What are you doing with your kids this summer? If you need ideas and want a fun way to explore the area, read the Kidoinfo list of 100 Things to do with Kids this Summer in Rhode Island. Many of the ideas are free.

Thank you to all the readers who have already added their suggestions. Help make this the best list of things to do with children in the area by clicking here and add your ideas in the comments section.

Here’s another idea (pictured above): Tire Hopping at Brown Street Park. Happy Summer!

By Linda Demers

As summer slowly winds down, August is typically quiet around town.  Many families go away for vacation.  If you’ve decided on a staycation this year and are looking for some local fun, then mark your calendars for these upcoming festivals:

Block Island Arts Festival, August 8 & 9
Held on the grounds of the historic Narragansett Inn, the backdrop for the festival couldn’t be more picturesque.  This year’s participants include local artists, Lisa Calabro (Crooked Moon Mosaics), Carol Mania (Lodestar Wovens), and Tom Seal (Bearded Seal Woodcrafts) among many others.

Crooked Moon Mosaics

Lodestar Wovens

Bearded Seal Woodcrafters

Other shows just outside of Rhode Island:
Cape Cod Fine Arts Festival, August 29 & 30 – Hyannis
Southend Open Market, Sundays – August 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 - Boston

Linda Cox Demers moved to Barrington from Chicago with her two boys, ages 12 & 7, and husband.  She runs her handbag and accessories business, à la mode, from home and has recently discovered a passion for blogging.  As an independent designer herself, Linda enjoys promoting local artists and the “buy handmade” movement. Visit Linda’s blog at http://alamodestuff.blogspot.com.

Take a hayride through a sea of sunflowers  and bring some of the sun-shiny beauty home with you while supporting a wonderful cause, The Make-a-Wish Foundation of Connecticut, a non-profit organization devoted to making wishes possible for children with life-threatening medical conditions.

At Buttonwoods Farm, in Griswold, Conn., what began as an attempt to lure more customers to their roadside ice-cream stand, has evolved into a beautiful week-long sunflower festival that to date has raised over $235,000 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. (Read more about the history of this wonderful event at yankeemagazine.com). The festival runs from July 18 – July 26, 2009, however due to the colder than normal temperatures, and excessive rain this year the sunflowers are blooming later than usual. Peak blooms are expected the weekend of July 26. Call ahead first to confirm.

Details:

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June is Rhode Island appreciation month at Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea. Buy one ticket of admission to the Museum and get one free for Rhode Island residents (you need to show a valid RI drivers license).  This is a great opportunity to explore the museum. Things to do include: Toy boat building activity, Map Spot hands on activity for kids and families as well as three playboats (a schooner, Tug and trawler) for kids to play on and much more!

Details:
Mystic Seaport – The Museum of America and the Sea
75 Greenmanville Avenue, Mystic, CT 06355-0990
Visitor Information: 860.572.5315 or 888.973.2767
Regular Admission:
Adults (18-64): $24.00
Seniors (65+), Active Military and College Students (with ID): $22.00
Youth (6-17): $15.00
Kids 5 and under: FREE
Members: FREE

By Katy Killilea

Thoughts of Bristol have been snowballing in my mind, giving me a harsh case of town envy. We don’t care much about its famous Fourth of July parade. Bristol hardly needs it—there’s enough great stuff going on there every day.

1. Rogers Free Library (525 Hope Street) website

Bristol’s library is newly renovated, so clean and sunny, and features a children’s room generously filled with toys, a big glass jar of magic markers, computers for all, bike locks for patrons, and just enough books. Since it’s so new, the shelves are not yet jammed with every Dora the Explorer and Scooby Doo publication to cross the librarians’ desks. This will make parents appreciate a well-edited collection, and it’s a pleasure to browse here. (And almost all of the books reviewed by Nancy King were right there for the taking!) Another noteworthy item:  the FREE in the library’s name means no fines are charged for overdue items. Mind boggling.

2. Daily Scoop (446 Thames Street) AND Gray’s Ice Cream (259 Thames Street)

What an embarrassment of riches—BOTH of these fantastic ice cream shops on one little Thames Street. You can get a Daily Scoop fix in Barrington, but the atmosphere on Thames Street is so much nicer than the back of Pepperoni’s. And for many of us, Gray’s at Tiverton Four Corners is that wicked combination of too far away and irresistibly good. In Bristol, a family can divide and conquer: get the black raspberry chip at both Daily Scoop and Gray’s, and then reconnoiter on the green across the street for taste-testing and boat watching.

3. Prudence Island Ferry (Church Street Wharf) website

Hanging out in Bristol, a family might start to feel boat deprived. That’s why my kids ride the Prudence Island Ferry. That’s our boat. The trip out and back is not long, and the ferry hasn’t got many seats, so everyone is free to let the ants in their pants move them. If there is some waiting time before embarkation, the dock abuts a fine playground, and is just a few steps away from the sunniest Dunkin’ Donuts frequented by friendly bachelor-retirees.

4 & 5: The Toy Shop and A Novel Idea (Both at 450 Hope Street)

The name of this independent toy store is as straightforward as its wares: the toys you want are here (especially if there are Playmobil enthusiasts in your group), it’s fun to browse, and kids are welcome to play. Open bins of assorted low-priced gee-gaws are near the cash register—a perfect place for learning to stretch a $2 allowance.

Browsing in A Novel Idea’s fiction section is heavenly, and if you are with kids, you’ll all appreciate the well-chosen children’s books. Excellent newsstand too.

6. The Mount Hope Bridge (Route 114, spanning Narragansett Bay) website

The view from this graceful bridge makes me so happy to live in Rhode Island. The Mount Hope Bridge links Bristol to Aquidneck Island, and the view is dramatic enough to silence even the whiniest passengers.

But wait, there’s more! Bristol also has: Colt State Park, the Audubon Environmental Education Center, and Coggeshall Farm Museum. What are your favorite things to do in Bristol? Please help us expand this list by posting your favorites.

Photo credits: Mount Hope Bridge, AS220; all others, Katy Killilea

For those of you who have only visited IKEA on the weekends when the aisles are jam-packed with shoppers, you are probably thinking that pitching IKEA as a destination for kid-friendly fun is a bit of a stretch.  But, can you keep a secret?

I recently discovered that IKEA during the week is simply not the IKEA you know.

IKEA is known for its commitment to family-friendly shopping, but my past IKEA runs were usually on Saturdays.  As a result of the sheer mass of shoppers, I had yet to see my kids enjoy the shopping experience.

When I arrived at IKEA mid-morning on a Tuesday with my three younger kids in tow to return an item, my expectations were low.  But upon arrival, I was able to snag the very first Family Parking spot almost directly next to the main entrance.  This was my first clue that I was in for a whole new experience.

I planned for my first stop to be “Smaland,” IKEA’s childcare facility, but they were not opening for another fifteen minutes.  Instead we headed upstairs to the showroom, and this is where the magic really happened.  We practically had the second floor to ourselves, and the endless chain of mock living spaces, each with its own creative flair, provided the perfect setting for my kids’ favorite activity, playing house. We ate an imaginary breakfast in our airy kitchen, had a slumber party in the funky studio apartment, and enjoyed a divine dinner party in our swanky NYC loft.

After almost an hour of playing house, we decided to give Smaland another try. I was pleased to discover that parents can check their kids into Smaland for up to ninety minutes on weekdays (versus forty-five minutes on the weekends). The service is free to shoppers, and parents are given a beeper in case of emergencies. Smaland was clean and well-staffed, and its creative design provided plenty of inspiration for imaginative play. My kids especially loved playing in the oversized shoe, and burning off energy in the ball pit. Smaland is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Children must be 37″ to 54″ tall and potty trained—no diapers or pull-ups.  I was able to return my items and do some browsing, while my kids had an absolute blast and even met some new friends.

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Wanting to get a Children’s Museum fix while the Providence museum is closed? Forty minutes up 95 you can visit the Children’s Museum of Easton. The museum is located in a converted fire station. Inside, the pole is still preserved, and your child can try climbing up the pole to ring the bell.

In the FETCH! Lab there are science related activities, staffed by an intern. Upstairs there are always art supplies out and suggestions of seasonal crafts. There’s a clinic, a kitchenette, cabin and performance center too. Outside, there’s an exploration center called the Wild Place; you can pick up a scavenger hunt and roam through visiting tree houses, and dig in a fossil pit. Each Tuesday is known as Truck Tuesday, where a variety of trucks, ranging from ice-cream to fire, will pull up to the museum for your kids to explore and learn about.

Make it a full day and stop in for lunch around the corner at the Main Street Café or Bill’s Pizza.

The Details:
Children’s Museum of Easton
The Old Fire Station
9 Sullivan Avenue, North Easton, Massachusetts 02356
Admission: $6.00 per person. Members and children under one are free.
Open: Tuesday – Friday from 9 am – 5 pm. Saturday & Sunday from Noon – 5 pm.

By Nancy King

Remember Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton’s portrait of the lonely, sensitive outsider who just happens to have razor-sharp blades for fingers? I was thinking about that movie—and specifically Johnny Depp, who plays the film’s tragic star—as my daughter and I pulled into the parking lot at the Green Animals Topiary Garden.

I’d known about the garden for a while but hadn’t found a reason to visit since, frankly, I’m no gardener, and driving an hour from Providence to look at a few clipped hedges never sounded very compelling.

But there we were, and let me tell you—it’s FABULOUS. What I had failed to appreciate is that the property, owned by the Preservation Society of Newport County, consists of much more than a few “clipped hedges.” It’s an entire—and entirely gorgeous—country estate that overlooks Narragansett Bay. Besides the gardens, there is a gracious nineteenth-century house filled with Victorian furnishings and a collection of antique toys.

But first, the so-called “Green Animals.” There are more than eighty pieces of topiary scattered throughout the gardens, some easy to spot (like the elephant) and some more difficult (we never found the peacock). You’re handed a map when you purchase tickets, but it’s more fun to wander through the garden in search of the various animal and geometric shapes (my personal favorite is the armchair).

When we’d finished our topiary hunt, we lazed by the fish pond, dating to the 1920s, which contained enough jewel-colored goldfish to entertain my daughter for quite a while. Then we headed to the main house, purchased in 1872 by Thomas Brayton, who served as the treasurer of the Union Cotton Manufacturing Company in Fall River, Massachusetts. When the guide seated inside the front door informed of of us that fact, I had to ask, “A cotton company in Fall River produced this kind of wealth?” Fixing me with her eyes, she replied, “The company outfitted all the soldiers during the Civil War.” That shut me up.

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Thanks to Elyse Major, one of our Kidoinfo readers, for contributing this great local adventure.

Sabin Point Park: Trash & Treasures (Map it)

Who knew that there was so much to do in little ol’ Riverside? Off Pawtucket Avenue at the end of Shore Road (turn at Lee’s Chinese restaurant), this breezy waterfront park offers much more than just playground equipment – it offers endless possibilities for the crafty parent along with lovely views of the upper bay.

Wear waterproof shoes and look beyond the washed ashore trash to find pieces of colorful sea glass. Teach your children the difference between the soft, frosted sea glass and the shiny, sharp-edged newly broken glass. My boys and I have a jelly jar filled with prized dulled chards of green and blue.

Sabin Point Park has several covered picnic tables, making it an excellent place for doing outside crafts, like painting seashells (found at Easton’s Beach, for example) or rocks. Pack some supplies (and some hand sanitizer) and enjoy!

Riverside Branch Library: Relax & Read (Map it)

Back on Pawtucket Avenue, head up the road to the Riverside Branch Library at 475 Bullocks Point Avenue (same road). The library, which is just a few years old, has an open and spacious children’s area with a great selection of books, magazines, and toys. There are plenty of tables and chairs and a large fish tank. The library also has scheduled activities and nice, clean bathrooms.

Scialo’s Bakery: Treats to Go (Map it)

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By Katy Killilea

Nominally, they’re both farms, but neither is the kind where you can buy food. Coggeshall Farm is a farm museum, and Mount Hope Farm is a park for easy hiking. They are very close to each other and both are ideal little stops for kids in Bristol.

On our trip, we started at Coggeshall Farm. This is one of the first settled farms in New England, and the Poppasquash Road property is stunning. It provides a low-key way to get up-close to farm animals. There’s no gimmick here. It’s not a zoo. There are no signs describing the breeds, and the only people working there are carrying out their farm chores (not as in, “Look at me using ye olde tools”). Real farm work, just as it was done hundreds of years ago, is a vital part of the operation to maintain the farm today.

Speckled hens run free over the grass, baby lambs hide out in a shady stall, and a donkey, a cat, and giant cattle of some kind (no informational placards) munch grass and swat flies all within an arm’s reach. Our kids were very interested in patting the donkey. They also had fun pointing out heaps of sheep poop in the grass and chasing the chickens, who proved to be uncatchable. There’s also a house to explore, with old cooking pots, a wool spinning wheel, and a loom.
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