Don't give up just because your favorite neighborhood playground is underwater.
Go out and enjoy the rain. Put on those rubber boots and colorful raincoat. Pop open the umbrella and do a little window shopping. Let it go and get a little wet!
When you get home, give your sweetie an early bath before building a fort in the living room. It may make that much-needed Dora-session feel a little less desperate.
These are just a smattering of the many fun and affordable San Francisco activities available for toddlers when the weather outside is frightful.
Top 10 rainy day Activities, according to The Department of Children, Youth and their Families:
- Go Shopping at Kid-friendly stores (Chloe's Closet,Peek-a-Bootique)
- Visit a free museum! (Randall Museum,Cable Car Museum,San Francisco Fire Department Museum)
- Check out Malls for indoor play centers (Westfield Center,Tanforan Mall)
- Ride Muni/BART (Sometimes the ride itself is an adventure, but consider taking BART all the way to the airport to check out the San Francisco Airport Museums, and watch planes take off!)
- Visit a Local Public Library Branch (Treat your tot to a story time, free music performance, or a magic show.)
- California Academy of Sciences (Big fish. Dinosaurs. Beautiful toddler room. Also, FREE admission on the 3rd Wednesday of the month)
- SF Recreation and Parks Department (indoor recreation centers. Most of the city-run recreation centers have drop-in play times and many offer ongoing classes and playgroups for a modest fee.)
- City College Child Observation Classes (Free; open registration. They are also a great place for parents to make friends and learn about the wild world of toddler and preschooler needs.)
- Affordable Indoor Play Structures (Parents Place,Village Well,Daly City Party Playhouse,Pump It Up)
- Get Crafty! (Homeade Play-dough,Mini Maker Faire,Pudding Finger Paints) or open up an umbrella and venture outside!
About Robin Dutton-Cookston:
Robin Dutton-Cookston is calendar editor at www.sfkids.org and lots of other fun stuff.
>> Buy this book on Amazon: The Foggiest Idea: Tales of a Displaced Texan in San Francisco Mamaland
To learn more about The Department of Children,Youth and their Families, visit www.dcyf.org
About GoKid:
GoKid, a non-profit organization, will be around working on managing the content for the new SFkids website as well as other projects. All of the great content and calendar items on GoKid have been migrated over to the new site as well as new content added.
For more information, visit www.gokid.org
