Weekend Planner

Welcome to our weekly Thursday morning post about what's going on in the Des Moines, Iowa area. We'll share what we'll be doing, great finds, restaurants to eat at, shops to drop some cash at, and just all the great things Des Moines has to offer families.

What We're Doing:

• Lots of little friends birthday parties on Saturday. I'll need a drink Saturday night I'm quite certain.
• Ramada Tropics Resort. Water park time for our three day weekend!

Other Happenings:

• Snowshoe Stomp in Greenwood/Ashworth Park (Saturday 10 a.m.). $5 per person covers snowshoes and hot chocolate. I hope there's another opportunity to try this out this winter.
• Botanical Center of Greater Des Moines. Feels like summer in the middle of winter. 
• Des Moines Buccaneers game (Saturday 7 p.m.). My kids are always thoroughly entertained by hockey games.
• Learn to Skate Class at Brenton Skating Plaza (Sunday 10 a.m.). One of these weekends the kids and I are going to go to one of these so they can learn to ice skate!
• American Presidents: Life Portraits at Valley West Mall. This would be great for a grade school age child to see. The display will remain up until February 14.

A Few Other Ideas:

• Visit your local museum or art center.
• Make Valentine's decorations. We've made our own before or stop by Michael's to pick up kits for the kids to do.
• Dance party. We suck but we love them. Plus it's a great energy waster and exercise for all.

#learningwhileplaying

I often use the hashtag '#learningwhileplaying' because I truly believe that kids learn best while playing. They are able to put to use everything they see and hear around them through their play. I get excited when the kids take in the things we talk about at daycare. Lately we've been reading a book about the 50 States. We've been reading it for nearly a week now because of their general interest in the book.

 Yesterday afternoon the kids painted wooden snowflakes. There was leftover paint, so they asked for extra paper. They painted a piece of paper. Then they asked for more. Then another. And another. 

"How many papers are you going to use?" I jokingly said to them. I really don't care how many papers they use for their painting, plus it was keeping them busy.

"50," responded a three year old.

"Okay, sounds good," I smiled. That was a very specific number, but I didn't think much of it. I left the room to go to the bathroom. 

"Can we use our hands?" the kids shouted at me.

"Sure," I yelled back. I was flushing and washing my hands. They couldn't do much damage in the minute it would take me to wash and dry my hands. Then I heard paper crumpling. They must have messed a page up, I thought. I stopped at the tissues to blow my nose. Then I walked into the kitchen.

The papers were torn and in all different shapes. Surprisingly all of the paint mess was still contained to the tables, hands, shirts, and a few streaks on their faces.

"What's going on?" I asked smiling. They were clearly having fun as they spoke and coordinated amongst each other.

"I'm making Iowa," replied my daughter. "I'm making Michigan," replied a three year boy. "I make Iowa too," said a smiling two year girl.

I laughed. 50 sheets of paper for the 50 states, all made into different shapes because "all of the states look different."

This is why I use the hashtag learning while playing.