Blog Archives

Bowl for cheap this summer!

5/8/2015

Bowling is a really fun activity to do with kids! It can get REALLY costly, though. Fortunately, there are a couple of ways that you can let your kids experience the thrill of the lanes without melting your wallet.

Milan Lanes, Milan offers regular bowling for .99/person/game Sunday, Tues-Thurs 11 AM-10 PM and Fri/Sat 11 AM-7 PM. Shoe rental is just $2/person.

There's also a national program called "Kids Bowl Free". With this program you sign up your child(ren) at an alley *Note-your coupons are only good at the alley you choose at signup. They aren't transferable to any other alley.* and get 2 games of bowling per day FREE. You do still have to pay if you need to rent shoes, though many alleys are offering a season pass for shoe rentals. There's also an option to add a family pass. For $26.95 you can add up to 4 adults and they'll get the same 2 games/day free. Many of our local alleys participate in this national program. Miller Time, Davenport allows you to use your Kids Bowl Free coupons Tuesday-Sunday from 12-6 PM, and offers a $25/person or $50/family shoe pass good from now through August 16. At BowlMor in Davenport, kids can bowl from now through August 15 Monday-Friday 11-8 PM. Quad City Family Entertainment Center, Moline participates in Kids Bowl Free. You can bowl there now-September 1 from open-5 PM. Both BowlMor and QCFEC also offer shoe passes.

Think your kids are too little to carry a heavy ball? Most alleys have these great ramps that you can set up for them. You carry the ball to the top and they get to push it down the lane. Even 2 year olds can have fun with that! Grab some friends and give bowling a try this summer.

0 Comments

Help your child learn to code!

5/7/2015

0 Comments

Coding is all the rage these days! A skill set that used to belong to computer geeks and programmers is now being encouraged for people of all ages. Many schools and organizations are offering pricey courses, but did you know that there are FREE (and low-cost) options that will allow your child to learn about coding? Google offers a free site called madewithcode that allows your child to complete projects, learning how to code along the way. Their Resources page is filled with additional projects for your kiddos.

In addition to Google's site, there's an excellent FREE online "school" called Codecademy. There your child can set up an account and learn 7 different computer languages and how to build a website. Codecademy has them learn languages one step at a time, creating projects along the way.

Do you have a child that would like to start a website or a blog? Check out weebly.com or blogspot for easy, inexpensive ways to get them started. *Please be sure to remind them how public these forums are, and spend time monitoring those accounts. The internet can be a very, VERY dangerous place for our kids!*

Spend some time checking out these sites and you can introduce your children to some great summer fun!

0 Comments

Family Dollar Day Mondays are BACK!

5/6/2015

1 Comment

Once again this summer our friends at the Family Credit Union are sponsoring Family Dollar Day Mondays! From June 15-August 10 you can visit 5 local family-fun hot spots for only $1! No coupons are necessary, guests who come in groups of 6 or more will be subject to standard group admission rates at the participating venue. This offer applies only to General Admission, not special events or programs which could incur additional charges. Groups bookings, theater admission, blockbuster exhibits, and services where added staff/volunteers are necessary will incur applicable charges.

The participating venues are:
Putnam Museum, 1717 West 12th Street; Davenport, (563) 324-1933
$1 admission to the Putnam Museum each Monday between the hours of 10 AM – 5 PM

Quad City Botanical Center, 2525 4th Avenue, Rock Island, (309) 794-0991
$1 admission to the Botanical Center each Monday between the hours of 10 AM – 5 PM

The Family Museum, 2900 Learning Campus Drive, Bettendorf, (563) 344-4106
$1 admission to the Family Museum each Monday between the hours of 5-8 PM

Riverside Aquatic Center, 3300 5th Avenue, Moline, (309) 797-0788
$1 admission to the Aquatic Center each Monday between the hours of 5-8 PM

Red Hawk Golf Course/Learning Center, 6364 Northwest Blvd Davenport, (563)386-0348
One Dollar admission to play the par 3 course or for a bucket of balls each Monday, all day.
Minimum age for play on 18-hole and 9-hole courses is 8 years old. 9-hole rates are available for play for anyone at any time.

Thank you, Family Credit Union, for once again sponsoring this terrific event!

1 Comment

SO MANY CAMPS!!

5/6/2015

0 Comments

Are you worried that your kiddos will be bored this summer? Are you a parent that feels like keeping them busy is your best idea for summer peace? Then you need to check out some of the MANY camps offered in the Quad Cities this summer! Visit our "Camps" page to see a listing of the organizations that offer summer fun.

0 Comments

Baseball Camp With the Bandits!

5/6/2015

0 Comments

If you have a child aged 7-14 who loves baseball, then River Bandits Baseball Camp is for you! June 10-11 or August 5-6 from 9-1 you can send your child to Modern Woodmen Park for two days of professional instruction, lunch both days, a ticket to a River Bandits game, and a camp t-shirt. cost is $80/session or $145/both sessions. How cool would it be to learn to play baseball from the semi-pros? For more information, click here for the registration form or contact Alexandria Sheffler at alex@riverbandits.com

0 Comments

Just for Kids With Diabetes...

5/6/2015

0 Comments

Being a young child with diabetes really alters your life. In addition to the daily testing/shots/worry, frequently the children don't want their friends to know because they don't want to be different. The parents are concerned about having other caregivers because of the potential consequences if the care isn't managed properly. It's so hard for the parents to give their child the freedoms that they crave.

This summer there is a way to solve these problems. There's a camp being held in Boone, IA for two weeks this summer just for children who have diabetes. They can go away from home for a week and no one has to worry about whether or not they'll be okay. Best of all, it's a place where kids with diabetes get to be like everybody else!

The camp is being held at the YMCA camp in Boone and will offer swimming, canoeing, horseback riding, rappelling, archery and more. The staff will be made up of experienced counselors and expert medical staff. Financial aid is available.

Camp weeks are held from June 21-July4 for 5-17 year olds.

If you, or someone you know, has a child with diabetes, please check out this site for more information: www.camphertkohollow.com or call 888-437-8652

0 Comments

Looking to Prevent the "Summer Slide"?

5/6/2015

0 Comments

This summer is set to be one of the longest our kids have ever had, due to the Governor upholding the Iowa code. While this is overall a very positive thing, many moms and teachers are concerned about the "Summer Slide"--the loss of educational skills over the long break. While many of our local organizations offer terrific summer camps, there are so many ways that you can continue or support your children's learning over the summer break. Here are just a few...

*Taking a trip? Involve your child in planning by visiting the local library. Have them check out and read books about your destination. Grab the atlas and have them chart different routes, comparing the time and mileage. Have them make a project that relates to the area you'll be visiting. Visit a free online site like spellingcity.com and create word lists for them that encompass travel or destination words. Make them puzzles they can complete while traveling at a site like puzzle-maker.com. Don't allow them to spend the entire travel time watching movies or playing apps. Put together a travel "busy book". Get a hard three-ring binder in their favorite colors and fill it full of blank paper for coloring and drawing, a state map so they can mark off the license plates they find, lined paper for writing to friends and family, coloring pages, workbook pages (mathopolis, mathisfun, phonics worksheets, spelling worksheets, edhelper), and a binder pencil pouch with crayons, mechanical pencils, and pens (if your kids are old enough not to write on their seats). Encourage each child to pack a bag with fun road activities. Hit your local Target dollar section for some fun new travel books and toys (we just picked up Travel Bingo and magnetic games for $1 each) Revisit "old school" travel games like "My Father Owns a Grocery Store" "20 Questions", and "I'm Thinking of an Animal..."

*Staying closer to home? As you're running errands or driving around town, challenge your kids to sign or license plate races. Everyone has to add up (or multiply, subtract, divide--wherever they are in their skills) the numbers they see and gets a point for each correct answer. Have them help plan and shop for meals. Teach them about researching new recipes, budgeting for food, using math to cook...It's quality time, educational time, and a time to build up life skills. Visit your library and plan a dream vacation. Better yet, request travel guides online and let them cut them up to make postcards and posters about places they'd like to visit someday. Search for some printable activities like this Zoo Animal Report and make your everyday activities educational. Start summer off right with a planning party. Get your favorite treat and visit a site like iMom.com to download a cute calendar JUST for your summer fun. Then, hit our activity pages and fill it with fun, inexpensive things to do.

*Set up a "Super Summer Challenge" for your children. Choose some areas in which your child needs more help and offer the largest point values for those. Struggling reader? They get high points for reading new books. Math-a-phobe? Higher points for online math lessons. Brainstorm fun activities that your child wouldn't normally think of trying and add them to the challenge. Visit the website and some blogs for even more ideas on how to create your own SSC.

*Start free accounts with some educational websites like Khan Academy, Codecademy, Seterra, Cool Math, Teach Your Monster to Read, Spelling City, and turn their computer/video time into worthwhile learning time. Visit your local library's computer games section and grab some of the hundreds of educational games they offer. (Bettendorf has an outstanding selection!) They can learn map skills, reading, typing, geography, math...you name it. Try replacing some video game apps with some from this list and let them enhance their school skills.

*Challenge your family to stretch their normal reading time to include biographies, autobiographies, historical novels, science fiction...the genres that aren't the "normal" choices. Need some suggestions? Check out Common Sense Media or Reading Rockets for some ideas and reviews. Think back to your favorite books when you were a kid. Chances are, your kids haven't ever read them and would enjoy them just as much.

*Look into summer tutoring from places like Mathnasium (563) 424-1469 or Tutor|Doctor (563) 468-3763 if your child has additional educational needs.

Don't despair about this long summer, moms. ENJOY it! Take a little time now to plan some summer fun, and those weeks will fly by. Remember, you don't have to SPEND a lot to have a LOT of fun with your kiddos!

0 Comments

Bowl for cheap this summer!

Help your child learn to code!

Family Dollar Day Mondays are BACK!

SO MANY CAMPS!!

Baseball Camp With the Bandits!

Just for Kids With Diabetes...

Looking to Prevent the "Summer Slide"?

Archives

Categories