Love to Laugh and Learn - Page 18 of 27 - Fun and interesting activities to do with the children in your life.

Indy Island Aquatic Center Review

November 20, 2014 by Mama Carmody 5 Comments

Indy Island Aquatic Center Review

November 1st, 2014, Indianapolis Indiana, we were heading to the Indy Island Aquatic Center at Raymond Park. The high this day was 43 degrees. That sounds like perfect weather to think about going swimming doesn’t it. And isn’t this the way you envision being dressed to head to the pool?

Indy Island Aquatic Center: Early November and we want to go swimming.

My secret is out. I love the water. I grew up in the water, my kids grew up in the water and now it’s time for the next generation. It has been many years since I was last at Indy Island. We used to take the kids there when they were young. A couple of them have winter birthdays and Indy Island was a nice alternative for a party place.

The indoor facility is open year round with heated pools. We thought the water and air temperature, in the facility, was a little cool, the day we visited, but it was tolerable.

The kid-sized pool goes from a zero entry level depth to 3 feet. There is a water playhouse with a slide and lots of water spraying in different directions. Jeremiah spent a lot of time in this area. I spent a lot of time at the foot of the slide watching him come down.

There is a large water slide for people at least 48” tall. There is a separate 3 lane lap pool that goes from 3 ½ feet to 6 feet. There is a spa for adults only and tons of deck chairs.

It’s not like one of those huge water parks with tons of attractions but considering the admission price, it’s an awesome deal.

The indoor pool is open Wednesday and Friday from 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.. Saturday and Sunday, it’s open from noon until 5:00 p.m.. The cost is extremely reasonable. For 3 to 17 years, it’s $4 during the week and $5 for weekends and holidays. Adults are $5 during the week and $6 for weekends and holidays. Senior Citizens (ages 55+) are the same as the youth. Children 2 and under are free.

Birthday Parties

If you are looking for a fun place for a birthday party, you should check out Indy Island. For $80, your child can celebrate their birthday with 7 of their friends. This price includes 2 adults. You will get the party room for 55 minutes. Indy Island will cover four tables with tablecloths and set 10 place settings for your party. You can bring your own decorations, if you want, but you won’t be allowed in the room early. This means you will be using part of your child’s party time to decorate. My suggestion would be to let Indy Island do their thing. If you really want to bring something, make it a few balloons and/or simple centerpieces you can quickly place on the tables that they have prepared. You can not bring outside food or drink, other than the cake and ice cream. They provide 2 pitchers of punch. After the party, head to the pool for some fun. The pool is included in the price. For $100, they will also serve hotdogs and chips. If you have more children or adults that you want to invite, additional children are $5.00 and adults are $6.00.

Whether you are looking for a way to beat the winter chill or an alternative site for a birthday party, be sure to check out the fun at Indy Island Aquatic Center at Raymond Park.
Located at:
8575 E Raymond Street
Indianapolis, IN 46239
Phone:(317)862-6876

*Disclaimer: I was not asked or compensated, in any way, to do this review. I chose to do it simply to help families find affordable fun activities to do together.

Crouching Tigers Review: Martial Arts for Little Ones

October 13, 2014 by Mama Carmody 3 Comments

Crouching Tigers Review: Martial Arts for Little Ones

I was given the opportunity to observe one of the free classes that Crouching Tigers is currently offering at local libraries. If you haven’t heard of Crouching Tigers, it is a mobile fitness and martial arts program for children 2 to 7 years of age. The program is dedicated to the physical, emotional and social development of children.

I must admit to you that I have never been particularly interested in the martial arts. I never considered getting my children involved with them and have watched very little of it, but I realized that some of you might be interested, so I headed off to Glendale Library to observe the free class.

First Observation

If you are interested in your child participating, register them as soon as possible. These classes are popular and have been filling up.

Second Observation

Olivia Spahn, Founder, President and instructor, of Crouching Tigers, is AMAZING with children. She possesses the love, understanding and enthusiasm that few have when it comes to young ones.

Third Observation

The curriculum is well written for the young child. Each class is 30 to 45 minutes long. It is broken up into 5 sessions:

Fitness and stretches
Life-skills
Martial arts
Awareness and self-defense
Games involving current lesson

There are a few brief instructions with demonstrations given of each session. Then the child is able to use the skill just taught. The sessions move along quickly which helps to keep their attention. It is emphasized to the children that these new skills are not to be used on friends and family.

Pictures from the Event

Crouching Tigers Review: Ages 2 to 7 years

Ages 2 to 7 years old enjoying the class together.

Learning Kicks

Learning Punches

My Conclusions

Olivia Spahn has done an outstanding job in the writing of the curriculum for Crouching Tigers. She obviously has an understanding of the young child’s short attention span and has effectively used that in the creation of her program.

Although, I can’t say I have found passion for the martial arts because of what I observed, I can say I am quite interested in the offerings of Crouching Tigers. I would love to get my great-nephew and, eventually, my grandson into one of their learning cycles. I believe they would have a lot of fun and would come away with some great life skills.

Your Opportunity

Currently, Crouching Tigers takes place in childcare centers, elementary schools and community centers in the Indianapolis and Cincinnati areas. If you do not live in one of those locations then you can check into starting your own franchise. Click here for more information on franchising. Classes start at just $45 for a four-week session, the program allows children to study eight styles of martial arts over the course of a four-year rotating curriculum.

If you live in the Indianapolis area, you still have a few more opportunities for your child to participate in one of the free classes they are offering at local libraries.

The Learning Curve@Central Library on Friday, October 17 at 11:00 a.m. (40 E. Saint Clair St.)
College Avenue Library on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 10:30 a.m. (4180 N. College Ave.)
Fountain Square Library on Monday, Nov. 10 at 11:00 a.m. (1066 Virginia Ave.)

Classes fill up quickly so register now at http://www.eventbrite.com/o/crouching-tigers-7301359235

I enjoyed my experience with Crouching Tigers. I’m sure you will too. Please stop back by and share your child’s experience.

LEGO® KidsFest Review

November 8, 2014 by Mama Carmody 2 Comments

LEGO® KidsFest Review

Disclaimer: I was given 4 tickets to attend LEGO® KidsFest, however, I was not influenced by the promotional materials. All opinions and insights are my own.

I have been so excited for the opportunity to review LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis. I am always amazed at the things people create with LEGO® building blocks. Tonight was no exception!

I’m sure my adult niece and I were more excited about this event than Jeremiah was. Of course, Jeremiah was a virgin to Lego building blocks. He turned 3 in July and doesn’t have any at home, and he also said he doesn’t have any in his preschool classroom.

This is the view we encountered as we entered the exhibition hall.

My niece and I were in awe and couldn’t decide which way to go first. Directly in front of us were several statue size creations so we headed toward them. I find it absolutely incredible the things that people create with Lego building blocks. My favorite piece was Lightning McQueen. It was as big as a real car.

LEGO® KidsFest: Jeremiah and Lightning McQueen edited

Jeremiah’s favorite piece was the Hulk.

LEGO® KidsFest: Jeremiah and the Hulk edited

There were several pieces that were created especially for great photo opportunities, like the man-eating-shark and King Tut.

We then headed to Creation Nation. Here you can use LEGO® building blocks to make a creation to be added to the basketball-court sized map of the United States. Remember I said earlier that Jeremiah had never played with LEGO® building blocks before. I was interested to see what he would do. We gave him a base and he started creating. It didn’t take him long but the fact that he figured out how to make anything, as quickly as he did, surprised me. Can you figure out what he made?

LEGO® KidsFest: Jeremiah's first ever Lego creation — LEGO® KidsFest: Jeremiah’s first ever Lego creation

It’s an airplane. He was very proud of it and actually, we were pretty proud of his first LEGO® creation. For participating, he was given a LEGO® sample set to take home.

There were many, many opportunities for playing and building with these popular little building blocks. A couple of fun, unique, play experiences were the brick piles. There was one huge pile that children were walking on, building with, and even getting buried under. There were also a couple of smaller piles in the DUPLO® area. Jeremiah was a little unsure about getting into the pile of building blocks but like his mom pointed out, that was probably because, at this age, he is cautioned quite often NOT to be stepping on his toys. He did finally get in there and started digging and playing.

We enjoyed playing, building and creating in several different areas. Jeremiah enjoyed playing with the little pieces and using his imagination in the LEGO® Friends area, as well as, the Disney Princess (yes, boys can love “Frozen”) and the Hero Factory areas. In the Hero Factory is where Nicole and I realized we have a LOT to learn about these building blocks, if we are going to attempt to stay ahead (or at least keep up with) this little guy and his budding interest.

The three of us joined, as a team, in the LEGO® Challenge. They would take up to 6 people at a table. They then gave us a challenge of something to build with the building blocks at our table. Our challenge was to build a magnifying glass. Jeremiah wanted wheels on it. We were all recognized as winners and everyone received a prize of a Lego sample set.

It was getting late so we hurried through the Star Wars and Super Heros exhibits. We skipped the Master Builders and Mindstorms® exhibits since Jeremiah is so young. I have a feeling we will be hitting those in the future.

For our family, $22 a person is a little steep but this event ends up being a better value than I anticipated. With all of interactive exhibits and the free sample sets, that they give away at every turn, it makes for a much great value. For a video-free, family interactive, fun time, head to the nearest LEGO® KidsFest!

LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis 2014 and a LEGO® Linky

October 19, 2014 by Mama Carmody Leave a Comment

LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis 2014 and a LEGO® Linky

LEGO® KidsFest is coming to Indianapolis, November 7 – 9, 2014. I am so excited to be able to attend this year. The event is being held at the Indianapolis Convention Center. The Convention Center will be packed with tons of fun building opportunities and exhibits. There will be three acres of space providing lots of construction zones, dozens of life-sized LEGO® models and displays and much more. Check out some of the awesome activities here.

Sometimes these events sell out so you might want to get your tickets early. Currently, there is limited availability for the Friday session as well as both Sunday sessions. The Saturday sessions are sold out. To avoid long lines and sell outs, click this link to purchase your tickets now: http://www.legokidsfest.com/indianapolis/tickets.html
There will be no tickets to sell at the door once a session is listed as “sold out”.

LEGO® Linky

Since my blog is all about fun learning activities, I thought this would be the perfect time to host my first Linky. LEGO® building blocks can be used for so many learning activities. They are great for developing fine motor skills. They can be used for sorting. I have seen them used for teaching and reinforcing math skills such as graphing or addition and subtraction. And let’s not forget they are great for learning to follow instructions and constructing things. You might have a budding architect on your hands.

For this link up I want to see all things LEGO®. Whether you are doing arts and crafts with LEGO® building blocks or doing math, please link your post here. Whatever type of learning activity you do with LEGO® building blocks, please share it. I can’t wait to see all of the wonderful ideas you guys have.

By linking up you are giving me permission to use a picture from your post to feature you on my site or through social media sites such as Pinterest. Pictures will only be used to feature the post that you shared and will always contain a link directly to your blog.

LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis 2014

October 9, 2014 by Mama Carmody Leave a Comment

LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis 2014

***Update 10/17/14 Congratulations to Tania. She is the winner of the 2 tickets to the opening night of LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis, Friday, November 7, 2014, 4-8:30pm. For anyone still wanting to attend the event, tickets are selling out quickly. Get yours today. http://www.legokidsfest.com/indianapolis/
Indianapolis Convention Center
Halls I, J & K
100 S Capitol Ave
Indianapolis, IN 46225

Disclaimer: I was given 4 tickets to attend the opening night of LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis as well as 2 tickets to use in a give-away. However, I was not influenced by the promotional materials. All opinions and insights are my own.

Please excuse my formality as I will be calling our beloved building toy by their formal name: LEGO® building bricks. This is a sponsored post and I have been informed that these wonderful little pieces are not called Legos or LEGOs but LEGO® bricks. Of course, those of us that grew up playing with them and watching our children and now our grandchildren play with them; we know what they are REALLY called. As stated above: “All opinions and insights are my own.” 🙂

I am very excited to have the opportunity to attend the LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis. Have you ever been to one of their events? It is packed with tons of fun building opportunities and exhibits. There will be three acres of space providing lots of construction zones, dozens of life-sized LEGO models and displays and much more. I am amazed at the creations that people build out of these little bricks.

Sometimes these events sell out so you might want to get your tickets early. Click this link to purchase your tickets now: http://www.legokidsfest.com/indianapolis/tickets.html

I hope to see you there!

Fun Trivia

More than 400 billion LEGO bricks have been produced since 1949. (These little building bricks are just 11 years older than I am. How’s your math?)

The LEGO minifigure represents the world’s largest population of people! More than four billion minifigures have been produced in the last 30 years. This is almost 12 times the population of the United States!

Laid end to end, the number of LEGO bricks sold in a year would reach more than five times around the world.

With a production of about 306 million tires produced a year, the LEGO group is the largest producer of tires in the world.

LEGO is the contraction of two Danish words, “leg godt” which means “play well”. (Sounds like the LEGO® Corporation has the same feeling about learning that I do. It should be fun!)

“Leg Godt!”