Suggestions from MA moms

melimo · November 2014

I'm in northern MA about 10 mins from the NH border. Since it's now November in MA, I feel like my activities choices with DS have become very limited. I teach all my courses on Tuesday and Thursday but I'm still home by noon so I definitely have MWF and TR afternoons to explore new places. I'm pretty open to traveling since I can try to drive during nap time.

Fall and winter are hard since during the summer we went to the park almost every morning, went to the local pool a few times a week, found a man made pond and play area, went to the beach etc. With the cooler weather and rain we've been having, I feel our park days are fewer and fewer and I'm beyond bored with walking the mall. We tried reading/singing time at the local library but he likes to move around and they had a strict no moving policy (right like that will work in a toddler group) so we only went twice. We've tried the local children's museum but for $12 it was nothing to be excited about, I guess maybe we should try the Boston one.

Soooo I was wondering if you have any good outdoor and indoor activities we could try. I'm not close to family really or have any friends so maybe you have ideas where I can find other moms who may be flying solo with their kids.

Thanks so much!!

jennlin · November 2014

i have a children's museum membership, and it makes it much more worth it. i have the most expensive one, and i split it with my "sister" (friend), so we only paid $60/family...which allows 3 adults and 4 kids at any given time. our museum is 12/person otherwise, so it made up for it really quickly. maybe you can find someone to split with?

also look into FB moms groups..in my area we have "xx moms". with xx being the name of the city or area you live in. there is also ones that are "companyname moms".

MargaretC5 · November 2014

You could try meetup.com to find some local moms groups.
I am from MA also so I will be keeping an eye on this thread to see if anyone else has some good local ideas.

ballygirl · November 2014

I have been thinking about this as well. Have you tried all your local libraries? There are some libraries around here that have great kids play rooms. It might be a hike for you, but the Oxford library for example, has a huge kids room with toys and books (obv) and dress up clothes and a little play kitchen. There are several different play rooms. The W Boylston library has a smaller but still really good version of this too that I will be checking out this winter. Does your mall have one of those indoor play areas? My girls LOVE this at the Solomon Pond mall in Marlborough. I don't really walk around the mall at all, just go to the play area for about 45 minutes and let them run around and climb on everything then we leave. If you go during the school day, its usually just a few younger tots, so its not over-run with older kids. We do a Music Together class which is fun. Kids are encouraged to move around and experience the music however they want. I know there are a ton of places that do Music Together around the state. Also, I haven't joined one, but is there a lot of little gyms around for toddlers. And - I'm not sure how far away these would be for you but I've heard good things about the Great Escape Play Café, Playtown Express in Southborough, and Imagine That in Lawrence (I think).

dovetail223 · November 2014

We went to the Beantown Play center at the Natick Mall on Saturday and DD loved it. She ran around the place yelling and laughing for like 45 min straight. I think as long as its sunny and not crappy weather you can still go outside for walks and to the park. I know its cold today, but if the kids are moving/actively playing, they aren't going to get that cold. We live south of Boston, but the providence children's museum was great. They had an entire section for toddlers that bigger kids couldn't go into. I'm also in a Mom's group through Meetup and they have weekday activites.

ballygirl · November 2014

@dovetail223 - Tell me about this Beantown Play center. Was it really crowded with older kids? I know some of the other free areas in malls around here are too crazy with older kids on the weekends and I think my girls would just get trampled.

ballygirl · November 2014

Also - I found this list of indoor play spaces: https://www.bostoncentral.com/activities.php?pg=play&geo=all&cnt=41&ofst=0

dovetail223 · November 2014

@ballygirl My and a friend took our kids on Saturday morning around lunch time (DD is 13 months and the friends DS is 15 months). Because of the weather I was expecting it to be packed, but it wasn't too bad. It's definitely more for strong walkers, but most of the kids were under 6. I probably would go with a friend or with someone else with twins though...the kids pretty much have free range and unless they always like to play together, you might have a hard time keeping an eye on both. DD is in that stage where she thinks its funny to run from me so I "chase" her...which made for a couple heart attack moments. But over all it was fun and I would go again. If you went on a weekday it would probably be empty making it easier to keep an eye on both girls.

dovetail223 · November 2014

baconface said:

I just saw this in Woburn.... looks nice.

https://www.vinkarisafari.com/wp/about-us/test-gallery/

My friend has been here and said its nice

melimo · November 2014

Thanks for all the suggestions!! I have a great list for when the playgrounds take their swings down after Thanksgiving!

I'm planning on trying the indoor play space in Woburn tomorrow morning. I'll post a review later tomorrow!

WhenInRome11 · November 2014

If you don't mind traveling a little farther than Woburn, I teach a free music class in Arlington on Wednesday mornings and I go to a meet up at noon occasionally on Thursdays. Let me know you want me to PM youthe details.

Anyone is welcome!

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