Coolidge Park with a College Friend

Coolidge Park is always a good place to visit in the summer, especially if you have kids.

If you come to visit us in the summer months, there is a good chance we will take you to the Coolidge Park Fountains.

When my college roommate, Julie, came to town we met up one afternoon at Rock City (a first for us), and the next day we met at the Walnut Street Walking Bridge with plans to cross and play at the fountains.

Before you get wet, be sure to ride the carousel (you have to be dry!).

After the kids were good and wet, and hungry, we walked over to Good Dog to grab some lunch.

If you like hot dogs, this is a great place to try, there were so many choices!

This turned out to be a perfect summer day spent in Chattanooga with friends.

Creative Discovery Museum Day Camp

We hadn't initially planned on signing Jack up for camp this summer, especially when we looked at the options where we live. There are some amazing day camps but they all seemed to be $300+. Then a friend mentioned that they were sending their 4-year-old to a day camp at The Creative Discovery Museum and it was only $80 for the week. That seemed a lot more reasonable for a young kid.

We have been members of The Creative Discovery Museum for the last three years and I felt good about letting Jack spend some additional time there, plus he would already know one person. So we signed up, arranged to carpool, and off Jack went to his very first day camp.

Jack had a blast during the week. The only negative was really for me, with a pick-up time of noon, day camp really threw off my schedule for the week. But being a parent is at least partially about sacrifice, so I gave up my Y classes for the week (two weeks later I am paying for it, but that is another story).

Each day of camp was based on a different animal's TV show. With corresponding snacks and crafts. I think Jack was familiar with everything except Horton Hears a Who. He had a fantastic time and we would definitely consider signing him up again next year.

Day 1: Peppa Pig

This is an example of their snacks: 

ham, cheese, crackers and raisins to make a pig face

 Jack and his buddy show off their craft: pig snouts.

Day 2: Daniel Tiger

They made slime as a craft. Jack loved the slime he got to bring home. 

It was great fun until he stuck it in his hair...

 Silly tiger face.

Day 3: Pete the Cat

 Getting to check out the corn snake.

 Two little police men.

 Dressing up like a police man was Jack's favorite thing to do at camp.

 Pete the Cat craft.

 Cutting out glasses for his Pete the Cat.

 Making music...

and playing with sand.

 

Day 4: Horton Hears a Who

 Jack says this was elephant toothpaste.

 More time being policemen.

 We can never leave the museum without stopping to make bubbles.

Day 5: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

 Craft time.

 Their snacks were a sampling of food from The Very Hungry Caterpillar book.

Jack's award for the week was "Most Likely to Arrest You."

Overall, camp was a great experience. I can't believe we have a child who is old enough to attend day camp!

Balance Studios Birthday Party

This past weekend we had the opportunity to attend a birthday party at the Balance Studios in Chattanooga. I have been following Balance Studio's Instagram account for some time, so I was thrilled about getting to check it out.

According to their website:

Balance was founded with the mission of increasing awareness and confidence in children through art and yoga. We have worked to create an environment that echoes the wonderful communal spirit of Chattanooga, where families and friends gather, grow, and learn together.

I wasn't sure what to expect, and on top of that Jack was going to be the only boy at the party, but it was a great experience.

The party kicked off with an art project, which Jack was a bit ambivalent about, instead wanting to play in the secret room under the stairs or explore the upstairs room.

After the art project, the kids ate pizza before heading upstairs for yoga that was adapted for kids. I was curious as to how that would go and it was really delightful.

The instructor lead the children through actions that followed a story line of searching for pirates. Jack ate it all up. The kids even got to walk a plank (a balance beam).

Teaching kids yoga by moving through a story is a fantastic way to learn and my preschooler ate it up.

After yoga we finished up with cake. It was a wonderful evening and definitely a fun place for a kid's birthday party.