We've always wanted to go to Sky High Sports for lots of jumping fun, but the price -- $12 an hour -- gave us sticker shock. Enter the Woodland Hills location's Family Night Tuesdays: a large pizza and 1 hour of jumping for a family for 4 is just $30.00! And, reportedly, kosher pizza is available! For more details, see the Sky High Sports website.
Thanks to Mimi S. for telling me about the following deal:
We've always wanted to go to Sky High Sports for lots of jumping fun, but the price -- $12 an hour -- gave us sticker shock. Enter the Woodland Hills location's Family Night Tuesdays: a large pizza and 1 hour of jumping for a family for 4 is just $30.00! And, reportedly, kosher pizza is available! For more details, see the Sky High Sports website.
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For the first time ever, I had a paid speaking engagement today. I was fortunate enough to be invited by a local parenting group to present on the topic, "Cheapskate summer: How to have fun without busting your budget." Basically, that meant I got to yammer on about family camping for an hour and a half...something I love to do even for free! The best part of the presentation for me were all the wonderful tips the moms present shared with me...and now I'm going to pass a bunch of them along to you! Shared by Francine P.: Free art workshops on Sundays at Barnsdall Park and the WAZE app for directions on all those roadtrips. Also, she followed up with me after my talk and says you can schedule walking tours for kids of downtown L.A. with at least 3 weeks notice and a minimum of 15 people (8 on a weekend) and reminded me of someplace I've always wanted to visit, Angel's Flight. Shared by Sharona K.: If you want your kids to improve their keyboarding skills, a free program is right on the Santa Monica Library site. Shared by Orly S.: Geocaching as a lure for older kids to participate in your outings as a family. Shared by Lisa A.: For discount tix and coupon codes on all sorts of outings, try Retail Me Not. Shared by Shauna K.: Two fun places for kids to tour near Solvang are an ostrich farm and a miniature horse farm. Shared by Nechamie: A fabulous park - Montebello Park And last, but not least... Shared by Leebee M.: a whole list of fun stuff to do over the summer! Just click to download as a Word document. Wow!
LAUSD will be out of session in just a week, with most of the private schools out a week or two after that. We're planning for summer 2013! Our latest lead was that the Kids Skate Free program includes a location in Northridge. Check back for more new tips for free or cheap summertime fun in the coming weeks.
Why not try a new spin on hopscotch? Unlike adults, most children don’t need any arm-twisting to get moving. Nor do they require a hard sell for expensive equipment or a fancy gym membership. And young children are also not generally motivated by the thought of fitting into smaller sized clothing. Kids get cardio while playing tag, strength training on the monkey bars and flexibility reaching for a toy or doing cartwheels. When thinking about exercise for kids, it’s important to recognize that children aren’t just small adults.
Children’s heart rates are higher and their blood pressure is lower both at rest and during exercise, and they may have difficulty staying focused or following directions. They may tire more easily and are more sensitive to heat. Make sure when they exercise outdoors in summertime, they have a hat, sunscreen, and plenty of water. Avoid prolonged strenuous activity in hot humid weather. Several bouts of 15 minutes are fine (think tag, duck duck goose), rather than continual or steady-state activity some adults may prefer--so make sure to take breaks as needed. Preschoolers especially love games like duck duck goose etc. Children ages 3-7 may enjoy this activity course I made up which is a kind of mash-up of hopscotch and mother-may-I: (See picture above.) With some sidewalk chalk, make a regular hopscotch board, at the end draw an arrow to a box and inside the box, write an exercise like 4 crunches…then draw a dotted line and write "bunny hop" or draw a bunny face...to a circle with another movement direction like "spin around" and draw another line to another box or circle or star or other fun shape with more directions like "frog leaps," "baby steps," "dribbling a ball," "cartwheels etc." You get the idea. For more creative, less athletic types, I even have them “be a flower” and put their body into a position where they are acting like a flower getting watered--use your imagination! The kids like the mystery of what you will come up with and the surprise of new movements. When they tire of it, have them make up their own course for each other or for you to do. It will make them laugh to see you try their creation. When considering which exercises are appropriate for children and adults, we have to think about things which are fun—which means they’re more likely to stick with it and do a lot of it often. Here are some ideas for activities you can do with older children : · basketball · bicycling · ice-skating · inline skating · soccer · swimming · tennis · walking · jogging · running · tag · hula-hoop Helping your child exercise and eat right now may help prevent serious health concerns later in life such as diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis and heart disease. Exercise is also great for mental focus and emotional health. Remember that children will be more likely to participate in exercise if they see their parents and teachers doing it since they are their role models…so get out there and move! For More Inspiration to get moving visit: www.GetFitWithKayla.com We took a group to the Orange County Great Park in Irvine today and had a fabulous time. There's the free hot air balloon rides (get there as early as you can if you want to avoid missing out), free carousel rides, a fun "rock" playground with misters to cool everyone off, a little museum about the history of the site (first a farm and then El Toro military base before its transformation into a park), and the amazing Farm + Food Lab (and they even offer classes for home gardeners!). On weekends, there's an art gallery open, and there are special events likes concerts there, as well. And did I mention that if you forgot to bring a football to toss around with the kids, you can just borrow one? What's not to love?
Well, there are a couple things you should be aware of:
With all that said, I still highly recommend the OC Great Park as a family destination. It was even worth the drive from L.A. I already knew about the KidsBowlFree deal for kids to get 2 free games daily if they sign up, but the closest location that I could find was in the Valley. My girlfriend Elana told me yesterday about this alternative: AMF Summer Unplugged. Families who participate get the same perks as in the other program, but there are locations closer to the Mid-city and the Westside.
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