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For elementary school kids, the vacation week in between Christmas and New Year’s Day stands at the end of the year like a big, shiny present that you can’t unwrap until the day arrives. It’s one of the most eagerly anticipated times of the year: a whole week off! No school! Cartoons and snow forts, playing with new toys and staying up past your bedtime, for seven days straight! Wahoo!
For parents, it’s a little different – how do you keep your kids occupied for an entire week, whether you’re still working part of the time or not? The last thing any parent wants to hear is: “I’m bored.”
“I work at the University of Maine, so I have that week off as well,” said Cindy Gardella, mom to Katie, 8, Rachel, 5, and 3-year-old Sarah. “We definitely scramble around for things to do – especially if we continue with this lack of snow. Sometimes we have to resort to McDonald’s Playland. I sort of wish there was a Chuck E. Cheese around here.” (Chuck E. Cheese is a restaurant chain with arcade games, small rides and other diversions for children.)
Fortunately, many local museums, libraries and other organizations have activities, events, day camps and workshops planned for kids out on break, and there are lots of simple things a parent can do to entertain children that are both fun and educational.
Gardella and her kids are longtime patrons of the Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor, which sponsors yearly winter camps during break.
“We honestly don’t know what we’d do without them,” said Gardella. “Katie is going there during break, and she’s also going to the Challenger Learning Center in Bangor for one of their activities.” (The center specializes in space science education.)
Gardella also takes her children roller skating and candlepin bowling during vacation week.
“We prefer the candlepin bowling, because the balls are smaller and they have bumpers, so they’ll always knock down at least one pin,” she said.
Some of the staffers at the Bangor Daily News put their heads together and came up with a few suggestions to help parents out. So if you’d rather not plunk the kids down in front of the television, or tell them to play outside when there isn’t any snow, try one of these activities that are good for both parent and child – the kid stays busy, and mom and dad can breathe a little easier.
Activities to keep kids busy over break
. Use all that leftover wrapping paper from Christmas to decorate textbooks. Use a brown paper shopping bag as a book cover (type ‘paper bag book cover’ into Google to find out how), and then cut the wrapping paper into fun shapes and glue them onto the cover. Use paint, markers, glitter and stickers to make it even fancier. Do the same thing with notebooks, binders and folders.
. Get creative, and also teach your kids a polite tradition: have them write “thank you” notes to all the people who gave them Christmas gifts. Get some construction paper, envelopes and whatever arts and crafts supplies you have lying around and brighten relatives’ and friends’ days.
. Christmas is over – what to do with the tree, besides toss it out to the curb? One way to recycle it is to remove all the decorations, stick the bottom into the ground in your backyard, and turn it into an all-natural bird feeder. Cover it in bird treats, like suet, molded seeds, stale bread or pine cones covered in peanut butter and rolled in seed and watch as the birds gather around it. You can also make balsam pillows to freshen closets and drawers, using the needles from the tree and some gingham or muslin.
. Just because it’s cold out doesn’t mean that hiking is out of the question – many local trails are still open, and offer a wealth of natural beauty during the winter months. Both the trails at the Bangor City Forest (off Stillwater Avenue) and the DeMerritt Trails at the University of Maine in Orono (accessible on the south side of campus, near Gannett Hall) are easy, well-groomed and open to the public.
. If we actually do get snow in the coming weeks, a trip out to Hermon Mountain Ski Area or the Camden Snow Bowl may be in order. Both places are inexpensive and offer great skiing opportunities for beginning ski bunnies, as well as sledding.
. There’s always the old standbys: bowling, roller skating and ice skating. Call local bowling alleys and rinks for hours and prices. Be careful about skating on lakes and ponds, as the ice may not have frozen sufficiently for it to be safe. If there are cracks at the shoreline, it’s probably unsafe.
. Besides the Maine Discovery Museum, the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, the Owls Head Transportation Museum in Owls Head, the Maine State Museum in Augusta and the Hudson Museum on the University of Maine campus in Orono are all inexpensive, educational and fun.
. The cities of Bangor and Belfast both plan extensive New Year’s Eve activities, with lots of kid-centric events; call 947-0307 for Bangor and visit www.nybb.org for Belfast to get more details. If you feel like staying in, make hats and wall decorations for the big night, and make festive, easy finger foods to serve.
Camps and workshops for children to attend
BANGOR: The Bangor Public Library has a number of kids events set for the last week of December. Kwanzaa will be celebrated in the story room at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 26; Anansi Day will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 27, also in the story room, featuring stories about the African trickster god; at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 28, kids can go on a free tour of the University of Maine Museum of Art and participate in an art class; at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 29, “A Bevy of Beetles” nature program will be presented; at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 30, the library will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a party in the story room. For information, call the library at 947-8336.
BANGOR: The Challenger Learning Center sponsors several sessions of Space Exploration on Vacation for children in grades K-8 from Wednesday, Dec. 27, through Friday, Dec. 29, at the CLC campus on Venture Way, off Maine Avenue. A variety of space-themed educational activities aimed at various age groups are planned for all three days. Call ahead at 990-2900 or visit www.clcofme.org for schedules and prices.
BANGOR: The Maine Discovery Museum’s Winter Camp is set for 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 26, through Friday, Dec. 29. Each day has a theme; Tuesday is Pioneer Days, Wednesday is Tropical Retreat, Thursday is Into the Woods, and Friday is Tall Tales. The camp is $32 a day for members, and $38 for nonmembers. To register, call 262-7200.
PORTLAND: The Portland Museum of Art has two family-friendly exhibits on display through January. “American ABC: Childhood in 19th Century America” explores the subject of childhood in paintings by Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins, as well as period school books, magazines and handwritten papers. “Child’s Play” features three stations designed specifically for families, where kids can try on old-fashioned clothing and sit for a “portrait,” play with 19th century toys and games, and more. Admission is $4 for youths under 17 and $10 for adults. For information, visit www.portlandmuseum.org.
ROCKLAND: The Farnsworth Museum offers two holiday Funsworth Art Camps from Dec. 26 through Dec. 29. The first session is for 6- to 8-year-olds, and runs from 9 to 11 a.m. The second session is for 9- to 11-year-olds, and runs from 1 to 4 p.m. Kids will draw, paint and take pictures, as well as explore many of the Farnsworth’s current and ongoing exhibits. To register, please call 594-4299.
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