Activities

Activities, Kids Fashion, Motherhood, Sponsored, Things to do
Summer Playground Fun Must-Haves
- 10:52 am
- 0 comments
- by Adanna Dill
This summer playground fun post is sponsored by Stride Rite. As usual, all opinions expressed are my own.

The summer is playground season for our family, we take the kids to the playground daily and they always have a good time. We make the most out of it because in New York City our winters are long and harsh. Now, when I first started on this motherhood journey, I had no clue how prepared you need to be as a mom to take your kids to the playground. I figured all we need is some water and they’ll be fine. I can laugh at myself now because it’s so important to be prepared especially for playing in the sprinklers. I wanted to share a few must-haves for summer playground fun:

Swimwear

Sure, you’re not going to the pool or the beach but your kids would still need swimwear especially if they’re going to be playing in the sprinklers at the playground. I usually have my kids wear their swimwear from home just so they can get right into playing when we arrive at the playground.

Water-resistant shoes

A shoe that your little ones can run through the sprinklers and then climb the monkey bars with is important. They wouldn’t be switching between shoes so they need a pair that would work for all the different types of activities they will get into at the playground. The Merrell Hydro Sandals from Stride Rite is perfect for this because they are very durable. My son’s been wearing them for about a week now and he’s even begged me to wear them to school (it’s against the uniform policy) but he can ride his bike with them, climb, run and I don’t have to worry about him too much as they feature M-Select GRIP so he has traction on rocky surfaces.

Besides going to the playground, he’s going to be wearing them to head to the beach, waterpark and swimming classes. I love that they are quick drying for water activities with a rubber toe guard to protect his little feet.

Change of clothing and underwear

Soon as my kids are finished playing, I like to change them immediately. To avoid infections or other issues, I dry them up with a towel and have them put on dry clothes and underwear. Some playgrounds in New York City, do not have changing rooms so I always walk with a mega towel that I can hold around them for privacy.

Light snacks and water

It’s summer so hydration is very important, I like to bring them cold water as well as light snacks like fruits, cereal or popcorn.

Water toys

The kids at our local playground love water balloons so I always make sure that I bring a bunch not just for my kids but to share with other kids they will meet there. You can always walk with super soakers and other water-friendly toys, just talk to your kids about the importance of playing with them safely and under your supervision.

Sunscreen

I’ve been using sunscreen to protect my littles one’s skin since they were babies. Now, they’re old enough to put it on themselves and when I forget to give it to them, they remind me.

What are some of your summer playground fun must-haves?
Activities, Motherhood, Sponsored
My Plan To Prevent Summer Slide
- 6:43 pm
- 0 comments
- by Adanna Dill
This post is sponsored by Flocabulary. As usual, all opinions expressed are my own.

If you know me, you know that I LOVE summer so I am at my happiest when those warm months roll around. We’re going to start our summer in sunny Orlando and I imagine we will be spending lots of time outdoors as The Princess Fairy mastered bike riding earlier this week. But before we get into all of that, I wanted to make a plan to ensure that my kids do not summer slide. If you’ve never heard the term “summer slide” before, it basically refers to kids regressing academically because they forgot everything they learned the previous school year. I wrote about my fear of falling behind in the past and I think it’s safe to say that no parent wants their kids to summer slide. So, I wanted to share a few things that I plan to do to prevent summer slide in our home:

Ask Teachers For Tips

I am not an education expert, I am a mom trying my best to help my kids learn and grow so I like to ask the professionals for help. My first step this summer is to talk to my daughter’s new teacher for advice on how to prepare her for the next grade level during the summer. Even my son who is headed to Pre-K will be prepping by practicing to write his full name, draw shapes and some sensory activities.

Pinterest Activities

Pinterest is a gold mine for educational activities for kids, you can find everything from art and craft projects to science experiments. I plan to create a board with educational summer activities for my little ones to fit their interests and educational levels.

Flocabulary App

There isn’t a kid who doesn’t enjoy playing on smartphones and tablets so this summer instead of asking them to come off, let’s embrace digital tools for learning. I downloaded the Flocabulary app for my daughter last week and she is already hooked. I was talking to my girlfriend who is a teacher and she told me that they have the subscription in her classroom and her students love the educational hip hop videos. I can totally attest to that because my daughter also loves the videos, which I think are creative and catchy. Her favorite is the “End Punctuation” video but there are over 800 videos so she’s not going to bored. After watching the videos, kids can take challenges to test how much they learned.

One of the perks of this app that works for our family is that Flocabulary is also Common Core aligned. Flocabulary is available on iOS and Android. It’s been selected by Apple as #1 “New Apps We Love” on the Apple Store which is a huge deal because there are approximately 14,000 new apps launched every week. You can follow them over on Twitter and Facebook.

Join A Reading Club

There are many different reading clubs that provide incentives for kids to read during the summer. You can find them locally (our library have a summer club) or virtually. This will really encourage your kids to read more and to find books on their interests.

Visit Museums

It’s no secret that the kids and I love to visit museums, we’ve visited many throughout the East Coast and MidWest and we’re not about to slow down this summer. There are still many on our list that we haven’t made it to yet. We love doing tours when we visit as we learn so much amazing bit of information and the tour guides make the experience fun.

How do you plan to prevent summer slide?
Activities, Family Travel, New York City Kids, Things to do
5 Things to Do With Kids At Brooklyn Bridge Park
- 11:21 am
- 0 comments
- by Adanna Dill
Brooklyn Bridge Park is hands down one of our family’s favorite New York City spots. I love being close to water, I know you’re tired hearing me say that I’m an island girl at heart but it’s the truth. There are few other places in this city that offer such a variety of fun for the entire family. The park lies beneath the Brooklyn bridge with Manhattan Bridge in the background. It’s very scenic with gorgeous views of Manhattan’s skyline and the East River. More importantly, there are a ton of things to do with kids at Brooklyn Bridge Park which always makes it a wonderful experience for our little family. I wanted to share 5 of our favorite things to do and maybe on this beautiful summer Sunday, my family will head out there.

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1. Jane’s Carousel

Janes Carousel is hands down the most beautiful carousel we’ve been on to date. If you follow us on social media, you know by now that we are borderline obsessed with this carousel.

The carousel itself is beautiful but what really makes its beauty stand out is its location along the East River.

It’s so bright, beautiful and inexpensive you can’t help but feel like you’ve cheated paying only per ride. Maybe it’s the times I’ve taken my kids to the carousel but I’ve never experienced long lines which I find interesting about this epic carousel.

2. Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory

So this ice cream shop itself isn’t anything to call home about,nothing fancy but the ice cream is the amazing. that’s until you try their ice cream. Our family’s favorite is the Chocolate Chocolate flavor which you can find melting down my kids arms on a hot summer day. There are only a few seats inside but with so much beauty in the park, we always find a nice spot outside to enjoy our treats with a view.

3. Boats

If you have small children they will probably be excited about watching so much water traffic. It’s a good teaching opportunity to talk to them about different types boats and what they’re used for. Watching boats at Brooklyn Bridge Park is probably what excites my kids more than anything else.

4. Playgrounds

There are two really awesome playgrounds here at Brooklyn Bridge Park. One mainly for smaller kids and babies and the boat shaped one for older kids. Both playgrounds are really fun and in great condition and there are always plenty kids and friendly parents to socialize with.

5. Pizza

Whether you’re visiting or live in New York City it’s worth knowing that Brooklyn Bridge Park is home to one of the legendary Grimaldi’s pizza. In all of the years, we’ve been going to this park (even before we had kids) the only time that there wasn’t a really long line at Grimaldi’s was when it was closed. Locals and tourists love the pizza here and they have no problem waiting for it. Since the line is always so long, we’ve done it about twice but it was well worth the wait. While you wait you’d notice that it’s customary to buy a pizza and head to the lawn with your blanket.

Oh my gosh! Look at how tiny The Princess Fairy was here.

She loved Jane’s Carousel since she was a baby.

You know that I never end one of these posts without telling you the things that real moms really need to know. There are bathrooms at the park, they are not stroller friendly and isn’t horrible. If you’re potty training your kid, I’ll recommend you walk with seat covers. If you’re visiting on a hot summer day want to take into consideration that there isn’t much shade from the sun at Brooklyn Bridge Park so make sure you take some steps to protect your children skin from the sun. Here are some suggestions.

What’s your favorite thing to do with kids at Brooklyn Bridge Park?

Related: Things to do with kids in NYC – Summer Edition