Beating the Baltimore heat
What do you when the Baltimore humidity climbs, the kids are home and everybody's cranky? Here are your (and my) tips for those days, which are upon us:
--Get thee to the library. It's easy to overlook these public spaces in favor of more whiz-bang kid venues, but how can you beat air-conditioned, free and full of kids' books? Lots of libraries are kicking off their summer reading programs with parties in the next few days (I'll give you the lowdown in a separate post later.)
--Kids' bookstores often schedule free story times, and I'll do a separate post on those soon, too. You might have to spend a little money, but these are also good places to hang out on a sweltering day.
--Visit a museum. Free is especially good (if you've gotta leave suddenly, you haven't lost anything.) So you might head to the Baltimore Museum of Art or the Walters Art Museum, which are always free now. At the BMA, your kids can venture out briefly to play in the sculpture garden if they start to get antsy inside. Both museums have regular family activities.
--Take in a movie. This is an obvious one, and probably worth its own Tip Sheet later on best theaters for taking the kids. Meanwhile, I'll tell you about Regal Entertainment Group's Free Family Film Festival, which shows free family-friendly movies on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings throughout the summer starting the week of June 16. There are participating local theaters in Hunt Valley, Bel Air, Westminster and Marley Station.
(Photo of First Lady Katie O'Malley reading with son Jack at Rosedale Library's Storyville by Sun photographer Algerina Perna)
--Ikea is a kid-friendly place to shop and hang out; we've used its Smaland, where kids who meet certain age, potty-training and height ranges can be left for an hour. Our kids also just like playing pretend games in the kids' bedroom area, and eating lunch in the cafe.
--Have a toy wash. This tip comes from MJ, who writes, "It's the same as having them wash the car, but more on their scale." And a way to get some cleaning done while having fun, a two-fer I can always use.
--Go bowling. A suggestion from Chris, who likes Taylor's Stoneleigh Bowling Center, 6703 York Road, 410-377-8115. We were at the AMF lanes on York Road in Timonium for a birthday party recently; I liked the gutter guards that kept the kids' balls in play.
--Go ice skating. What's cooler than an indoor rink?
Other suggestions?
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