Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in baltimore, MD

Eating Out: Five Great Baltimore Picnic Spots

April 28, 2009

There's nothing much better than a picnic in the sunshine, with cold drinks and munchies and a few good friends.  And while I'd hardly call myself a picnic expert, I do make frequent use of my insulated bag and gingham blanket, and I do know some great picnic spots around town.  Following are five picnic areas that never fail us, places where we can relax, take in a nice view, and enjoy a tasty meal.

Act Naturally

April 07, 2009

If you've never heard of No Child Left Inside, the nationwide initiative to get our children back to nature, now's the time for you to read up, as we're in the midst of No Child Left Inside Days.  Visit the No Child Left Inside home page, powered by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, for heaps of information on the No Child Left Inside Act and on the many benefits of environmental education to children.  Because even if your kids are die-hard nature enthusiasts already, and even if the notion of getting your kids outside seems as commonsense to you as feeding them, you may not be aware of the pervasiveness of so-called Nature Deficit Disorder, and you may not know that there are many ways that you can support environmental education.  Join the coalition, and help kids all over America rediscover nature.  Get involved . . .  and then get outside!

An Outdoor Play Toolchest

March 30, 2009

As glad as I am that you are reading this post, I really want you to go outside.  Because unless it's 12 degrees, raining or four in the morning, there's no reason for you and the kids not to be outside.  So bag the laundry; forget the cleaning; turn off the computer.  And grab a few of these outdoor-play basics for a run-around, get-out-of-breath, fresh-air good time.

Five Ways to Enjoy Patterson Park

by Laura Stallard Petza

October 22, 2008

If you haven't been to Patterson Park in a while (or--gasp--if you've never been there), now's the time to check it out. Following are five sure-fire ways to make the most of Patterson Park with the little ones. The "new" playground Opened in the spring of 2005, this playground isn't as new as it used to be, but it's still the newest of the two in the park, and among  Read more...

Five Great Day Trips from Charm City

by Laura Stallard Petza

October 14, 2008

As lovely a town as Baltimore is, there are times, naturally, when you and the family want to get away. Following is a list of five fantastic places, all of which are less than an hour away. D.C. Because when's the last time you were there? Take the kids to any of the amazing Smithsonian museums-- Natural History , Air and Space or, like, a million others--and delight in  Read more...

Growing a Gardener: The Cromwell Valley Children's Gardening Club

by Laura Stallard Petza

October 11, 2008

First off, I should come clean about something: I am not a gardener. I'd like to be--after all, there are few delights tastier than herbs and veggies plucked straight from the soil, and what could be more lovely than the dahlias my husband tends every summer? The problem, I'm loath to admit, is that I'm prissy. I don't like to get dirty. I don't like to lift things. And while I do very  Read more...

Room to Run: Where to Take the Kids to Run 'em Ragged

by Laura Stallard Petza

October 07, 2008

Fall, as we all know, is upon us, people, and it's only a matter of time before the icy hand of winter shoos us all inside. So why not, before the weather turns cold and wretched (are you getting a sense of my feelings about winter?), take advantage of these last temperate days? And how best to do that, you're probably asking? Why, by depriving your child of TV and going a little primitive,  Read more...