Top 5 Activities for You & Your Preschooler

Preschool is done. However the big kids are still in school, but not for long! It’s time for you to pack in the fun before the good stuff gets crowded! This is the perfect time to enjoy one-on-one time with your preschoolers.

I’ve put together a Top 5 List between now and June 10th, when the masses are released for summer. Game on!

1) Hit the Morrison YMCA pool: This gem located in the heart of South Charlotte is packed with swim time fun! When most pools are closed during the day due to lack of summer help until school gets out, this one is open at 10am (wade pool/spray park – main pool opens at 11a). Nothing better than hitting the gym and bribing the little ones with a pool picnic afterwards. Smarty tip: for those of you with older preschoolers, the big pool with the slides is pretty much empty since all the big kids are in school. We had the slides to ourselves yesterday, it was fabulous!

2) Carowinds: Hopefully, many of you cashed in on that early bird discount and got your family passes in May. Now is the perfect time to get a feel for the park and cruise around with the little guys. The main park hours are 10a-8p during the week (starting tomorrow) and the Boomerang Park (water park) opens at 11a. The crowds are relatively small right now, so bring on the fun! Smarty tip: with your Gold pass, you can get to Boomerang Park 30 minutes before it opens. So stake out your umbrella and park for the day.

3) Ray’s Splash Planet: With summer heating up, (seriously, can it get any hotter, 98 degrees already?!), we’re all about anything and everything in the water. This locale is rain or shine as it’s an indoor water mecca. Located in the Third Ward District between 5th Street and Sycamore Street, very close to Gateway Village uptown. Built on the campus of Irwin Avenue Open Elementary School, Ray’s Splash Planet is a joint venture between the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. My children love the 3-story giant slide and the Blue Comet Orbiter, where you float around the park in an inner tube. Perfect for all ages, there is also a great toddler section with baby swings and fountains. Cost $6 Meck county residents age 17 and under.

4) For rainy days or if you just feel like staying indoors, head up to Discovery Place Kids in Huntersville. Wherever you live, this museum is worth the drive. We hit DP Kids this week and it was such a treat. The theme of “I can” is incorporated throughout the museum – my boys loved the firetruck (it’s real!), the fire pole (I’m thinking they will be future firemen or Olympic gymnasts since they climbed to the top several times over!), the brick factory with cranes and conveyors and the coaster center. Head on over to Lupie’s Cafe across the street, an old Charlotte favorite, for lunch and head back in for Round 2. It was a fantastic day of fun and learning – DP Kids is best for kids 8 and under, but kids of all ages are welcome.

5) Spraygrounds – they are open in parks all over Smarty Charlotte. Top of our list is the Latta Park location. This boasts a sprayground and an awesome park completely shaded, perfect for these hot early summer days.

Enjoy these last few days of peace before the masses of children are official out of school on Friday, June 10th. Let us know your favorite preschool digs in the comments below!