Thursday, January 28, 2016

Clydesdale Park, Affton (Officer Blake C. Snyder Memorial Park)



Location: 9801 Green Park Rd, St. Louis, MO 63123

Website: https://stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/parks/places/blake-c-snyder-memorial-park/

Playground Ground Cover: Poured Rubber

This park changed names from Clydesdale Park to Officer Blake C. Snyder Memorial Park in Oct 2016.

This park is large but the playground is small. There is not much here except a small play structure and 2 sling swings.

Other amenities include a soccer field, baseball diamond, and an extensive walking/jogging path that winds all over the park. The picnic pavilion is also available, which can be reserved in advance.

TRAILS
Clydesdale Park features a cross-country course and has many paved, gravel and dirt trails approved for walking, biking and roller sports.  It also has a new trail, with a bridge over Gravois Creek that connects to Grant's Trail.  For some good hills, Grant's Trail users can now divert to the Clydesdale Park trails for a real workout.

Fox Run Fitness Trail = paved = 0.8 miles
Bottomland Trail = paved = 0.6 miles
Twin Bridge Trail = paved = 0.4 miles
Heritage Trail = paved = 0.3 miles
Hickory Hollow Trail = Earthen treadway = 0.6 miles
Hawks Rest Trail = Earthen treadway =0.4 miles
Deer Path Trail = paved = 0.4 miles
Grants Trail = accessible connections from Twin Bridge trail and Bottomland Trail








Sunday, January 24, 2016

Home Depot Kids Club




Did you know that some hardware stores have free kid workshops? Yes, you heard me right, and they are TONS of fun for kids! We've participated in a bunch of these and we've never had a bad experience. We've made holiday trains that light up, dump trucks, birdhouses, mailboxes, and more.
Home Depot requires you to register in advance so they have enough kits on hand for everyone, but at Buchheit we just walked in and got lucky.

Home Depot calls it their Kid Workshops and it's held the first Saturday of the month starting at 9:00 a.m.
  • All kids get to keep their craft, and receive a FREE certificate of achievement, a Workshop Apron, and a commemorative pin while supplies last.
  • Children must be present at the store to participate in the workshop and receive the kit, apron, and pin.
Lowe's offers a DIY Kids Workshop and it is held one Saturday a month. 









Saturday, January 23, 2016

Edwardsville Children's Museum, Edwardsville IL



Location: 722 Holyoake Rd, Edwardsville, IL 62025

Website: http://edwardsvillechildrensmuseum.org/

Admission is $7 per person, kids under 1 are free.

The outside of the building looks a little rough, but I assure you it's worth the drive and the money! There are lots of things to do in here. We went for a friend's birthday party and spent at least 3 hours exploring all they had to offer. The building is 2 stories but it's not overwhelmingly large. It has a cozy feel to it and I didn't worry about my kids getting lost because there are not any hidden areas. On the main level there are several exhibits including the DQ Ice cream parlor (my kids fav!), A YMCA fitness studio, Scott Credit union/post office,  Hyten Family Dentistry, Bella Milano Cafe, and Vine Floral Design nature area. Up the stairs they have a city library/reading nook, city fire department, and police department crime lab.

In addition to these special areas, they had random toys and things to do spread out all over the building. An air traffic control computer, lots of dress up options, magnet boards, mazes, a stage coach, space ship toys, bug toys, and cash registers.

The birthday party was very well run and the staff was incredibly helpful. We need to go back! Also nearby is an amazing playground if you want to make a day of it.

























Thanks to Becky V. and Erin A. for permission to use their photos!

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Oak Tree Park, Brentwood





Location: Bounded by Florence and Porter Aves, Brentwood, MO 63144

Website: https://brentwoodmo.org/index.aspx?NID=497

Playground Ground Cover: Poured Rubber

This playground has a woodland theme. It was installed in late 2014 and has a lot of fun features.  There are ramps that make it inclusive but I didn't see any adaptive swings. There are 2 sling swings, 2 baby swings, bridges, a tree hideout, many slides, a spinning chair, climbing walls, tunnels, tree stumps to walk on, and 2 bouncing things. There is a small pavilion nearby and they built restrooms in 2017.























Restroom and small pavilion area