Hi all. My son is 8 months old and we live in DC, near Colombia Heights. I have looked up some fun activites to do w/ him while I am home but am wondering what places are reputable and most fun. There are baby yoga places, little gym type rec centers as well as music activity centers, but I'm not sure which to chose. Please let me know if you have found any near me that are particularly great. Thank You!
Check out OnesiesDC.com. It's an incredible program. It offers a different activity every week for six weeks giving an introduction to different activities avail for you and your baby (yoga, music, exercise, etc). It's a great way to meet other moms and decide what's right for you. It's in Bethesda. Is that too far? If the website is still under construction, contact: ____@____.com.
L.,
I agree with what Mama Mia said - don't pay for anything at this age! Even though it's chilly out, you can still get out for strolls. Walk, wander and watch the world go by. The Mall is perfect with all its hidden gardens between and within the museums. Lots of large open spaces in all of them. Natural History has the Discovery Room too. I haven't been to the Portrait Gallery since it's reopened but it used to have a gorgeous garden in the middle.
In the travel section of the bookstore, new or used, look for the books: DC for Free and DC for Kids.
... oh yeah.. get a MacLaren stroller - it's the best umbrella stroller ever and worth every cent. Mine is over 11 years old, has carried all five of my children (thru the years), and has been around the globe many times. If you hike, the Kelty backpack is brilliant.
Good luck!
We went to the Alladin Lamps Bookstore in Arlington one saturday afternoon for music time. It was a lot of fun and the entertainment was free. I am sure that you can find information on it on the web. I think they have activites during the week as well. I found out about it via a website called Go City Kids.com - I get weekly emails about kid friendly events in the area.
I second storytime at local libraries. I did this on a weekly basis with my first child. Also, The National Building Museum has a play/buliding area for children.
don't pay for things at this age- he would mostly enjoy free local parks and watching other kids do things he will be doing shortly- try the free stuff at the museums downtown as well as at your local libraries. A list of the places we usually go
Glen Echo Park in MD for puppet shows at the Puppet Company, picnic lunches
and a great playground. Also a carousel.
www.glenechopark.org
Performances at the Theater in the Woods Children's Theatre at Wolftrap
www.wolftrap.org
Hidden Oaks Nature Center on a rainy day
Hidden Pond Nature Center in Springfield for a nice day - great playground,
trails for exploring, pond etc
George Mason Regional Library or Arlington Library for story times and an occasional movie
My daughter is five months old and has been going to Gymboree since about nine weeks old. It seems to be well worth the expense and you learn about activities that you can do at home. The social group time is great for the babies!
Hi--
There's a great group you might consider joining-- it's on Meetup.com and they are all SAHM or part-time SAHMs like yourself. They do at least 5 or 6 activities a week, sometimes way more than that and even if you don't end up at all or most of the activities when they schedule them, the calendar is chock full of reputable and fun activities for you to do at your leisure. The site is http://moms.meetup.com/1922/ and you just have to attend one activity and meet one of the organizers for approval on the main list.
The moms are great and the stuff they do is great too!
Good Luck,
L. in Rockville
Good Morning L. M,
I have a 6 month old son and I have triued the class at Gymboree. The first class is free, but after, the cost well worth it. They get to interact with other kids, and you would be surprised at hat age how much fun they have. I live in DC as well, and now we are looking into a few swimming classes for him.
