Hello! My 10 1/2 month old daughters daycare is closed for two weeks this summer and my husband and I are looking for some fun ideas of activities we can do with her, preferably in the NorthWest suburbs. Any ideas are appreciated.
Is she walking? If so, or even crawling well, there's a terrific wading pool at North Mississippi Regional Park (a stone's throw from the northern suburbs--only 20 minutes from us and we're in Coon Rapids). It's a clean, safe park with a great playground. And it's free!
http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=4&...
Maple Grove Community Center has a fun infant/toddler area in their Maple Maze. They also have a fun pool area. Elm Creek Swimming Pond is fun too! Going for lots of walks and swinging at parks.
Also, different libraries have different storytimes. I believe that Baby Story times usually have to be signed up ahead of time. Check http://www.hennepin.lib.mn.us/
Check out the Nature Centers. Eastman, North Mississippi, and French Regional. You can just hang out in the nature cent and touch things, or you can go outside and go on trails. There is no cost. http://www.threeriversparkdistrict.org/
Brookdale has a toddler play area. It's probably busiest on rainy and super hot days. There is not a lot of activity in some areas of the mall, but it's crazy busy in other places.http://www.brookdaleshoppingcenter.com/mallinfo.shtml
Toddler Tuesdays at Mall of America. My kids never liked them, but they are crazy busy and there were lots of kids there having a great time. (My son has Sensory Issues and did not like crazy events as a toddler.)
http://www.mallofamerica.com/adults_toddler_tuesdays.aspx
Parks, parks, parks, parks! We got to different parks each day for a couple hours. I also bring the stroller and go for a walk around trails after my boys have had some time to play, to help calm them down again.
Even if your daughter just crawls around the grass or watches other kids, it'll be good for her.
We also try to find free stuff to do through exploreminnesota.com or searching on the internet.
On rainy days we go to a mall and walk around with the stroller. Occasionally we go to the Children's Museum, Como Zoo (free!), or MOA, but I know those places are not in the NW metro.
When my boys were under 1 (now almost 2), I always called places to see if there was a fee for my kids, or asked if there were age appropriate activities/places for them.
Good luck!
