Boyds Bear Country
Location: 75 Cunningham Road Gettysburg, PA17325
Description:   This place houses everything bear related.  Special events occur on a regular basis. They even have a great breakfast with character events. Check out website for more information.
Website: http://www.boydsbearcountry.com/
Price:  Free admission. Special events cost money based on the event.
Open: 10-6 seven days a week

Carroll County Library Story time
Location: all CCPL locations
Description: Read and Play is for birth – 24 months. It’s a story time featuring lap games, tickles, bounces and rhymes followed by a playgroup for meeting and mingling. Story Pals is for ages 2-3 and is s theme-based story time featuring interactive and age-appropriate stories, songs, finger plays and activities. Read with Me is for ages 4-6 and is a theme-based story time for children who are ready for an independent, small group experience.
Website: http://kids.carr.org/
Price: free
Open: see website for class hours

Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo
Location: 13019 Catoctin Furnace Rd., Thurmont, MD 21788
Description: From bears to boas, lions to lemurs, macaws to monkeys, porcupines to pythons, you’ll meet over 450 exotic animals on your Zoo adventure.
Website: http://www.cwpzoo.com/index.asp
Price: Adults $14.95, Children ages 2-12 $9.95
Open: all year except December, January, and February; see website for schedule

Cunningham Falls State Park
Location: 14039 Catoctin Hollow Road, Thurmont, MD 21788
Description: Cunningham Falls State Park, located in the Catoctin Mountains, is known for its history and scenic beauty, as well as its 78-foot cascading waterfall. The Falls are located one half mile from the lake in the Houck Area via the Falls Trail. (Hunting Creek Lake at the State Park has lifeguards present.)
Website: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/western/cunninghamfalls.html
Price: $3 year round per car
Hours: sunrise to sunset

Fountain Rock Park
Location: 8516 Fountain Rock Ct. Walkersville, MD 21793
Description: Fountain Rock Park and Nature Center offers the following amenities: fishing, grills, play equipment, trails, fire ring, nature center, lime kilns, quarry, and boardwalk.
Website: http://www.co.frederick.md.us/index.asp?NID=2934
Price: no fee for the park; small fee for nature center
Hours: 8am to sunset

Four Seasons Sports Complex (specific class is called “Inflatable Open Play”)
Location: 2710 Hampstead-Mexico Rd., Hampstead, MD
Description: Two hours of open play, bouncing around on their “three inflatables.”
Website: http://www.4seasonssportscomplex.com/
Price: $24/child for 4 sessions
Hours: Sign up for the class through the gym or through Carroll Co. Parks & Rec. at 410-386-2103

Frederick Gymnastics Club
Location: 4604 Wedgewood Blvd., Frederick, MD
Description: Kids can tumble on mats, jump on trampolines, swing on the rings and climb on balance beams for a 90-minute open gym session
Website: www.frederickgymnastics.com
Price: $4 for members, $7 for nonmembers during open gym sessions
Hours: 12:30-2pm on Fridays for ages 6 and under; may change with season

Germantown Indoor Swim Center
Location: 18000 Central Park Circle, Boyds, Maryland 20841
Description:  The pool contains interactive water features such as kiddie slides, water umbrellas, and tumble buckets.
Website: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/rectmpl.asp?url=/Content/Rec/pools/aqua_gtown.asp
Price: Children $6.50, Adults $7.50
Open: Year round; check website for schedule

GymJam
Location: behind McDonalds in Eldersburg off of 32
Description: Motor and Agility programs focus on gross coordination, balance, spatial awareness, and core sport skills. These programs are tailored for children ranging from 18 months to 9 years old. GymJam is also open for parties and Moms’ Group outings.
Website: http://www.gymjam.com/index.asp?sc=EB
Price: varies according to class; Moms’ Group outings (reservation required for the group) are $8 for a parent & child and $4 for each additional child
Open: see the schedule on the website

Health Unlimited (swim classes)
Location: 103 Century Dr., Mt. Airy, MD 21771
Description: Water babies I & II with class sizes between 4-8 children, starting as young as 6 months old. The classes continue through adult age. See website for more details.
Website: http://www.myhealthunlimited.com/swim_lessons.html
Price: member $39.50, non-member $82
Hours: see website

Howard County Public Library
Location: all HCLibrary locations
Description: Play Partners is for infant-23 months and lasts 20-30 minutes. Just for Me is for children ages 3-5 who are ready for an independent class (30 minutes). Storybook friends is for ages 2-5. Parents work on a story and craft to enjoy with their child.
Website: http://www.hclibrary.org/index.php?page=22&lib=All&et=Children&ag=Preschool
Price: free
Open: see website for class hours

PlayWiseKids
Location:  6570 Dobbin Road, Columbia, Maryland
Description:  Hands on activities where kids can freely touch and play with everything (examples of exhibits:  fire truck, grocery store, dress up, tap dance floor)
Website:  http://www.playwisekids.com/index.htm
Price:  Children (2 to 10 yrs old): $9.95, Toddlers (12 – 23 months): $6.95, Adults (11 yrs and older): $4.00; Babies (11 months and younger): FREE
Open:  Monday through Friday: 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday: 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Sunday: 11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

South Mountain Creamery
Location: 8305 Bolivar Rd., Middletown, MD 21769
Description: Calves can be fed every day at 4pm and then everyone can get some organic ice cream.
Website: http://www.southmountaincreamery.com/pages.php?pageid=3
Price: free
Open: Calf Feeding Time is 4pm daily; Store hours 10am – 6pm (Mon-Sat); Milking Time is 1:30pm – 5:30pm daily

Skate Frederick
Location: 1288 Riverbend Way, Frederick, MD 21701
Description: Lessons for children as young as 3. There are also open skate sessions.
Website: http://www.skatefrederick.com/index.htm
Price: class prices vary, see website; open skates are $5 for children 11 and under, $5.50 for adults
Hours: Classes and open skate times vary; see website

Walkersville Southern Railroad
Location:  34 W. Pennsylvania Avenue in Walkersville, MD
Description:  Train rides on weekends and special holiday events
Website:  http://www.wsrr.org/index.htm
Price:  Adults are $9.00, Children are $5.00, and Seniors are $8.00 (Children under 3 are free unless occupying a seat)
Open:  Saturdays from May-October – train departs @ 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m.; Also open on Sundays in May, June, September and October – train departs @ 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Way Off Broadway
Location: 5 Willowdale Drive, Frederick, MD 21702
Description: Way Off Broadway opened its wildly popular Children’s Theatre in 1996,  where a live show is performed and dinner is served. Everyone has their choice of an individual cheese pizza, a hot dog, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. All are served with potato chips and a choice of soda or lemonade to drink.
Website: http://www.wayoffbroadway.com/CurrentShowChild.html
Price: $13 per person
Hours: see website for shows and times

Books:

1. Read the “Easter story” straight from your Bible — Matthew 27 on Good Friday and Matthew 28 on Easter morning

2. Read The Tale of Three Trees retold by Angela Elwell Hunt — this is a beautiful American folktalke for grade school children about three trees whose wishes come true in surprising ways. It’s a perfect culmination of Jesus’ birth, ministry, and death & resurrection. I read it to my public school class every year at Easter as an “American folktale!”

3. Read younger children The Story of Easter by Patricia A. Pingry — a board book with few words and bright illustrations.

4. Read Peter Cottontail’s Easter Book by Lulu Delacre — Peter Cottontail leads readers through pages, accompanied by the nursery song “Itisket, Itasket,” and his own commentary. Interspersed are sections on crafts and customs, both religious and secular. Most appropriate for grade school children and mature preschoolers.

5. Read Easter by Gail Gibbons — an explanation of the religious aspect of Easter geared for preschool through early grade school children. Jesus’ life and death are treated briefly but with enough detail to provide a basic introduction to the subject. The crucifixion is shown from afar to soften its cruelty, and afterward the risen Jesus happily astonishes his followers. Next the symbols of candles and spring flowers lead logically into a discussion of the other aspects of the holiday, including Easter egg decoration, hunts, and baskets; Eostre, the spring goddess who gave the day its name; and the special Easter foods and clothes.

Activities

1. Color Easter Eggs — to add a little spice for primary grade school kids, buy two or three different kits and do an experiment to see which brand yielded the brightest colors and make a note of it for next year’s purchase. With my 4th graders one year we made a list of the most important criteria such as, quality of supplies, clarity of directions, lowest price, brightness, and add-ons, and then we rated each brand on a scale of 1-4. Whichever brand yielded the highest score was the winner. The kids asked their moms buy that brand before Easter. Click here for more ideas.

2. Easter Egg hunt — my parents woke up early every year to hide the REAL eggs we colored the day before. They were always on one floor of the house and there was a little added pressure to find all of the eggs because if we didn’t, we would smell them in a few days. Of course you can do the traditional way too — fill and hide plastic eggs and be sure to invite lots of kids! That’s what we did last year when our son was only 4 months old (see photo).

3. Easter basket hunt — we also had to find our Easter basket. When we were younger, it was in easy to find places like beside the couch or on top of the TV. As we got older it would appear in the dryer or on a hanger in the coat closet. Then in college (oh yes, we still did this in college) we would have to get hints because they were so hard to find we’d look forever! Be sure to label the basket with your kids’ names and tell them if they find their siblings’ basket to walk away quietly.

4. Make something crafty with your kids. For some great ideas go to Kaboose or Family Fun.

5. Buy, or better yet make, something special for their Easter basket. Check out these Easter lambs and bunnies at Etsy!

What a privilege it is to teach our children the Word of God! I have a lovely book titled My ABC Bible Verses: Hiding God’s Word in Little Hearts by Susan Hunt that I would recommend to every parent of preschoolers. Each letter of the alphabet has a corresponding Bible verse and is accompanied by a story to illustrate the scriptural passage, mostly about behaving God’s way. I recently read that some parents use the book as a family devotional for their grade school children. All in all, its more than just a list of verses.

If you are not interested in purchasing the book, but would like a list of ABC Bible Verses, be sure to check out the following pdfs:

Bible Verses 1

Bibe Verses 2

Bible Verses 3

Bible Verses 4

I would suggest no matter which route you chose — book or pdf — that you set up a family chart to keep track of how everyone is doing. It should be a source of encouragement and accountability rather than a competition. Across the X-axis put each person’s name, including Mommy and Daddy. Down the Y-axis write each letter of the alphabet. When little Johnny has mastered the A verse, put a check or a sticker in the corresponding box. Then, before getting credit for B, he has to say A from memory again. The goal is for each person to be able to say the entire alphabet with it’s matching verse when this family project is over. This could be a fun pre-dinner exercise or done over dessert.

Finally, there is one last resource. I found the Presbyterian Church’s Parent Handbook for Scripture Memory online and have provided the pdf here for you. It includes information on how to get started, ways in which to help you child memorize scripture, and then age-appropriate verses from age 3 through the 5th grade.

Please, if you have tips for what has worked with your children, please share them here. May God bless you in your diligence.