Activity Advent Calendar in a Box

In case you are not able to attend playgroup here are the instructions as to how to make the boxes for the activity advent calendar. This tutorial is for a scrapbook in a box (which are a lot of fun to make and a cheap and creative Christmas gift too!). We are only using the bottom layer for our activity box and we are gluing it together instead of letting it fall open freely when you take off the top. For the bottom of the box you only need to make one layer (12x12) and instead of cutting out the four corners completely you just make four cuts so that you can fold the tabs over and glue them to make a box. If this sounds confusing just give me a call. Have the kids decorate the box before gluing it together. Fill the box with 25 slips of paper- each with a different Christmas themed activity written on it. Each day of December pull out an activity from the box and do it with your family. I have a list of ideas I can email you if you are interested. Have fun!

50 FREE Photo Cards (Shipped Free too!)

Check it out. My sister just did hers this morning and she says it works. Offer expires this Saturday.

PreSchool Fieldtrip Ideas

Michelle Bradford has a couple of good websites to share in case anyone needs ideas for planning preschool trips.

http://www.nga.gov/programs/family/ : The Gallery of Art has a newsletter you can sign up for to alert you of upcoming events (you can even sign up as an educator if you want).

www.freeindc.blogspot.com :This one has some interesting things from time to time.

http://www.npg.org.uk/home.php : Homeschool open house at the Portrait Gallery. Next Saturday they also have a family Frontier Days activity. Fun (FREE!!)

Thanks for sharing these Michelle!

Friday Field Trip

Every Friday one of the ward preschools take a field trip. Next Friday they are going to Cox Farms. This sounds like a really fun place. They have some pretty big slides, hayrides, farm animals and more. You get to take home a pumpkin and have as much apple cider as you want. Since it's a preschool group there will be a discounted rate. Please contact Melita Garmon for details on the cost and the time (sorry, I can only post either the date or the time- but not both- on the blog for safety reasons). If anyone else would like me to post field trip info on the playgroup blog just let me know.

December Swapmeet

We have a date and time for the swapmeet in December. We will hold it during playgroup on December 8th from 10:30-1pm. Email me with suggestions. If you would like to extend the time let me know and we can work something out.

Playgroup this Week

For playgroup this week we are meeting at Tyson's Corner Center on Level 3 in the play area. This is a fun little place right by the food court. It has a soft padded floor and several soft objects to climb through and over. My kids love coming here. At 11:00am an entertainer will be coming to sing and dance with the kids (the dude at the mall desk said that they even give out free kids club t-shirts if they have them). He comes every Tuesday at this time and since it's always during playgroup I thought we could schedule one there and check it out. Hope to see you there!

Free Tot Time at the FCCC

This is just a reminder that the Falls Church Community Center has free tot time every Friday from 10-12pm in their gym. I spoke with someone recently who went and they had a blast. They provide all of the toys (including trikes and tunnels).

December Swapmeet

I am planning a swapmeet in early December and just wanted to give everyone a head's up so that you can plan for it. Everyone is invited to bring toys and books that your children no longer use to church where we will give the kiddos a chance to pick out Christmas gifts for siblings or cousins (or for themselves=). I will also have giftwrapping and cardmaking available. Whatever is leftover will be donated to Salvation Army. I think this will be a fun and inexpensive way for the little ones to give gifts or find a new toy for themselves. So, I just wanted to let you know so that you can start setting things aside for it and making room for all of the new toys that you'll be getting on Christmas. I'll keep you posted on the date. I'm open to suggestions so feel free to post them if you have any. Thanks!

October Activities

Here are a few free things happening in October I thought I would share. Just so you know I find all of my info from either the Falls Church Recreation and Parks progam guide, the Parktakes program guide, the Washington Family Magazine and the library. All of these resources are available at the Community Center or the library. There is a ton of stuff going on but I just list the free stuff here. Check out those resources for additional activities.

*16th Annual Farm Day: Saturday Oct. 10th, 10-3pm in Cherry Hill Park (312 Cherry Park Avenue). There will be hayrides, pony rides, a petting farm, scarecrow making (you must provide the clothing for the scarecrow), pumpkin making, blacksmithing and more. Admission is free but nominal fees may apply to some activites. They were not specific on which ones that would be.

*Drop in Craft: Saturday Oct. 17th, 11-2pm at Mary Riley Styles Library (120 N. Virginia Avenue).

*Disney Store Halloween "Dress Rehearsal" Party": Wednesday Oct. 21st, 3:30pm at Disney stores nationwide. There will be games, prizes and a costume parade around the store. Everyone is encouraged to dress up but kids over three who dress up like their favorite Disney charachters will receive a free gift.

*Halloween Carnival: Friday Oct. 30th, 6-7pm for the infants to 2nd graders and 7:30-8:30pm for 3rd-5th graders at the Falls Church Community Center (223 Little Falls Street). Candy, games, face painting, and a live creepy creature show!

*Halloween Magic Show: Saturday Oct. 31st, 11am at Mary Riley Styles Library. All ages invited and everyone is encouraged to wear their costumes and trick or treat at each of the service desks after the show.

*Halloween at the {Medical} Museum: Saturday Oct 31st, 10-1pm at the National Museum of Health and Medicine (6900 Georgia Ave., NW Wash,DC). Halloween scavenger hunt, skeleton crafts, costume conteset and prizes! They suggest bringing your lunch and adults have to bring their ID's (not sure what that's about). 703-318-1385, ext. 6# for questions/details.

*Hallowfest: Saturday Oct. 31st, 10am at the US Botanic Garden (245 First Street, SW Wash,DC). Decorate pumpkins, create a creeop craft, or attend a Monster Meal cooking demonstration. Costume parade at noon.

In addition, there are several Farms now open that sound like fun. I haven't been to any of them yet, but give us a rating if you make a visit so we'll know if it's fun.

-Frying Pan Farm Park, 2709 West Ox Road, Herndon Va 20171

This one has free admission. They have a nature trail and farm animals to visit. They also offer $3 wagon rides (there is a buy one get one free coupon in this months Washington Family Magazine- which is free and you can pick one up at the library or the community center). 703-437-9101

-Marker Miller Orchards in Winchester, VA. They are holding an Apple Harvest Festival on Oct 10th and 11th and a Pumpkin Harvest Festical on Oct. 24th. Call 540-662-1980 for costs.

- Summers Farm Adventure: Corn maze, pumpkin patch, and hayrides. Go to http://www.summersfarm.com/ for costs and details.

- Butler's Orchard: From Sept.26th- Nov. 1st they are holding their 29th Annual Pumpkin Festival. It's pricey- $10 per person (under 2 free) but there's lots to do. Hayrides, mazes, pumpkin land, Wildcat Run Slide, Hayloft, barnyard buddies, Rubber Ducky Derby, pedal tractors, pumpkin coach, inflatable farm train and tube slide. For an additional fee pony rides, crafts and face painting are available. http://www.butlersorchard.com/

Playgroup This Week

Playgroup this week will be at Lincoln Park located at Lincoln Ave and Great Falls. This is a fun park with lots of shade and it's completely fenced in. I'll be bringing our golden retriever Bela for the kids to play with. He is very friendly. Also, Michelle will take some time to inform everyone about the babysitting co-op in our ward. I hope everyone can make it.

Yoga with Kristina

I just wanted to give you a heads up on playgroup next week because you won't want to miss it. Kristina will be the host and she will be doing yoga with the kiddos. Remember we will be meeting at 10:30am at the church. If the door happens to be locked please ring the bell. Make sure to wear something comfortable. I hope everyone can make it!

Playgroup this week

It looks like rain so let's meet at the church this week for playgroup. Again- we will be meeting at 10:30 instead of 10:00. We'll talk about Fall and make a craft (it will involve a little paint). Feel free to bring any toys/ bikes to play with in the gym after. See you then!

September Events

I've come accross a few things to keep your little ones busy this month. Many of you are probably already aware of these events but here they are.

*Free Tot Time: The Falls Church Community Center will be opening up their gym every Friday (starting September 11th) from 10am-12noon. Preschoolers will be able to climb through tunnels, ride tricycles, and play with other kids. They provide all equipment (including the trikes). They ask that no strollers or food be permitted in the gym. Tot time will not be held on the following days: 9/25, 11/27, 12/4, 12/11, and 12/25.

*Sunset Cinema in the Park: Every Friday evening this month there will be a movie screening in Cherry Hill Park (312 Park Avenue) at 8pm.
9/4- Bolt (PG, 2008)
9/18- Race to Witch Mountain (PG, 2009)
9/25 E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (PG, 1982)
Bring blankets, bug spray, and picnics. Popcorn, drinks, and candy will be available for purchase.

*Free Demos of Music Together 9/14, 9/15, and 9/16 at 10am and 11am at the Falls Church Community Center. She has several classes starting up at the end of the month so I think this is just an opportunity to let people know what they will be about. There should be music, instruments, dance and play.

*Mary Styles Public Library: Fall story hours begin Sept. 15. They are held every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 10:30am (18-36 mo). Twilight Tales are every Wed. night at 7pm (ages 4-6). Also, every third Saturday they will be offering a "Drop-In Craft" program from 11-2pm. This month it will be held on Sept. 19th. All ages welcome and no registration.
Here is a link to check out events happening at other libraries in the area. Although free, you may have to register in advance for some of these.
http://host6.evanced.info/fairfaxco/evanced/eventcalendar.asp?et=Preschool&do=0&nd=27&dt=mo&df=list&cn=0&private=0&ln=ALL

*34th Annual Taste of Falls Church at the Fall Festival: Free admission. This will be held at Cherry Hill Park on Saturday, Sept. 12th from 10am-4pm. There will be live entertainment, children's activities, amusement rides, restuarants sampling their cuisine, and art and craft vendors.

Playgroup next week

I hope everyone had fun at Lion Village this week! I just wanted to give everyone a heads up for next week's playgroup because we will need a headcount. Emily has so graciously offered to have us come and swim at her community pool at Lee Oaks Place (*note the different meeting time in my email to the listserve). There are two pools. One is larger and about 4 feet deep while the other is smaller and just the right size and depth for toddlers and babies. The pool area is fenced in. Please send me an email by Monday morning if you can make it so that Emily can get a pass for you and your kiddos. I'll be bringing juice drinks. Feel free to bring a snack to share.

CROCS! Buy one get one free

Most kids I see are running around in these so when I saw this sale I thought some of you might like to know. The sizes and colors are limited but there's still some cute stuff. And what mom doesn't love a shoe you can throw in the dishwasher?

In addition to the free shipping, here are a couple of online codes to save even more. I haven't used them so I can't say 100% if they work but it's worth a try.

Additional 25% off non-sale items: slx8797
10% off any order: customerloyalty09

Playgroup this Week

Playgroup this week will be at Lion Village Park. The spray area is only open until Labor Day so go while you can. It was a lot of fun!

Upcoming Activity in Falls Church

The Fall for Fun Celebration will be held at Berman Park on Wednesday, August 19th from 5-7pm. They entire event is free. There will be hot dogs, crafts, games, a moon bounce as well as car seat checks, school supplies, info on school and community resources, mini soccer, and chair massages. All FREE! Call 703-248-5005 for additional info. Rain date: Thursday, August 20th.

Playgroup August 19th at the church

Since there is a chance of rain tomorrow, we will have playgroup at the church. I will be bringing some of our favorite Sabuda pop-up books to read. Then we will learn how to make a pop-up card (I made one with Eden this morning and it turned out really cute!). I'll be bringing some snacks to share so come have fun at the church tomorrow! 10am.

Pictures from Playgroup at Lion Village Park

Playgroup this week- August 12th

Initially I had planned to cancel playgroup this week since things had been so slow lately. However, there was such a good turnout last week and several people have asked about playgroup this week so let's keep it going. Playgroup is on for tomorrow! I hope this doesn't mess up anyone's schedule too badly and if we don't see you tomorrow then I hope we see you next week. Since it's so hot outside I thought we would meet at Lion Village park at 10am. They have several sprinklers to cool off the kids. Be prepared for the kids to get wet! I will also be bringing about 40 size 3 diapers that we can't use.

Kraft Promotion

Since groceries are so expensive in this area, I've started looking for money saving opportunities. Here is one that I came across recently. It's a Kraft promo going on until Aug 23rd- get $25 in free Kraft products (you'll get an in store coupon for $5 off your next purchase and a $20 mail in rebate). Just click on the blog title for more info. If you have any money saving websites or blogs that you follow, please share.

Upcoming Activites in the Area

Hello everyone! We are starting up the Falls Church Ward playgroup blog again. Check here for details on playgroup and other activities going on in the area. Like many of you, I have only been in the ward for a short couple of months. So, if any of you have information about activities or the area to share then we would all appreciate it. Here are just a few free things going on in the area that I found out about and wanted to share.

- Storytime at Mary Riley Styles Library: Meets every Tues and Thurs morning until Aug 20th (they will resume regular storyhour schedule mid-Sept). http://www.falls-church.lib.va.us/

-Free Family Film Festival: There are two more weeks of the Regal free family film festival. Each Tues and Wed at 10am several theaters in the area show free movies. There are usually two films to choose from (either G or PG). Check out this website to find a participating theater. http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/familyfilmfestivalschedule.aspx?state=VA

-Kids Club Summer Series at Tyson's Corner Mall: There are two more weeks left of the Kids Club Summer Series. It is held on Level 3 in the play area from 11-11:30. Thursday, Aug 13th there will be a magician. Thursday, Aug 20th there will be a clown show. http://www.shoptysons.com/events.asp

-Perseids Meteor Shower: Aug 12th and 13th. This shower is supposed to produce about 60 per hour. http://www.theskyscrapers.org/meteors/

-Jazz in the Garden: Fridays @ 5pm at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, 7th Street and Constitution.