10 Free things to do with kids in Toledo

Although summer is coming to end, there is still time to make summer memories! I want to share with you some FREE events you can still enjoy with your kids this summer. Whether you live in or near Toledo, Ohio hold on to this post for fun activities to with kids.

 1.Movie Nights at  Hensville !

Pilkington presents Fleetwood's Movie night. Owens Corning outdoor concert stage in Hensiville park is transformed into a giant movie screen! Admissions to this event is free for the whole family! You just need to bring lawn chairs or blankets. You can order from Fleetwoods Tap room, or get fresh popcorn and treats!

The next free movie night is Saturday, August 19 at 9:30pm. Movie: Major League 

Fleetwoods is located at 28 N. St Clair Street Toledo, Ohio 43604 

 
2. Fossil Digging at Orlander Park !

The park is made up of 5 acres of rock quarry, where you can dig up actual fossils. The specimens are in soft shale that you can break away with your bare hands. You may bring a brush and container to clean and transport your findings. This event is totally free, and you can take your treasures home!
 Orlander Park is located at 6930 Sylvaina Ave, Sylvaina Ohio

Christian Daycare located 2340 N Holland-SylvainaToledo, OH. Pre-Enrolling 0 to Age 5.

3. Food Court Fridays at Franklin Park Mall! 

 Every Friday this summer, Franklin park mall will present FREE fun activities for families. They will feature interactive games, crafts and presentations from local organizations.

The next free Food Court Friday is  Friday July 28 from 11am to 1pm. 

Franklin Park mall is located at 5001 Monroe St. Toledo, Ohio 43623 

4. Apple Camp or Kids Hour

 The Apple Store at Franklin Park mall offer 3 day session summer camps, or 1 day 60 minute session. The summer camps offer three different sessions Coding and Programming Robots, Composing music, and creating stories with iMovie.  Kids Hour cover topics Sphero Maze challenge, where you program Sphero robot. Creating music with GrageBand, where children will learn how to make basic song production. Making movies together, kids will make a short movie.

The  next free Kids hour is Saturday August 2, 4:30-5:30pm.  All these events are Free, but pre-registration is required. Visit Today Apple for more details. 

5. Toledo Farmers Market

Every Saturday your family can visit the Farmers.  This is a great opportunity to learn about making healthy food choices, and purchasing locally grown produce. July 29, from 9am to 1pm is Kids Day at the Market.  There will face painting and other fun activities.
The Toledo Farmers Market is located at 525 Market Street, Toledo, Ohio 43604

6. Home Depot DYI workshops

 The Home Depot offer FREE workshops for children once a month. Each session has a different them. The sessions are hands on, children get free kit, apron, and pin!  

The next workshop is wooden Penske truck  on Saturday August 5, from 9am-12pm. Registration is required. Visit Home Depot on 1035 W Alexis Rd Toledo, OH 43612. 

7. Wildwood Playground  

  Children will love a FREE day at the park! Explore Wildwood new playground! Wildwood Park is always free and open to the public. Located at 5100 W. Central, Toledo, Ohio.

  

8. Family Center at the Art Museum  

  The Toledo Art Museum Family center host several family events each week. Each themed activity is FREE, and you and your little ones can create your own memories and masterpieces! Visit this Saturday for At the Sea Shore "Inspired by the many seashore images found in our collection, create your own summertime, sandy, seashore painting using watercolors and collage materials."- TMA Event Description

The next At the Sea Shore Event is July 29, 12pm-5pm. Toledo Museum of Art. 2445 Monroe, Toledo, Ohio 43606

9. Discovery Trails at Toledo Botanical Gardens 

Children and families can discover "playable places" and "playable moments" at The Botanical Gardens. Take stroll around the trail, stop to discover each playable section of the garden. Which includes secret forest, nature lab, pondside meadow, and firefly woods. 

The Botanical Gardens is FREE and open to the public year around. 

10. Visit The Imagination Station 

 Free for kids on Saturday, with paid adult admission. Now they are featuring there Dinosaurs around the world exhibit.

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How to use Fidget Spinners for Learning

How to use Fidget Spinners for learning! 

The latest kid crazy is the fidget spinners. My boys got caught up in the hype and begged for them weekly during the last month of school. I refused to purchase them because they were not being used for the intended purpose, and I was afraid of it becoming a distraction at school.  However, during a trip to NY, their Grandfather brought them back one as a special gift.  ( When parents say no, they ask Grandpa)  Anyway, they were happy, so that it was all good! 

                                                             

                                                                  

 So, here we are 3 weeks into summer vacation and my boys are constantly playing with these things. Since the boys just could not but them down I thought that we would incorporate them into our Summer Learning Activities!

Here are few ways to use them

To practice sight words or spelling words:

Materials:

Pencil

Paper

Fidget Spinner

For my little one going into Kindergarten we used it as sight word game.  I created a pie chart with four sight words written in them. He had to spin the fidget in the middle and which ever on it landed on her had to practice writing it out.   Instead of sight words you could also use spelling words to practice.

Math: probability and graphing

Materials:

Pencil

Paper

Crayons 

Graph paper (optional )

Fidget Spinner

My oldest had to create a pie chart and color each section different colors.  He had to spin the fidget in the middle and record which color it landed on. He choose how many times he was going to spin it, and continued to record which color it landed on after each spin.  He then created bar graph showing which color it landed on the most.  To take it a step further you can have your child create different size pie charts and compare the probability of each.

So, these are just a few  easy ideas we came up with on a warm summer day. What other ways have seen children use fidget spinners?

Fall Family Activity The Family Tree

Fall is my one my families favorite time of year. The cool crisp air changing leaves and apple picking the best part of fall. Most of all we like to spend time together and do fun creative activities and crafts. After a family walk at the park we decided to make our very own fall scene.

What your need: 
Paint
paint brush
paint cups (we used coffee filters)
Canvas or poster board
Newspaper (for the mess)

We started with the youngest member of our family. He got to paint his  arm and hand with brown paint. He loved how much it tickled and fun to get all messy.

With a completely paint arm he carefully pressed his arm onto the poster board. The younger they are the more help they may need with this step. You want to be sure it does not smear, so that it looks like a tree.

                             


Next we took turns, one by one making our "tree" prints. Depending on the size of your paper, and number of family members, you want space out your prints to ensure everyone can fit!

One we had all of our tree prints completed, we each painted leaves on the tree with our finger prints. This was so much fun to fill our trees with cool fall colors.  We add sunshine and grass and fallen leaves to the grown.

Each tree was unique and different, like every member in our family.  When we come all together we make a beautiful picture.  This was a  nice family fall activity that we all enjoyed together.

What your child will learn: 

• Sensory 
• Fine Motor skills 
• Colors 
• self-expression through art 
• 
  

For Preschool Teachers and Child Care providers:

This is a great family engagement activity. Invite your families to complete this activity in your classroom. It may not be the whole family but  Mommy/Daddy and child can do this together. 

Try this activity with your family and share with us how it went. Feel free to share your unique pictures. 

5 ways to Learn and play with your child

The parent or teacher involved in the child’s play, must first believe that positive play experience are important to a child development. Through adult support children can gain confidence, build cognitive skills, language skills, as well as have an enriched play experience.   Here are 5 ways you can get involved and have an enriching play experiences with your child.

1.Read a story then “act it out” or play it out.  When retelling a story your child is building their language skills, vocabulary, comprehensions, and sequencing skills.  For young children you should use props, or dramatic play materials. Using concrete objects help children make direct association with words and the context of the story.

2.  Create your own story.  Allow your child to unleash their imagination and create their own unique story.  Children can use props, dramatic play materials, or create it in print. The adult role is to follow the child lead, and it important not to influence the story line. In creating print the adult can write what is dictated to them by the child, which help a child understand that words can be written.

                                                

3. You can explore your environment.  Go on a scavenger hunt at home or anywhere.  You can have a child search the area of for certain color objects to learn colors. They can search for letters, numbers, or words. The possibilities are endless and this is an easy and fun activity for most ages.

4. Play a game. Playing a game together creates a secure attachment or bond. It builds grammar and vocabulary skills by simply reading and explaining instructions. Depending on the complexity of the game children can learn practical skills, life lesson, or build cognition skills.

5. Just play. What every toys or materials your child is interested in at the moment, you should can just join them.  You have to follow their lead and allow them to direct the activity, but you can give them undivided attention, support, and have fun!

Easy Kid Activity-Noodles of Fun

Looking for easy kid activity? Try Rianbow Noodles

Rainbow Noodles is a great sensory activity! This activity is fun to make and even more fun to play with.  It is really easy all you need is

1. A pack of Spaghetti noodles
2.  Food coloring (gel base works best)
3.  Hot water
4. Salt 

Boil noodles according to directions on the package. ADD salt to prevent noodles from sticking together. 

Drain noodles and allow cooling

Separate noodles into 4 bowls

Add gel based food coloring to each individual bowl for desired coloring. 

Mix food coloring until the noodles are completely coded. You may add more food coloring for darker color.

Allow noodles to dry for 20-30 minutes

Mix noodles and have ODDLES of NOODLES Fun! 

Science Projects for Kids

Kids Science Activity 

I like to call this science experiment Color Fizz! All you need is three simple ingredients, that you may already have in your home. You need baking soda, vinegar, and food coloring. Mix the vinegar and food coloring  and use a straw or dropper to drop the mixture into a pan of baking soda. The kids will love to see the colors and the fizz! 

Science, Art, Learning, Fun