I was hanging around the mail room over here at About Phoenix the other day. Boy, these folks are busy! Anyway, we received an email from Jean:
My husband and I, our two daughters and their husbands, along with our 5 grandkids will be together for only a few days during one week's time. The grandkids are ages 3, 18 mos., 8 months (twins) and a 4 month old. Besides the Zoo, do you have any other suggestion for a family with such young little ones? Thanks, Judy, for your help!Well, that sounds like quite a vacation, Jean. Five children ages three and under? Well, at first, I thought about just getting some big boxes and crayons and a few videos and staying in, but after I thought about it, I suppose there really are some neat places to take the teeny ones.
Jean also told me that she was staying on the west side of town during her visit, on a Wednesday and Thursday in March. So that took care of attending any weekend festivals, and the splash pads aren't open yet.
Here are some of the recommendations I made:
All over town you'll find teeny trains to ride with the kids. If you go to Encanto Park, there's a carousel.
Dugan’s Dairy Farm in Chandler has a hay ride tour of the dairy farm, a petting zoo and lots more. It isn't on the west side, but I think its' worth the drive. There won't be dairy farms in town much longer, as more and more of that land is giving way to luxury condo development and such. Anyway, I just love Dugan's, but call first to make sure they aren’t closed for a big school event or something.
Another place that would be a bit of a drive for you is the Arizona Museum for Youth in Mesa. They have a program designed for children up to 4 years old called ArtVille. I'd give them a call first, and make sure it will be happening on the day you plan to go (Mesa's had some cutbacks to public programs).
Easy and free, there's a play area at Arrowhead Mall. While you're there, stop at the bookstore and pick up a few books about the desert that you can read to the little ones, even after you've gone home. Maybe there are a few things at the mall you'd be interested in, too.... ;-)
If you want to do a zoo closer to where you'll be staying, try Wildlife World Zoo.
Finally, I'm sure you know how to find local parks and playgrounds. Since you will be here during the week, you might even be able to catch some storytime sessions at the local libraries.
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