Indoor Sanity Savers

It’s not here yet, but it’s coming…cold weather. What do we do with our kids when it’s too cold to throw them in the backyard and let them entertain themselves for 3 hours digging for worms and roly pollies?

Here is a list of my Indoor Sanity Savers: 

Unpluggits Play Studio
It’s paint and play studio space designed for kids 18 months – 10 years old. They have a great art space with art easels, stamp and play dough stations, where your little artist can create for hours. They also have a great indoor play ground that is in an enclosed space. (Big plus for me!)

I recommend buying the 10 visit pack for $55, because it saves you a little money. Also watch for Groupons because you can sometimes snag a really good deal here.

WhitneyLibrary
“Princess Violet” reading after story time.

Oklahoma City Libraries
I can’t say enough about libraries – we are regulars at Belle Isle, because we love the staff and they have a great little kid area. Check out your local library’s calender, because it’s full of fun free things, from Reading to Dogs, water coloring classes to Toddler Time.

Free Indoor Play Areas – Quail Springs Mall / Outlet Mall
I don’t know what it is about the Quail Springs Mall indoor play area, but my kids love it. It’s a small area, meant for young kids (1-5 years) and has several climbable animals and other weird objects, like boats and flowers…I don’t know, but I take and book and an hour later my kids are ready for a nap.

I also really like the Outlet Mall indoor play area, because it’s pretty big.  It’s sort of a hike to get to the food court, so if it’s really cold it may not be worth the walk.

Chick-fil-A
This is a stand alone recommendation, because we use it so much – I am always at Chick-fil-A. What’s not to love? They bring you your food, get you refills, say “my pleasure” every 22 seconds and the play area has a door that shuts…it’s like a mom spa. At the end, you get free ice cream (by handing in your kids meal toy) and the kids get to take home a balloon, which entertains my kids for another hour.

YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City
Indoor splash pad during the winter?  2 hours of someone else watching your kids while you work out (or watch Vampire Diaries in a dark corner)?  Life. Saver.

WhitneyBubbles
Wyatt playing with giant bubbles at Science Museum Oklahoma

Science Museum Oklahoma
There is a special place on the second floor we call “Mat World”.  It’s a big space that has gymnastic mats, beams and balls you can roll in. I know it’s time for “Mat World” when my kids start teaching each other to fly by jumping off the couch.

What I love about Science Museum Oklahoma is you don’t always have to do the same things, it’s a HUGE facility with tons of things to do, and it’s for many age levels. This is where I go when we need something to do for hours. It has a mirror maze, a segway track, a huge tree-house playground, a toddler area and many many other things that keep kids occupied.
It’s a little pricey for a membership, so ask grandparents for it for birthdays or holidays.

Host a play group
Learn to love play groups. It’s a place to have adult conversation and share parenting war stories. Get in a rotation and open up your home, but don’t clean it before everyone comes over, because your house will likely  get trashed with a ba-gillion children running around. If you have a super group of friends, they help you clean it all up before they leave anyway.

Some of these great ideas {and more!} are listed on our Around OKC page.  Check it out for more indoor ideas!

Where do you take your kids when they start climbing the walls?
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Whitney Jackson
My name is Whitney and I'm married to my talented husband, Blake and we have two insanely wonderful kids, Violet (3) and Wyatt (2). I've been a stay at home mom for a little over a year, after making the decision to leave a world of spread sheets for a world of forts made out of sheets. I work part time as a day school teacher after realizing I actually love working with kids and I may even be good at it. I enjoy reading, taking family road trips, drinking copious amounts of coffee and hope to one day to be a professional thrift store shopper (only slightly kidding). I'm excited to be a part of this group, because raising kids is rough and everyone needs a village, even if a virtual one. I hope we're all able to discover new parts of our city, give and get advice from how to get your kids to stop eating chalk (me) to raising strong confident children and maybe even make some new friends.

2 COMMENTS

  1. how have I never bumped into you guys at Belle Isle? Liv’s OBSESSED with the rat, possum, and termite puppets there. We love the kids area too. Great ideas, we will have to check out Unpluggits sometime!

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