Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Washington, DC

Tuesday List: Family Friendly Ways to Enjoy Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

by Leticia

April 14, 2009

Living in DC, we are exposed to plenty of history and museums so you might wonder why you would want to venture beyond the Metro Area to explore other presidential digs.  Being in close proximity to Mount Vernon and the White House creates presidential intrigue so head south on a road trip to Charlottesville to visit Monticello.

Last weekend we took our two children, ages 5 and 2 1/2 years, to visit Thomas Jefferson's estate and it proved to be a wonderful place for young children.  There are lots of things you can do before you go to give your children some background knowledge about the kinds of things they will see and do.   During your visit there are numerous ways that your children can learn about Thomas Jefferson in an age appropriate way.  

Here are some ways that you can enjoy Monticello and make the most of your time there.

Before you go:

• Download Exploring Monticello: A Guide for Young Learners and share it with your children.  This booklet is more like a picture book that designed to teach interesting facts about Thomas Jefferson, the gadgets and gizmos he invented and enjoyed using, the kinds of music and games played at Monticello, the grounds, and architecture.  The booklet makes it easy for young children to understand and early elementary age kids to read independently.  Reading it prior to your trip will allow your children to have a better understanding of what they will see when they get there.
  
• Take a virtual tour using the Monticello Explorer that allows your to walk through 3-D models of the interior of the home, read about what is inside each room, view animated features, and use an interactive map of the plantation.
• Check out the calendar for Events for Kids which list the dates of the Plantation Community Weekends where the sights and sounds of the early 19th century come to life on Mulberry Row, the plantation “street” along which Monticello slaves lived and labored. Costumed artisans interpret the trades and domestic skills practiced by Jefferson's enslaved and free workers.

During your visit:

• Take a Family Friendly Tour- From June to September, Monticello offers Family Friendly tours that are included in the price of admission.   These special 30 minute tours feature hands-on opportunities in each room and provide a glimpse of what live was like at Monticello for the children that lived there in the late 1700s and early 1800s.  If you happen to visit when the Family Friendly Tours aren’t being offered, our 2 ½ year old and 5 year old enjoyed the regular tour which is also 30 minutes in length.
  
• Visit the Griffin Discovery Room- This new hands on learning center is specially designed for children to interact with American history, Thomas Jefferson, those who lived and worked at Monticello, and experience life as a child during the early 1800s.  The Discovery Room features many elements that are reproduced from Jefferson’s Monticello home like the alcove bed and thee nail-making shop and a slave dwelling on the plantation.  Children can engage in numerous activities including trying on clothes, practicing weaving, rubbing a replica of Jefferson’s tombstone, relaxing with a story about Thomas Jefferson or another American president, using a cipher wheel, or cooking a meal over a pretend fire.  Some of our favorite features of the Griffin Discovery Room included the polygraph machine that allowed us to see how Jefferson was able to make a copy of everything he wrote and the collection of wooden blocks where our 5 year old practiced classical architecture.
  
• Play I Spy inside the house by searching for items of a certain theme.  Look for famous portraits hanging on Thomas Jefferson’s walls, artifacts that indicate an interest in time, or items that are from animals. 
  
• Visit the Mountaintop Hands-On Activity Center.  Open from early June to September, the Activity Center allows children to write with a quill pen, play 18th century games, and engage in other family-oriented hands-on activities which is included in the price of admission.
• Roam the gardens and look for familiar flowers and herbs by rubbing the leaves between your fingers.

 

For more tips on visiting Monticello, visit their page of Insiders’ Tips.

For tips on visiting Charlottesville with your family, read my Being Savvy Washington DC post called Weekend Getaway: Charlottesville, Virginia for the inside scoop on family friendly things to see and do and our favorite places to grab a bite to eat.

 Read more...

Tuesday List: Best Places to Picnic

by Leticia

March 24, 2009

With the weather turning warmer, our thoughts turn from being inside to spending as much time as humanly possible outside.  One thing we love to do is to picnic.  On the weekends we take our cooler stuffed with food with us on outings for an al fresco lunch.  Picnics are great not only because we are spending more time outside but the crumbs that drive me crazy at the kitchen table help the local ecosystem.

 

Here are our favorite places to picnic:

 

National Zoo (DC)- We’ve picnicked all over the Zoo.  Outside the Bird House, in the giant meadow between the Ape House and Reptile Discovery Center, on Lion and Tiger Hill, while watching the seals, and off the path leading behind the Ape House.  In our opinion, there aren’t any truly bad places to picnic at the zoo and often times our picnic location is determined by when hunger strikes!   

 

Smithsonian Castle (DC)- Behind the Smithsonian Castle is a picnic oasis.  Bubbling fountains, beautifully manicured grounds, shady trees, and benches make this a perfect spot to grab a bite between museums.  And it’s not too far from the carousel in case a post-lunch carousel ride is in order.

 

Wheaton Regional Park(Wheaton, MD)- With plenty of room to run, tons of climbing structures, the miniature train, and carousel, Wheaton Regional Park becomes not just a picnic spot but a day trip.  With plenty of parking, you can keep your lunch in the car until the kids are worn out and need a bite to eat before it is off to play again.

 

Gravelly Point Park (end of National Airport runway)- What can be better than eating lunch while watching boats on the river, an endless stream of bicycles, and planes take off or land overhead during your picnic?  Gravelly Point Park has free parking and endless entertainment.  There’s also lots of grass so on a windy day, it makes a great place to fly a kite.

 

Butler’s Orchard (Germantown, MD)- When summer comes and we head out berry picking, we supplement our berry eating with an actual lunch.  While shade can sometimes be hard to find, we like eating our lunch between the boysenberry bushes or down by the farm stand under the shady trees you pass as you drive in.

 

Great Falls (the Maryland side)- Something about being surrounded by water always makes it seem much cooler at Great Falls, even in the hot steamy summer months.  We like to go for walks and pack lunch in a backpack so we can eat whenever we get hungry.  A rock usually does just fine as a seat or if you’d like, there are picnic tables by the Visitor Center.  If you don’t pack a lunch or grab something on your way, you can always get a bite to eat at the snack bar between the months of March and November.

 

Quiet Waters Park (Anne Arundel County, MD)- For a day trip away from the city, head to Quiet Waters Park, just south of Annapolis.  There you can easily spend the day between playing on the playground, visiting the gardens, or renting a canoe or kayak for a couple of hours.  With all that activity, you have to eat and luckily, there are plenty of places to do so.

 

Federal Hill Park (Baltimore)- Whenever we are in Baltimore, we love to head to Cross Street Market to select our eats among a variety of different food stalls (sushi and the fried chicken are my faves!) before heading to Federal Hill Park.  The park overlooks the Harbor on one side and off in the distance you can see a huge white mountain of salt not too far away from the large Domino Sugar sign and plant.  The fenced in area with the playground is dog-free and has a climbing structure, plenty of grass, and swings that are hugely popular.  And sometimes it is just fun to lie in the grass and watch the huge flag blow in the breeze overhead.

 

 

 

 

 

 Read more...

99 Things To Do in DC

by Leticia

February 24, 2009

In no particular order, here’s a list of 99 things to do in the DC Metro Area with a child before they grow up:

1. Head out the night before and brave the elements to obtain coveted tickets to the White House Easter Egg Roll
2. Witness the beauty of the cherry blossoms at the Jefferson Memorial at their peak 
3. Go kayaking at Mason Neck State Park in Virginia since it is a great place to spot a bald eagle 
4. Step back in time and go on a canal boat ride in Great Falls or Georgetown 
5. After dinner and a bath, take your PJ-clad child on a tour of the Monuments at night
6. Appreciate the grandeur of the interior space of the National Building Museum then head to the Building Zone to satisfy your child’s inner Bob the Builder 
7. Play at Turtle Park and don’t miss Turtle Park Day  
8. Attend a performance at Glen Echo Puppet Theater 
9. Catch a show at Glen Echo Adventure Theater, DC’s longest running children’s theater 
10. Take a spin on the Glen Echo Carousel and witness the amazing Wurlitzer band organ 
11. Witness air acrobatics at Bealeton Airport Flying Circus 
12. Choose a local farm, bring your own containers, and an appetite to spend a couple hours berry picking
13. Introduce your child to the wonders of live performances at Wolf Trap Theater in the Woods 
14. Attend afternoon high tea at Strathmore Mansion 
15. Witness the power of water at Great Falls
16. Take a seat at the end of the runway at National Airport’s Gravelly Point and watch airplanes zoom overhead 
17. Explore all areas of the National Zoo, including the naked mole rats
18. Feed the koi at the National Arboretum
19. Ponder what George Washington used to think about while sitting on his back porch on Mount Vernon high above the Potomac River 
20. Ride the train and feed the trash pig (a trash can that talks when you throw garbage in it) at Cabin John Park 
21. Throw rocks in Rock Creek
22. Hike part of the Billy Goat Trail 
23. Spend time in the woods just exploring
24. Go camping at a local campground for the weekend
25. Bike the Monuments and the sights of The Mall
26. Go to Sky Meadows State Park for Astronomy Day or a Saturday Star Party
27. Let a butterfly land on you at the Wings of Fancy exhibit at Brookside Gardens 
28. Attend the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival to witness sheep shearing, partake in the fabulous lamb sold at the concession stands, and be dazzled by all the beautiful hand knit items for sale by vendors 
29. Experience the plethora of fried goods, carnival rides, and animals at a County fair
30. Have a hands on learning day at Port Discovery 
31. Go train crazy at the B&O Railroad Museum 
32. Go plane crazy at the College Park Aviation Museum 
33. Have a cultural experience at an Embassy
34. Ride a restored DC trolley car at the National Capital Trolley Museum 
35. Hunt for shark teeth at Calvert Cliffs State Park 
36. Hum The Star Spangled Banner while paying tribute to the inspiration for our National Anthem during a visit to Fort McHenry 
37. Step back in time to 1771 at Claude Moore Historical Farm 
38. Attend Claude Moore Historical Farm’s Market Fair offered three weekends a year 
39. Engage in hands on science at Discovery Creek Children’s Museum 
40. Enjoy more hands on science fun at the Maryland Science Center 
41. Stare in awe at the most amazing stained glass rosettes at the National Cathedral 
42. Stare in awe at sheets of uncut money at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing 
43. Stare in awe as you take in the scenery from the top of the Washington Monument 
44. Explore every corner of the 2 acre Clemyjontri Park 
45. Procure tickets to an afternoon performance of Cirque du Soleil and witness acrobatics like you’ve never seen before 
46. Cruise the Potomac
47. Attend Art-o-Matic, the free art festival featuring paintings, sculpture, photography, music, theater, poetry, dance and workshops 
48. Visit Cunningham Falls
49. Attend the lighting of the National Christmas Tree
50. Visit the bonfire on the Ellipse during the holidays
51. Catch Vienna based kid rock band, Rocknoceros, in concert for music the whole family will enjoy
52. Join up with Stroller Strides for a great workout and fun scenery and songs for your kiddo
53. Attend the Smithsonian Folklife Festival
54. Marvel at Jim Henson’s creations, First Ladies gowns, and the ruby slippers at the Museum of American History
55. Give your child unrestricted access to the hose one hot humid summer afternoon
56. Go swimming at an indoor pool in the middle of winter
57. Cool off at an ice skating rink during the summer
58. Be a pirate for a day 
59. Visit Meadowlark Gardens 
60. Begin to culture a love of art with a visit to the National Portrait Gallery or National Gallery 
61. Catch a summer movie outside under the stars at the Strathmore Film Fest or Screen on the Green
62. Practice using chop sticks at dim sum 
63. Go fishing 
64. Root for the home team at an O’s or Nat’s game
65. Pretend to be a rocket scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center 
66. Go apple picking
67. Take advantage of Free for All Fridays classes at the Roundhouse Theater 
68. See the sights in the snow
69. Visit rescued owls and experience the cave slide at Meadowside Nature Center
70. Enjoy the spectacle of a Chinese New Year’s parade
71. Root for the Ravens or the Redskins either live or on TV
72. Have a SmartTrip card and know how to swipe it to ride the Metro
73. Know which Metro station is closest to home
74. Marvel at the sculptures in the National Gallery Sculpture Garden
75. Seen the inspiration for the Star Spangled Banner at the Museum of American History
76. Witnessed the grandeur of the space shuttle at Udvar Hazy
77. Indulge in a hot dog at Ben’s Chili Bowl
78. Visit all the monuments on the National Mall
79. Write a letter and mail it from the National Postal Museum
80. Visit Roosevelt Island 
81. Walk among the dinosaurs or visit the butterflies at the National Museum of Natural History
82. Visit the butterflies at the National Museum of Natural History
83. Have an ice cream themed birthday party and create your own flavor of ice cream at Moorenko’s
84. Go spelunking at Luray Caverns 
85. Rock out with your kids while sipping coffee at Jammin’ Java 
86. Go on a tour of the White House with tickets from your local Member of Congress
87. Visit an aquarium- either in Baltimore or the one right here in DC!
88. Cool off at Deep Creek Lake
89. Test furniture at IKEA until you get a craving for meatballs and lingonberry sauce
90. Visit a lighthouse
91. Practice espionage at the International Spy Museum
92. Go fly a kite at the Smithsonian Kite Festival on the Washington Monument grounds 
93. Gaze at the stars at the Rock Creek Planetarium 
94. Enjoy a free summer concert at Carter Barron Amphitheater 
95. Watch the tennis pros practice for free before competing in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic
96. Become one with nature at the Audobon Nature Fair 
97. Ogle at sailboats at the United States Sailboat and Powerboat Shows in Annapolis
98. Walk in the Susan G. Komen National Race for the Cure 
99. Watch 4th of July fireworks on the National Mall
100. Spend a whole day doing what your child wants to do!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Read more...

See the horses- Potomac Barn Tour

by Leticia

September 03, 2008

When I was little I really wanted a pony. I absolutely loved horses and couldn't get enough of them. Now my children spend lots of time ogling horses from the inside of the car as we past them. We have a favorite nearby stable that we frequent on our way to a park in hopes that the horses will need a pat and scratch behind the ears. If your children love horses like mine, then mark September  Read more...

Getting to Know My City: 5 Great Ways to Introduce your preschooler to local history

by Leticia

June 24, 2008

Living in our Nation's Capital, we are a stone's throw from as much history as we can choose to absorb and landmarks at every turn. But waiting in line exposed to the elements as you wait to get into the Washington Monument isn't exactly the most child-friendly thing to do. How can you expose your toddler or preschooler to local history in an age appropriate way? Here are some ideas: Step back  Read more...

Trains and Other Modes of Transportation on Rails

by Leticia

May 22, 2008

My toddler is obsessed with trains. He knows the best places to spot trains and Metros while riding in the car and has a keen ear that always alerts him to approaching trains. For train lovers, there are many opportunities to get up close and personal with trains in the DC Metro Area and beyond. The B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore is a train lover's paradise. Cases upon cases of model trains  Read more...