Summer Time Field Trips

Summer is coming with good news and bad news. The good news is you can put the alarm clock on permanent snooze; the bad news is the kids will be home and will probably wake you up anyway. I love the summer, but bored kids can quickly steal any peace and quiet. So get prepared, let those kids know that BIG things are coming, FUN field trips are planned and daily treats will reward them for good behavior and using their time wisely.


Yesterday, we talked about BIG things which included day camps, overnight camps and vacations. Today we discuss FIELD trips. The number of field trips we schedule depends greatly on the budget. Since we have scheduled the BIG things, we know what is left to cover FIELD trips and daily treats. I try to schedule at least one FIELD trip per month, perferably two and in a perfect world, one per week. FIELD trips include museums, entertainment complexes, pizza fun places, tourist spots and farms.

• Museums - We live in Houston, Texas, which has a plethera of museums. For cost and kid friendly we like the Children's Museum (http://www.cmhouston.org/)%20and the Health Museum (http://thehealthmuseum.org/HomeDisplay.aspx ). Most musuems offer a "Free Family"; these musuems have FREE Thursday nights (check the websites for times). I like to do things during the day and do not care for the crowds on Free Nights. I try to budget time and money to go during the weekday. I also like to treat my kids to lunch out and eat at the museum (Health Museum does not have a food court). However, if money is tight, there are a number of parks and picnic spots near the museums. We get our re-entry stamp or sticker and then go picnic and come back to finish our day.


• Entertainment Complexes - These include laser tag, put put golf, go-carts, and inflatable jump places. These can get really pricey fast so I might go to one over the entire summer. However, living in Houston, the weather gets stifling hot and inflatable jump places are a great way for indoor and energetic fun for both my school aged child and preschooler. You have probably heard about these places for parties, but check out their websites, they usually have day time, open play times too and some even have "matinee" prices for going early. We like Pump it Up (http://www.pumpitupparty.com/ ) and Monkey Bizness (http://www.monkeybizness.com/ )


• Pizza Fun Places - What kids does not like pizza? Even my four year old, who does not actually like pizza, knows he is supposed to and will jump up for pizza. Pizza Fun Places include CiCi's Pizza (www.cicipizza.com), Chuck E Cheese (www.chuckecheese.com ) and IT'Z Pizza. (www.itzusa.com ). Depending on budget, is the one I pick. CiCi's is a pizza buffet so something for everyone, and they have a small game room that needs quarters. The quarters can add up fast so this does not take up much of the day. Chuck E Cheese can take up half a day. Never go without a coupon, they offer them on the internet and though the coupon does not help much with cost of food, it does help get more tokens so your kids can play and play. IT'Z Pizza is a buffet with much better variety of foods, but the games can get real expensive. My kids love this place, but it's a YIKES expensive place to go. They do have offer specials, so every now and then I will cruise their website for the deal of the week.
• Tourist Spots - These are super fun and usually educational. In Houston they include the Zoo (http://www.houstonzoo.org/), the Space Center (http://www.spacecenter.org/), and the Aquarium (www.aquariumrestaurants.com ). These can quickly become YIKES expensive, but again, check the websites for specials, coupons and "matinee" prices. And think about the cost of taking your family to the movies. When I figured out it cost the same to take my family of four to the movies as it cost to take my kids to the Space Center, we went to the Space Center. Of course, I was hugely surprised by the cost of food. Kid friendly food, but no kid friendly prices. Lunch ate my lunch. Next time, we will get our re-entry stamp and go picnic in the back of the minivan.
• Farms - Around Houston there are several farms designed for family fun and education. They used to be economical but as their popularity grows, so do their prices. Check their websites and be prepared. Around Houston there is the George R Ranch ( http://www.georgeranch.org/ ) which is more geared for older kids and the Oil Ranch ( http://www.oilranch.com/ )which has stuff for both preschoolers and older kids.

Living in the Greater Houston Area, there are a ton of tourist things to do. We enjoy our city, and have more tourist spots to highlight, but the economy of the next few put them on my "Daily" lists.

Our summer schedule is filling up. We have three weeks filled with a day camp, overnight camp and a vacation. We have scheduled some highlights for the other weeks with Field Trips to the Children's Museum, the Zoo and the Oil Ranch. Next is daily activities which we will discuss tomorrow.