Tag Archives: Kirkland

Preschool Choice Time

For parents of two-and-a-half year olds, ’tis the season to think about preschool. (I know, preschool won’t start till September, and it’s CRAZY that you have to research and make decisions on preschools when you can’t begin to imagine how different your child will be 8 months from now…)

January and February are the season for preschool fairs, preschool open houses and tours. Many schools have application deadlines coming up soon and will encourage you to apply as soon as possible to ensure that there’s space for your child. It’s easy for parents to feel a lot of anxiety and pressure in this environment. It is true that the sooner you decide, the more options you’ll have. And it is true that SOME schools will fill up soon, and if you don’t apply now, you’ll miss your chance. But the honest truth is that there are a ton of great preschools that not only won’t fill up in February, they’ll still have some space available when September rolls around! So, don’t panic about making the choice now if you’re not ready.

One great way to find out about your options is to go to a preschool fair. They’re free, open to the public, and offer parents the chance to walk around, pick up flyers, read posters, and talk to representatives of many different preschools. If you’re on the Eastside of Seattle, we have two big fairs:

– The parent education department at Lake Washington Institute of Technology offers a fair in January. Details about the 2016 event are here: http://www.woodinvilletoddlergroup.com/preschool-night-2016/

– Parent Map holds a series of preschool previews in January each year. The info about 2016 events is here: https://www.parentmap.com/article/preschool-previews

When parents ask me “what’s the best preschool?” I emphasize that there is no one right answer to that question. A preschool program can range anywhere between 2 hours a day for two days a week to 8 hours a day for five days a week. The cost can range hugely. The way students spend their time, how skills are taught, and facilities range widely. Here are the steps I recommend to help you figure out what’s the best preschool for you.

First decide: Is preschool necessary? Is it something you want for your child?

If you decide you’re looking, the first thing to think about is your concrete needs and goals for preschool. This includes both logistics (location, schedule, cost) and also thinking about what you hope your child will learn at preschool that they can’t learn from you at home or from the other activities they do.

Then, research your options. Go to preschool fairs, do web searches, but also talk to friends, co-workers, and other parents on the playground. You’ll often learn about fabulous low-cost options by asking around.

Then visit, or attend an open house, and ask these questions to learn more.

Then make the decision that feels right for you! Don’t base it on other people’s opinions but go with your own best judgment.

Here are a few related articles and resources that might interest you:

Coop preschools can be the best option for parents who are looking for a few hours a week of preschool (they won’t work for any family that needs full time daycare). They offer a developmentally-appropriate, play-based experience that’s a great learning opportunity for your child and for you, at a low cost
Outdoor preschools are a play-based, nature focused option
Academic preschools – why they may not be developmentally appropriate or necessary for long-term academic success
Benefits of multi-age classrooms
Essential skills – these are skills all children need to learn by age 5, whether they learn them at preschool or at home
PEPS is hosting a presentation on Choosing the Right Preschool on January 21 in Bellevue and January 28 in Seattle. Learn more: http://www.peps.org/ParentResources/lectures/choosing-preschool

Note on ages: preschool is generally for children age 3 – 5. (So, for fall 2016, that means kids born between September 1, 2011 and August 31, 2013.) There are programs for two year olds called “preschool” because many parents will pay more for something if it’s called preschool than if it’s called playgroup or day care… but really kids under 3 are operating at a different developmental level than a truly preschool age child, and would be better served by an age appropriate, play-based program.

Time to go wading!

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What could be better on a hot day than wading in a cool creek?
It’s cool, the sound of the water is relaxing, it’s building big motor skills (staying balanced on uneven ground), small motor skills (picking up pebbles to throw), caution and limits (don’t go to the deep area), entomology (water bugs!), mud-ology (check out this great post on the benefits of mud play http://rightfromthestart.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/build-a-mud-kitchen-why-playing-with-mud-is-good-for-children/) fluid dynamics (water moves much faster over the waterfall than on the flat), mama’s limits (you can’t play near the waterfall!)
Lots of great stuff!
Do be aware of safety. Watch for broken glass in the water if you’re wading barefoot. It’s great if you know drowning rescue and CPR just in case. And it’s best to go with friends to help keep an eye out for everyone. Shower or bathe when you get home to wash off any buggies…

Wading at Everest park in Kirkland, WA

These pictures were taken at Everest park in Kirkland, WA. Plan to park in the lot north of the ball-fields. The creek is between parking and fields / playground. I was surprised to find we were the only ones in the creek on this hot hot day, but this park is never crowded… It is one of those almost- undiscovered gems. http://parksofkirkland.com/everest-park/

Note: You do need to closely supervise here… the middle picture above shows the waterfall at the edge of this little pond area.

Cheap Dates with Toddlers: Nature’s Playgrounds

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Peter Kirk Park, Kirkland, WA. Click to enlarge photos

Sometimes, parks have to take out trees – they’re old, they’re damaged by insects or lightning or whatever. That’s always sad. But, when you’re really lucky, the park does this! At Peter Kirk Park in downtown Kirkland, when they took out a tree (or cluster of trees?) recently, they left the stumps behind, in a perfect toddler and kid playground adventure!

My three year old loves playing on these, but so do kids of all ages. Unlike modern playgrounds, they’re not standardized sizes and shapes, with the exact measured distance between objects and a scientifically designed surface beneath. They’re just four stumps, of different heights that you can climb up, perch on, jump off. Fabulous!

If you live in the area, come check them out (but be sure to park on the street or at the library – the shopping center says they’ll tow park users). If you’re not local look for similar lucky finds in your neighborhood!

We also found a great set of stumps at Bridle Trails Park in Bellevue, next to the arena.

Bridle Trails State Park, Bellevue, WA

To learn more about kids and nature, just click on ‘nature activities’ in the right hand side bar.

Cheap Dates: Explore New Parks

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St. Edward’s State Park – Kenmore, WA. Click on photo to enlarge

Summer is a great time to try something you haven’t tried before! Is there a park near you that you’ve heard people talk about, but never actually gone to? Have you ever driven down a road that has a sign saying that there’s a park that-a-way, but never followed the arrow to check it out? Have you looked on a map, and said “there’s a park in that neighborhood? I never knew!” Now is your chance to check them out!

To find out more about your local parks, search online on the websites for your city, your county, your state, and national parks websites. (Or look on an old-fashioned paper map!) Most will have directories of camps, with listings of what amenities are available at each park. You can also check Yelp and other online review sites for reviews of local options.

There are also lots more playgrounds that aren’t listed on maps and directories: playgrounds at your public elementary school, playgrounds in new neighborhood developments (some of those may be officially limited to neighbor kids only, but really, who’s going to check?)

For my readers in the Seattle area, here are some of our new discoveries:

St. Edward’s State Park

For YEARS, I have heard about the playground here. (See pictures above and this article) It was built in 2003, just when my older kids were growing out of playground age. It was a community project – kids from 7 elementary schools and some scout troops dreamed up ideas, and adults worked together to design it and make it happen. They built it with all volunteer hours and donated funds from individuals and companies. I’ve heard for years about how great it was, and we finally went.

My son LOVED it. He ran through every square inch of the playground, played on the slides, explored the sandbox, played on the marimba, and so on. Very big, diverse, interesting playground, well worth going back to.

Only strike? It’s big, and there’s lots of places in it where it’s hard to see your child. If you had multiple children, there’s no one place you could sit and keep an eye on them everywhere. So, this is definitely a play-with-your-kid or follow-your-kid playground, not an “I’ll just sit here and read Facebook while you play” playground.

There are also hiking trails and waterfront here… we’ll have to check those out the next time we go.

St. Edward’s is a state park. It’s $10 to park your car there, unless you have a Discovery Pass ($35 per year – we use it here, at Bridle Trails State Park, Lake Sammamish State park, so get our money’s worth from that, but the other day I looked up Washington State parks in King County and it turns out there’s LOTS of them. They’re next on our list to check out!)

O.O. Denny Park, Kirkland. Photo: http://www.lakewaparks.com/2011/06/o-o-denny-park/

O.O. Denny Park

On our way out of St. Edward’s park, I noticed again the signs I have noticed for years for “O.O. Denny Park.” We decided that the next time we wanted to go to a park to check it out. When we returned, we went on the hiking trails which was a nice and slightly challenging hike – the three year old wasn’t with us, but I think he would have struggled a bit with a couple of the hills. After the hike, we walked along the water. This is a Kirkland area beach park with shade by the water (!) that isn’t crowded! It’s nice to know there’s this option for the hot sunny days when you know Juanita Beach and Marina Park will be mobbed. There is a playground as well.

Note: O.O. Denny Park was willed to the City of Seattle in the early 1900’s. It appears to now be operated by City of Kirkland and/or the Finn Hill Neighborhood Alliance.

Big Finn Hill Park, Kirkland / Juanita. source: http://finnhillalliance.org/2013/10/a-walk-in-the-park/

Big Finn Hill Park

Then on the way home from Denny, we saw the signs for Big Finn Hill (a King County park), which again, we’ve seen the signs for years and never gone. So, this was next on our list. We planned a hike in the woods on a hot day. We didn’t realize there was a playground till we got there, but of course our son had to try it out before (and after) the hike. We followed the trail maps and it was a great opportunity to practice Left and Right skills with our son, asking him “we need to turn left, which way is left” Nice trail, very manageable for a 3 year old. Nice range of plant life, lots of animal dens, and one baby bunny spotted.

Big Finn Hill playground Kirkland / Juanita

Toddlers and preschool age kids are happy to return to the same park over and over again, but for me as an adult, it’s nice to discover something new… So, check out some new parks in your neighborhood!

Here’s links to posts I’ve written about other local parks: farm parks – Farrell McWhirter in Redmond and Kelsey Creek in Bellevue, dog parks at Marymoor, Robinswood and KDOG; turtle watching at Juanita Bay Park, stumps to climb on at Peter Kirk and Bridle Trails, Woodland Park in Seattle, and wading at Everest Park in Kirkland.

To get more ideas for “cheap dates with toddlers” (most have specific details for Seattle area folks, but hopefully there’s useful ideas there for non-locals too) just click on “toddler dates” in the right hand sidebar of the page.

Cheap Dates: Swimming!

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Peter Kirk, Bellevue, Renton pools

Although baby swim lessons are really fun, you don’t need them to have fun with your baby in the water. (You just need to keep a tight hold on baby all the time, or even if they’re sitting in a shallow pool, you should be in arms reach at all times.)

Here are some great games to play in the water with your child and some recommended local pools (for my readers who live on the Eastside of Seattle).

Some games to play in the water:

Motor boat: In a shallow pool, you can have your child sit on the bottom of the pool and kick their legs up and down. In a deeper pool, you can hold your child, or have them put their back to the wall and hang on with their hands, then kick their legs. As they kick, chant:”Motor boat, motor boat, go so slow. Motor boat, motor boat, go so fast. Motor boat, motor boat, run out of gas.”

Bubble, bubble, pop. Sing “All the fish are swimming in the water” (click here for video and lyrics) When you’re singing about fish swimming, move your child around in the water, when you sing about ducks paddling, paddle your hands, then frogs jump and children splash. When you get to the part about “bubble, bubble splash”, raise your child in the air as you sing bubble… then splash down on the word splash.

Trot, Trot: Sing Trot Trot to Boston, bouncing your child on the trotting part, and lifting up and splashing down on “watch out baby or you might fall IN.”

Practice blowing bubbles in the water. Bring something that floats (rubber duck, ball, etc.), throw it, chase it, catch it floating in the water and throw it again. Bring a plastic cup or watering can in the pool with you, scoop and pour.

Why swim?

Well, first and foremost, water safety is an essential skill to teach your child! We can’t count on swim lessons to “drown proof” a child, but certainly the more familiar they are with water, the better!

Second, research shows the following benefits for swimming for kids: swimmers outperform non-swimmers in balance, movement, grasping skills, higher IQ’s, strengthened all their muscles, were more self-confident, etc.

Finally, its fun. Most kids love playing in the water! It’s also fun and engaging for the parent – at a playground I may sit on the sidelines and check out Facebook on my phone, but at the pool, I have to be fully aware of and involved with my child – it’s good for me to give him my full focus. And, my kids always sleep better at naptimes and at night on days when they were in the pool.

Some great local pools:

North Shore Lagoon at Anderson School / McMenamin’s in Bothell. Our favorite! Salt water pool, so no chlorine irritation for eyes. The tiki-themed decor makes it feel like you’re on vacation. There is not a toddler wading pool there. Bothell residents are free. Non-residents: under 3 is free, children $6, adults $7.50. Open year-round.

Peter Kirk Pool – in downtown Kirkland. Outdoor pool, open only in the summertime. Check their schedule here. They’ve got a big pool, of course, but I love them for the wading pool – it’s shallow enough for my short 3 year old to walk in, but nice and big so plenty of kids can play. $6 per person.

Henry Moses Aquatic Center in Renton. It’s a little more Theme Park like, with big slides and a lazy river. They say it has a toddler play area. Costs: free for under 1 year old, $8 for ages 1 – 4. Ages 5+ $16.

ParentMap lists more local pools.

Do you have a favorite local pool? Or favorite game to play in the pool with little ones?

[Note: this post is part of a series called “Cheap Dates with Toddlers” about fun, cheap activities that kids age one to five (and their parents) can enjoy. Many include recommendations that are specific to Seattle/the Eastside, but hopefully most of the core ideas apply to all parents everywhere….]

More Good Days with Kids

Research, Resources & Realistic Recommendations for Parents of Kids age 1 to 7