Hellobee

I’ve struggled a lot recently with our small town. At first glance, it’s not very kid/family friendly. Parks are limited, pools are practically non-existent; zoos, aquariums, and anything that resembles “fun” are hours away. I was stumped on how to entertain my daughter (especially in the southern heat when stepping outside makes you feel like you’re in a sauna), but then I started digging a little deeper (figuratively, not literally—you can’t pay me to be outside longer than I have to in this heat) and found some decent compromises that make her happy.

Some of these things may seem a little unconventional, but if you don’t have any of the larger city amenities available, they do the trick

When you want to go to the zoo/aquarium…

Check out your own back yard and visit a pet store!

We’ve seen cats, hawks, raccoons, chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, armadillos, snakes, and deer in our own back yard. Not to mention, fireflies, rollie pollies, butterflies, ants, lizards, and ladybugs. My daughter gets a kick out of seeing new animals and insects whenever she goes outside.

While you (probably) won’t see lions, tigers, or bears at a local pet store, you will most likely see reptiles, rodents (hamsters, guinea pigs, and rats, oh my), hundreds of fish, and furry four-legged friends. I especially like to go to the pet store on the weekends when I solo parent (ours has pet adoptions on Saturdays), because it gets us out of the house and it’s air conditioned inside. Win/win/win!

A flower shop. The advantage here is that you’re in an air conditioned facility, so you can stop and smell the roses without breaking a sweat. (Score 1 for mama!) We take trips to the flower shop not only so I can pick up an arrangement for our house, but while we’re there she smells the flowers, and I quiz her on her colors.

A craft store. I frequent craft stores, and we always make sure we stop by the flower aisles. She can touch the different flowers and feel the different textures without fear of breaking off petals.

When you want to take a dip in a pool or run through a splash pad…

Bust out your sprinkler. Back in my day, I don’t actually remember going to the pool all too often, but I sure as heck remember running through the sprinklers and playing on the slip ‘n slide.

Buy a cheap inflatable pool. This is the best because you don’t even have to leave your house. Inflatable pools are perfect; you can pop them up, fill them, and be playing in water in a matter of minutes!

When you want to go to story time…

Check out your local bookstores. The libraries in our town have story time, but the timing doesn’t work out for us, unfortunately. If we’re jonesing for some new stories, we head to the bookstore and discover new books there. I let her sit in my lap as we read through different books.

Dig out more books or magazines. The great thing about kids is that they just love learning and seeing new things. My daughter is fascinated when I let her dig through old magazines, or when I start rotating the books in her room. Old books become new again, and she’s completely entranced by it all.

When you want to go to a park…

Find an indoor play place. One of our favorite places to enjoy park-like facilities (i.e. a slide) is to hit up Chick-fil-a. The one close to our house is clean, and if we go mid-morning we beat the rush, and my daughter doesn’t have to wrestle with big kids. Bonus: I get to drink coffee in peace.

Find a play cafe. Parks are hard to come by where we live, so a few churches and cafes in the area have stepped up to the plate. On certain days, these places will open up a room just for kids and let them run around, play with toys, and burn off built up energy. It took some digging to find them, but start asking around and maybe there’s a place like that near you.

Have a picnic in your living room. Going on a picnic in the park is so much fun, but when you don’t have a park near you and it’s too hot and buggy to go outside, do the next best thing and have one at home! Ditch the table, bust out a blanket, and eat on the floor. Make it even cooler and build a fort to eat underneath.

When you want to go to a children’s museum…

Make your own art. Kids don’t actually care about big frilly places, but they do care about having fun! Bust out some chalk, and make your own art!

Do you have any ideas for big city fun things you can do in a small town? I’m all ears!