Alirght I am trying to find ideas/places etc to go to places with my almost 17 month old, and on budget!
I will share what I have discovered and hopefully you guys will have stuff to share as well..
Storytime at the local library- FREE
Museum passes at the local library- Free or discounted rates
our local library has 3 day passes for aquariums as well that offer dicounted admission!
Family center.. usually churches have them for 3-5 days a week (1-2 hours daily with a parent or caregiver and its free)
Childrens Museum- my kid loves this place, so far we have been to one in MA and TX and he had a blast at both places! Apparently, you can become a member for $150/year and visit 200 childrens museum in the US either free or discounted price (I am in the process of verifying that- anyone has an info on it?)
College campuses.. we live in a small town surrounded by 5 colleges in the area.. campuses are beautiful especially for a walk in the stroller and to feed ducks at the ponds (pretty much each college has a pond and allow feeding ducks)
State parks and forest… we are in northeast surrounded by state parks.. you can become the member for less than 50 bucks and visit all state parks with free parking. Perfect for hiking, boating, picnicking!
umm thats all I can think of now, will share more later!
Indoor playgrounds are usually very well priced and siblings play free at a lot of them.
also, I found this great city run program for toddler swimming for $2 per day in the Eglinton West area but I’m sure it’s available throughout the city. Parks and Rec also offers lots of art, sports, play, learning etc. at discounted rates but you have to register fairly early as they run through spring/summer.
Gymboree… these are precious brain developing years ..it iz 60 ish per month And endless learning and fun…gymboree classes provide painting music and preschool…
*Love taking my 3 yo to the library…they have programs where you have to register and they have drop-in play time at weekends too.
*the parks & rec dept.of out town sends a brochure every season with tons of activities for every age group.A few days ago I read about a gym program at the town middle school,for kids aged 3-5…I loved the idea but it is at 6:30 pm…..A lil late for us.
*Also know about a program for 3-5 year olds which happens at the town high school…and is supervised by teachers nad led by high school students who want to pursue early childhood education or child psychology in the future.In our town I think they are having a summer camp like thing (a few hours of play time etc a few times a week)
*We have a nature center and nature trail in our town.Caters to infants and toddlers.Passes available at library.
*swimming lessons in summer are pretty budget friendly too.Infact they have lessons offered in winters too.
I will add more if I think of anything else.But I have found the library and Parks & Rec dept. a good resource for such info.I have even checked the information from neighboring towns for other fun stuff…it costs a little more for non-residents but it is actually not a lot expensive then what you would pay in your own town.
look for free days at the museums , children’s theatre, etc. You also might want to look into various memberships where you only have to pay an yearly fee.
..A lil late for us.