Rainy Day Activities

Looking for a place to play indoors in Marin? They're few and far between (and indespensible when it's raining!), but luckily Jump N Bounce! LLC recently opened in San Anselmo. Come and jump, play, and slide on their giant inflatable pirate ship play structure daily from 10 am to 6 pm. Sessions for children ages 2 to 6 are from 10 am to 4 pm and ages 7 to 12 from 4 to 6 pm. The cost is $5 per 20-minute jump session, but if you go there and mention that you heard about them on Marin Mommies, they'll give you $1 off.

Sessions start at five minutes after the hour and half-hour (please arrive ten minutes early to sign in and get the safety talk). Each session is also limited to eight participants, so it won't there'll be a minimum of crowded craziness and a maximum of fun.

With children bouncing off the walls at home on a rainy day, I’m always looking for places to go to get them out of the house and burn off all that energy. Here are a few ideas for rainy day drop-in activites:

Corte Madera:

• Stretch the Imagination offers a drop-in style play date for parents and their children January-April. The studio will be open for creative exploration of fun activities such as sensory exploration, art, gross motor movement, construction with recycled materials and much more. This is for children ages 6 months to 4 yrs. Children must be accompanied by their caregiver. Drop-in cost $12 for first child and $6 for second child. Play Passes are available for purchase that reduces you drop-in cost to $10 and $5 for second child. For more info, go to their website.

Novato

• Hamilton Indoor Tot Playground, run by Novato Parks and Recreation, is a drop-in indoor playground for preschoolers (toddlers–5 years old) open from 9 to 11 am. Kids can run, climb, play parachute, and socialize. Adults must attend and actively participate with their children. Space is limited on a daily basis. This program runs every Monday and Thursday, Jan 11- May 27 (no program 4/12 & 4/15). The cost is $3 daily drop-in per family. This indoor playground takes place at the Hamilton Community Center Auditorium (see sign out front) and are located at 503 South Palm Drive. For more info, call (415) 899-8200.
• Marin Treks Natural History Museum is a hands-on educational experience for your child. Come handle a few of their many reptiles, amphibians, insects, and arachnids. Open Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 am to 1 pm and Satuday from 11 am to 12:30 pm. They are located at 1559 S. Novato Blvd., Suite H in Novato. Call (415) 892-3001 or go to their website.
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San Francisco's Aquarium of the Bay offers free admission this week for Marin County residents, from Monday, January 25 through Thursday, January 28, 2010. Aquarium of the Bay is providing free admission in celebration of its recent transition into a nonprofit nature center. As the only aquarium dedicated to showcasing the diverse aquatic life of the San Francisco Bay and its watershed, Marin County residents are encouraged to come out and meet their underwater neighbors.

To get free admission to the Aquarium of the Bay, Marin County residents must present one proof of residency: a valid driver's license or ID card with Marin County address, utility bill, or a bank statement that includes your Marin County home address, along with photo ID.

I decided that I’m going to do something for myself this year—I finally joined our local health club and I’m going to get myself back into shape. I signed up at the Marin YMCA a few weeks ago, and have to say that it was the best decision I’ve made so far this year. Not only am I able to take advantage of the workout room, but our entire family can participate in the classes and programs they have to offer as well.

One of our favorites features so far is the indoor pool. Believe it or not, we have been making a lot of use of it during on these recent rainy weekends, and my kids are able to burn off some energy as well as brush up on their swimming skills. My son wants to join the swim team in the spring and he needs to be able to swim the length of the pool first, so we’re getting in some valuable practice time.

There’s something I love about swimming in an indoor pool on a rainy day. At first thought it seems a little odd to want to go swimming when it’s cold and wet out, but once you get to the pool it’s warm and pleasant and a contrast to the yucky weather going just on the other side of the windows and walls.
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When it's rainy and you're stuck indoors, it can be fun to get the children involved in the kitchen with an easy, kid-friendly recipe. My kids love to help make these easy applesauce muffins almost as much as they enjoy eating them. With a crunchy brown-sugar topping and a hint of spice, they're perfect with breakfast or an anytime treat.

Kids can help to stir and mix the ingredients together, spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, and test the muffins to see if they're done. (Keep little hands away from hot ovens and pans, though—safety first!) One thing I often do to make the whole process go more smoothly is to measure out all the ingredients first and array them on the counter. That way they're waiting for the kids when they come into the kitchen to help.

“Wow!” my son shouted as we walked in the door and laid eyes on all the LEGO kits and pieces in the room at Play-Well Teknologies in San Anselmo. We have been trying to visit “the LEGO place” (as my son calls it) and try one of their drop-in open-play sessions for a while now, but something always seemed to come up. We finally made it there last week with some friends for a playdate, and we all had a blast.

Play-Well TEKnologies' Marin Engineering Center features a large area dedicated just for the drop-in play. In fact, it's the largest drop-in LEGO center in the country. My son was in awe—they seemed to have every type of LEGO imaginable. Dozens of bins keep the LEGO pieces, reportedly over a million in all, organized by color, size, type, or theme, including wheels, ships, planes, engines, pirates and much, much more.
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For a county with a relatively large number of families, Marin has never had a surplus of indoor play spaces for young children. While our weather is usually nice enough for outdoor play, indoor spots are appealing during cold, rainy, or hot weather, and also because of the classes and programs that many of them offer in addition to being a place to play.

Over the last year, we've lost two great resources, Playtime Safari in Novato and San Anselmo's Playdate Café, victims of unfortunate circumstance and the sputtering economy. This week, we've learned that Mill Valley's Gymboree Play & Music, a longtime favorite spot of many Marin parents, will be most likely closing its doors for good at the end of the month! The current owner of the Gymboree Play & Music franchise has decided to close it, but it was apparently bought back by Gymboree itself (which was founded in Mill Valley and is currently headquartered in San Francisco) with the intention of keeping the facility open. Unfortunately, they have not been able to renegotiate a lease with the landlord at Strawberry Village, where it is located.

Sadly, we received an email today from San Anselmo's Playdate Café stating that they are closing indefinitely. Another victim of the credit crunch and economic downturn, their doors are shutting as of today, December 8, 2008. Their website will remain up and running at www.playdate-cafe.com.

We'll definitely miss Playdate Café and all the great events they hosted for families. This past November saw the closing of another mom-run small business and similar indoor playspace, Playtime Safari in Novato. It's a shame, because both of these businesses were great resources for Bay Area parents and children. We're sorry to see them go. There's the possibility that Playdate Café may only close temporarily, so we certainly would love to see them open again soon.