus even if you're just sitting, kids love ferries for some reason)

Go City Kids also has a weekly/monthly newsletter that has tons of happenings.

Kiddo and I have recently started spending MOST of the winter nov-april up at snoqualamie pass playing in the snow. Kids under 6 are super cheap for a season pass. But once you have your passes and gear, you only have to pay for gas to get up there. You can also skip the pass and just go for a day of tubing. But the sun and snow was something we just found too irresistible. So M-F we were mostly there :) :) :) http://www.summitatsnoqualmie.com/

I'm not sure how old your children are, but there are some great resource books available with ideas of things to do with your kids: "Bringing out Baby, Places to Take Babies and Toddlers (Seattle, The Eastside and South Snohomish County)" which is aimed at 3 and under. Or, there is "Discover Washington with Kids" which covers activities from age to to around 12ish and covers all of Washington with a big focus on the Seattle area.

Community Center Tot Rooms - go to Seattle Parks website and you'll find all the community centers - it's a little work to download the brochures but well worth it.

Also we usually have a towel in the car to wipe down slides - also a few other parks for hiking rather than playing on the playground equipments. Camp Long, Jack Block Park, Alki beach - to name a few in West Seattle.

Play in our own yards. Go to the pool at the 'Y'. Wii. Go to the library taking the bus or walking if nearby. Play indoor games such as Twister. Find crafts for them to do inside. Show them how to bake bread. Read. Trip to the aquarium, the zoo, Children's Museum, MOHAI, the Museum of Flight, a trip to Alki Beach. A day trip to Bainbridge Is, Whidbey Island (Camp Casey), or Bremerton via the ferry. A day trip using the train to Olympia go visit the state capitol and the museum there. Go to Pike Place Market once a week to buy fruits and vegetables, watch them make cheese, catch a fish, etc. Volunteer at an assisted living center, the residents love to see little kids and they would have a gob of 'adopted' grandparents, brightening their day, making their week.

The great thing about routines is they're meant to be broken, variety is the spice of life. You don't say how old your boys are so many of these suggestions may or may not be appropriate, but you can find something everyday to do with your kids in the greater Puget Sound area. Having them become self sufficient of entertaining is important, not requiring the interaction of others to have fun is just as important as knowing how to get along with others. Building that inter-dependence between siblings is great. My kids were their own 'pre-school'. They played with each other, entertained each other a great deal. They get along great with others, are team members and leaders. And as teenagers, young adults they still are amongst each other's best friends, confidents and resources of support and feedback.

I wish you many happy rainy and sunny days!!!

I dunno, we go all year round. In the winter i have a kit that includes a towel, dry pants, and a potty seat. And my friend's innovation - a window squeegee, which works awesomely on slides.
Admittedly, the playgrounds are not as full, but, they're still useful.

We also have aquarium and zoo memberships. The zoomazium (at the zoo) is good for an hours entertainment even in hard rain. There are a number of other indoor play spaces around, too, but not that i know links for offhand.

We enjoy going to the Pacific Science Center. My son is still a toddler, so we spend a lot of time in the little toddler area. It has a water table with toys and climbing structures and musical instruments. But the rest of the Science Center is geared for older kids with amazing things to play with and learn.

Playtime at Seartle community centers: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/centers.asp

They have designated times (different days and times at different centers) that are only for birth to 5 yr olds. Some centers call it playtime others call it wear-it-out time. Just look under activities for little ones in the brochures.
Have fun!

Seattle children's museum, zoomazium at the woodland park zoo, Seattle aquarium, those are our rainy day picks! There are also some good programs and childcare at the YMCA, and several coffee shops with play places as well. Bellevue square and Alderwood mall in Lynnwood have great kid play zones as well. Www.parentmap.com always has a calendar of local free and inexpensive kids events as well!

Hello and welcome to the Pacific NW! There are lots of really great ideas in previous responses, and the only thing missing (if I read thoroughly) are suggestions for a few kid friendly coffee shops around the area. They have climbing toys and space to run and work off all that extra energy! Below are a few I know of. They all charge a small hourly fee, but I guess you'd be paying for a lot of other activities as well, and it's nice to mix things up sometimes! Additionally, I put links for a few other indoor places my playgroup likes to go during foul weather. They're usually quite busy, so it's also a good place to meet other moms!

http://www.cafeoplay.net/ - Seattle
http://kidzncoffee.com/ComePlay.html - Lynnwood
http://www.totspotcafe.com/ - Woodinville

http://www.cityofmlt.com/cityServices/recreation/indoorPl... - Mountlake Terrace

http://beat.downtownbellevue.com/2008/10/kids-cove-now-op... - Bellevue
Alderwood Mall play area - Lynnwood

Have fun!

Welcome! And if it helps and the rain should be over soon. The summers are usually great!
We also have a membership to the Zoo and Seattle Children's Museum.
There is another children's museum in Bellevue as well.

When it's rainy out we still go outside, just skip the playgrounds. We will take walks or tricycle rides, collect rocks and sticks...
We also have great libraries and if you have toddlers, many community centers offer indoor play gyms. Check our the parks and rec. website.

Have fun!

Well, there are the malls, some of which have play areas. Or join a health club where they have year round swimming. Depending on what your disposable income is you can go to the Children's Museum at Seattle Center or enroll them in a gymnastics class or join a play group and go on excursions to the zoo, etc. How about some kind of little kid exercise video/dvd? Just a few ideas off the top of my head!