Child Activities (Huntsville, Decatur, Madison: house, neighborhood, theater)

[ABROWETT]

I have a two year old little girl and wondering if there were any activities that Huntsville or Madison has that she could participate in? Maybe some dancing, t-ball, or anything? I know that she is still young but I would like for her to get involved and make friends lol. and not get use to the t.v.

Thanks!

[sedriskell]

There are many many many many things in the region. Huntsville Decatur and Madison all have very good city sponsored programs that range from cheering to tennis. The best way to find out would probably be to simply visit a recreation center in one of the three towns. Huntsville has many, and Decatur also has quite a few, I'm not too familiar with Madison's facilities however.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by ABROWETT

I have a two year old little girl and wondering if there were any activities that Huntsville or Madison has that she could participate in? Maybe some dancing, t-ball, or anything? I know that she is still young but I would like for her to get involved and make friends lol. and not get use to the t.v.

Thanks!

Most common activities at that age are meeting up with other parents with their kids like a moms group. Huntsville doesn't have a lot of neighborhood parks (there is Kids' Space) to take your kids and spontaneously meet other parents there doing the same thing. You might even try a neighborhood Starbucks around 10AM.

Other things are Botanical gardens, swimming pools, YMCA, Huntsville Library storytime type stuff, Barnes and Noble reading area (kids area), and Bridge Street. Two years old seems a little young for tball or just about any sport, though there are swimming programs (parent/child) activities which introduce kids to water as a pre-start to basic swim lessons.

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[zenjenn]

Generally at age 2, the activities you're going to be looking at involve parent participation, like parent child swimming, Mommy & Me at Little Gym, MOMS Club playgroups, etc. Though honestly, at age 2, I think most of those things are a waste of money (well, except the things that are free or nearly free, (like MOMS Club). Charles has some good suggestions. At age 3, a lot more opens up to you, and at 4, even more.

If you are looking to get your child out of your hair for a few hours a week (which I wholeheartedly understand and support), you might consider looking into a Mother's Morning out program. A lot of churches around here host them. They are affordable many allow you to use them as much or as little as you choose (once a week, twice a week, 3 times a week, etc.) Your child gets the experience of socializing with other children (even if it's just parallel play), learns independence from their parents, and unlike an "activity", you get a few hours to yourself. Look for a program with a good adult/child ratio, clean facility, and a protocol that puts the safety of children at a top priority (no one adult is ever alone with a child, a procedure for releasing children only to parent-approved adults, a childproof and secure play area, etc.)

[ABROWETT]

Thanks alot. As I am a single mom working 40 hours a week. So having somthing for her to do that is cheap or even free would be great. I would like to be involved with the things she does also considering that I rarely see her from me working all the time. I have heard of a couple of places such as mommy and me and I have called the YMCA and everything that I have found is during the day.....hours that I work.

[zenjenn]

I feel for you. Yes, most of these young child activities are geared towards stay-at-home moms, not only because SAHMs are available during daytime hours, but also because these facilities need to run their programs for school-age kids during the hours when the kids are not in school. (All the dance, sports, etc, for older kids will be late afternoons/evenings and weekends.) Even MOMS Club would be tough - the women there are great and would welcome you with open arms, but, most of their activities are also during the day, as weekends and evenings are usually reserved family time with dads/husbands.

Your best bet may be parks. A friend of mine is opening an indoor playground that will be opening soon: KidVenture - Huntsville, Alabama - Indoor Playground for Kids, pirate ship, geodome, inflatables

[friday13]

From your post it looks like you're looking to enroll her in a on-going sport, activity, am I mistaken?. I don't think there are many options (if any) for a 2yr old with a 40-hr week working mom. These activities take place during the work week at very unreasonable hours for working parents.

But if you're just looking for weekend activities (and some are free), I found the city's convention center calendar to be very useful. I print out 3 months worth of events and mark my calendar in advance. Just this past Sat we went to Dublin Park for the Easter Egg Hunt. The kid had a blast (her first hunt).


Notable upcoming events: children theater/playhouse ($10), $12 1hr train ride at Chase Railroad Museum (they have shorter 30min special rides for Easter, Christmas, for kids and get a goodie bag and photo op with Easter Bunny , Santa), SCI-Quest (hands-on science exibits for children young and older) has a free admission open house day on May2 (and again in Sep on The Smithsonian Day), a free admission guided stroll thru the Historic district downtown, some of the easy guided hikes by LandTrust, just take a look and choose for yourself.

Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitor's Bureau Website (http://www.huntsville.org/calendar.php - broken link)