Monday, June 27, 2011

Summer Baby Activities

I have volunteered to be my neighborhood PTA association's playgroup coordinator this year.  What does that mean? Well first off, I have to say I am super happy and impressed with my neighborhood and the PTA group they have. My neighborhood is in a part of town in Dallas called Lake Highlands and it has a great small town feel to it.  I grew up in Dallas and didn't really spend any time in this part, so it feels like a new place to me. Plus it is one of the more laid back, less pretentious areas of Dallas, so that automatically means I love it!  (trying to get as close to that Austin laid back feeling as much as possible living here :)

Anyone living in the Lake Highlands area is welcome to join the 'before your kid reaches Kindergarten' PTA (AKA Lake Highlands Early Childhood PTA).  This past year we were in the Baby group and this next year we will move into the Toddler group. Each age has its own group and the moms volunteer hosting play groups at their homes and meeting at area places for fun play dates.  We are all stay at home moms with a few part timers, and have developed a really close group. We all admit we feel like we are back in college with a good group of girlfriends!

As the playgroup coordinator, I come up with activities for us to do each week in addition to the playgroups at some of the mom's homes.  I have come across a pretty good list of places in Dallas so far, and I hope to find more cool places to take kids.

If you need something fun to do this summer, here is the list of places I have found:

  • Pump-it-Up on Forest Lane has open play on Tuesday/Wednesdays 10am for $7

  • Walnut Hill Rec Center on Walnut Hill and Midway Rd. has open play for Toddlers on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10am for $5

  • Splash Parks at various Dallas Recreation Centers, free!: http://www.dallasparks.org/Downloads/Spraygrounds.pdf.

  • Northpark Bookmarks Baby Bounce music and story time on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays at 12:30pm

  • Arboretum picnics in the morning (before it gets too hot)

  • Launa's Little Library in Lake Highlands (a library in a retired librarian's home upstairs, open to the public Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10:30am-5:30pm)

  • Top Golf putt-putt

  • Science Place Children's Museum has an indoor play area, sensory exhibits and lots of hands on experiences for 10$ admittance for adults and children under 2 are free (they have great membership deals too)

  • Fellowship Bible Church as an indoor playground that is open to the public, call to see what days they are open at: 214.739.3881

  • Playgrounds that have padded surfaces are Scottish Rite Hospital's playground and Coffee Park at Hillcrest and Northwest Highway

  • Storytimes at Skillman Library at 10:30am on Thursdays, It's a Grind Coffee Shop at 11am on Tuesdays

  • Cry baby movies at the Angelika recommended for babies under 6 months on Wednesdays at 1:30pm. Studio Movie Grill has Summer Kid Movies Mon-Friday at 11am for 1$ kids and 2$ adults, check the schedule here.

  • Indoor Playgrounds at Galleria Mall and Willowbend Mall

  • Best indoor restaurant playground is at the Chick-Fil-A at Southwestern and Central Expy

Posted by Kira at
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8 comments:

  1. SandraJune 27, 2011 at 9:04 AM

    We also love storytimes at Pottery Barn Kids on Tuesdays at 11am and Barnes and Noble has them too at the same time/day. ALso I think Borders off Lovers has them on Thursdays at 10am.

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  2. JoanJune 30, 2011 at 9:12 AM

    There's a place like pump it up in Lewisville, I forget the name but it has a lot of indoor playscape stuff!

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  3. ErikaJune 30, 2011 at 9:12 AM

    audelia's library in Lake Highlands has storytime on Fridays this summer.

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  4. thecounselormomJuly 9, 2011 at 11:54 AM

    I heard that they did, at 10:30am? I will have to check it out too!

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  5. AshleyAugust 27, 2011 at 2:02 PM

    That is awesome. Thanks so much for all that great fun stuff to do. Now, I just need to get these boys out and do it!

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  6. Sandra_platt@att.netNovember 17, 2011 at 2:23 AM

    I am a mom in lake highlands. I have a 1 year old boy and a 3 year old girl.
    We would love to join your group! Is there anyone who could contact me? Thanks :)
    Sandra

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  7. thecounselormomNovember 17, 2011 at 3:00 PM

    Hi Sandra! I love my Lake Highlands group. I am in the Lake Highlands Association for Early Childhood PTA and to join, go to their website at http://www.lhaecpta.org/ and on the left hand side click 'enroll.' We have playgroups for each age. I am in the one for children born Sept 2009-Sept 2010 and we have a lot of fun them! Hope to see you in the PTA, let me know if you have any other questions.

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  8. thecounselormomDecember 30, 2011 at 12:46 PM

    Sandra, I just realized I may not have answered your reply! So sorry! It has been crazy from Thanksgiving to Christmas, but things are settling down now. I am in the Lake Highlands Early Childhood PTA and we have a great group! We divide the play groups into ages by child and birthdate: 0-12 months, toddlers from 12-24 months, etc and we go by the school semesters starting fresh each September. For you, you could join the 3's group and bring your 1 year old boy and also join the toddler group for your boy as well. Here is the website and info on joining: http://www.lhaecpta.org/ Hope to see you at some of the activities and play groups!!

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