Daily Adventure with Mini-Mustaches?

[onemorebike]

I've been feeling pretty caught up in the day to day of life of raising children and doing my work recently and missing building some adventure into everyday for my family. I have friends that do plenty of fun things, usually ones that cost quite a bit or involve driving a far distance - both things that I try to avoid.

I'm wondering, what ideas does the community here have for inserting some adventure into everyday life with kids? I ride my bike almost everywhere with the kiddos so we do lots of parks, creeks and such - any great ideas for activities to do with a one and four year old that will keep life interesting for all of us and feel like an "adventure"?

I'm looking to compile a list that I can go to on days where I'm feeling like we (I?) need it.

-onemorebike

[Myrmida]

Is there a library nearby?  We go to the library about once per week.  Also, my son is at an age (2 years old) when taking transit is an adventure in and of itself, not to mention some of the places we can get to on transit (the big library downtown or the indoor gardens that have turtles and big goldfish).  Check if local museums have a free day or if little kids can get in free.  Our city pools occasionally have a free day.  For your 4-year-old, can you combine your outdoor rambles with a scavenger hunt (finding pinecones, different colours of rocks, etc.) or with a craft later using stuff gathered from outside?  Maybe pack a picnic to make it more of an adventure.

Good Luck on your adventures!

[Roses]

Camping and hiking!  Camping is not a daily thing of course, but depending on where you live you could do a weekly hike.  Put the little one in a pack, take a picnic and have a goal of reaching a particular location.  Maybe it's a waterfall or lake along the way or a very short 'summit'.  Bring binoculars to spot wildlife.  That'll give them a sense of adventure!

[avonlea]

This will take a little bit of planning and organizing, but if you can get a group of friends together, you could take field trips to local businesses. 

Behind-the-scenes tours at the local grocery store are really fun and are FREE.  The kids think the huge refrigerators and freezers are AMAZING.  The box-smashing machine blows their minds, too. :)  I've gone on a trip like this twice.  The first time I didn't organize the outing.  The second time I did.  It was super easy.  I just called and set up a time.  The store's employees were so nice.  They loved spoiling the little visitors. The tour guide gave the kids paper hats that had the store's logo printed on them.  The bakery department set up a table and let the kids each decorate a cookie with icing--and then eat it, of course.  The meat & cheese department passed out free samples.  I think there were even more freebies, but it's been several years since I last went, so I've forgotten a bit.

Some restaurants give tours and then let the kids get a meal for 99 cents afterwards.  I organized a trip like this to Fazoli's.

If there are any farms in your area, you might be able to negotiate a tour for a couple of bucks a person.  You'll also usually get a hayride thrown into the mix! U-pick farms are big hits with kids, too.

Some outings are free and some cost a little bit.  When I used to organize trips, I only picked places that I felt were worth the price.

[PindyStache]

-Scout out nearby construction zones (buildings/roads/etc.) and go watch for a while
-Science experiments in local parks/streams (i.e. collecting bugs and doing age-appropriate classification/observation; purchasing some cheap water monitor sort of equipment to do your own tests; dissecting flowers and other plants or bugs; etc.) ... ok maybe 4 is too young for this?
-I like the restaurant/grocery tour idea too, but if you wanted to go less consumer-oriented, you could consider tours of city garbage/recycling facilities, water treatment stations, fire stations, police stations, etc.
-Most airports have an observation deck that can be accessed for free without a plane ticket
-Volunteer at local animal shelter for a day or even just visit a pet store that has animals out for adoption/play (DANGER OF BRINGING ANIMALS HOME...)
-Depends on your area, but a lot of edible food can be foraged in some urban environments (tree nuts/fruits/seeds/berries/etc.)

[avonlea]

you could consider tours of city garbage/recycling facilities, water treatment stations, fire stations, police stations, etc.
-Volunteer at local animal shelter for a day or even just visit a pet store that has animals out for adoption/play (DANGER OF BRINGING ANIMALS HOME...)

I've been to these places and for the most part, the visits turned out well.  I know this seems obvious but garbage/recycling facilities and animal shelters can have strong smells and some kids cannot handle it.  It doesn't dawn on a few parents beforehand, so if you organize a trip to one of these locations, you might want to warn them ahead of time.

The fire station and police station tours that I attended were good, but they each gave presentations to preschoolers that were geared for elementary school students--no changing of the routine.  Many of the kids got bored.  I'm sure there are police officers and firefighters who are really fun with little kids. I just didn't get to see that. :(  Hopping on the firetrucks was pretty awesome, though!

-Most airports have an observation deck that can be accessed for free without a plane ticket

That's really cool!  I had no idea.  My plane-loving son will love to go to an observation deck. Thanks a lot for sharing that!

[bogart]

Our town has a great pool with a very affordable annual family membership.  You may not be so blessed, but it's worth looking into.  We also swim in several lakes around our town in the summer months (insert standard safety cautions here), but it's starting to get too cold for that.  We also have really affordable public transit, with a young kid (mine), a bus ride is its own adventure (even though we use the system pretty regularly).  Who knew?

We go to quietish, empty-ish office buildings that are open to the public and/or the back sides of e.g. malls and ride up the elevator and then walk down the stairs (or vice versa).  Not to mention the joys of escalators, when available (we have to drive to reach those) (beware the risk of small kids getting pinched and/or grabbed by the escalators' moving parts).

There are a lot of summertime outdoor music events around where we live, and those are pretty kid friendly.

[gooki]

Beach, petting zoo, museum.

[mm1970]

Ooh, great thread.  I could use some ideas too.

I have several friends who are SAHMs, and they do a variety of things.  Some of them spend a lot of money doing it though.

The things I have seen:
beach (we live on the coast)
camping (this is a biggie - not really far away either, just 30 min to an hour away and you have many options here)
parks - play dates, pot lucks, picnics
library
zoo
berry or apple picking (depending on the season)

I have started to go for walks in the evening with the one-year old in the Ergo.  He LOVES being outside and the ergo is more exercise than the stroller.  And I can off-road it.  Now it's become our "thing" - daddy too - we take turns these days.  That allows the other parent to have time to do the dishes and play games/ do homework with the 7 year old.

Hopefully we can maintain something similar in the winter when it's dark after dinner.  Maybe not so much "hiking".

[nico demouse]

We do a lot of foraging for free, easy to ID stuff. Be careful of what you collect and where. Bonus - free food!

Also, we recently realized our library has games and toys for check out, so that's a fun thing to do every week.

[Mark31]

I'm not sure if any of these fit your definition of adventurous, but here goes:

At that age, my boys had immense patience sitting by a train line, waiting for a train to go by. Set yourself up where the driver can see you, and wave, and chances are they'll blow their horn. If we sat there for an hour and two trains went by, they'd be happy. Principle of random rewards I guess.

Visiting pet shops or aquariums is another favourite.

I haven't done this, but a friend would take her kids to truck, machinery or agricultural dealerships to check out the stock.

If you have a decent art gallery or museum nearby, chances are they'll have an occasional or permanent kids program. The one near us is fantastic.

A friends dad made collector cards of wildlife for his grandkids. He prepared them in advance, printing them out at home. He'd then go on "field trips" with the grandkids, and they'd get a card for each new species they spotted. A bit of work, but way cool.

Kids that age just like a chance to explore, which I guess is an adventure for them. All you need is a flimsy excuse to randomly wander the streets, like looking for interesting bottletops, or flowers to take home to Mum or Dad.

[nico demouse]

I'm not sure if any of these fit your definition of adventurous, but here goes:

At that age, my boys had immense patience sitting by a train line, waiting for a train to go by. Set yourself up where the driver can see you, and wave, and chances are they'll blow their horn. If we sat there for an hour and two trains went by, they'd be happy. Principle of random rewards I guess.

Visiting pet shops or aquariums is another favourite.

:) When my son was younger we spent a big chunk of most days wandering around near the train station (commuter line) by our house. And pet stores were called the "free zoo."

Also great was walking over to our fire department. Often they would have the trucks out cleaning them or doing training exercises on the tall ladder trucks. Once in a whjile someone would come out to say hi or ask if we would like a tour. Lots of fun.

[Aloysius_Poutine]

-use driftwood/logs to build a raft at the beach/lake/river
-catch bugs
-feed birds
-make seed bombs and hit the empty lots and parks
-put baseball cards in bike spokes to make motorbike sounds
-use magnifying glass to burn things
-throw rocks at a target
-bury hidden treasure and make a map
-create cryptographic messages
-geocaching
-bake brownies, leave them on a friend's porch, ring doorbell and run!
-run around the skate park

[MrsPete]

When my kids were small, my favorite source of ideas was Family Fun magazine.  It's a cheap magazine at about $10/year, and since it arrives monthly in your mailbox, you have a reminder that it's time for something new and fun.  It always contained the best crafts, science experiments, recipes, party plans, and ideas -- and so many of them required only household junk. 

I've given it to several new moms as a baby shower gift. 

[limeandpepper]

Things I enjoyed as a child (with or without the accompaniment of my parents):

- Jigsaw puzzles
- Catching bugs (grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, butterflies, etc.)
- Catching fish (with net or rod - an activity much enjoyed together with my dad)
- Going to markets
- Playing with pets
- Cooking and baking (particularly helping my parents make cakes, cookies, dumplings)
- Creating things with papier mache or clay
- Collecting stamps / rocks / whatever
- General exploration (even our own garden was a treasure trove of interesting things to me)
- Cycling, nature walks

[nubbs180]

Bake cookies, let the kids dump the ingredients into the bowl, and turn the mixer on/stir with spoons
Build a fort of blankets and pillows in the living room, read stories under the fort
Make smores over the stove
Play hide and seek in the house with the lights off
Homemake ice cream, marshmallows, doughnuts, soft pretzels, or something that you like that you think simply comes from a store
Get a large roll of paper to spread over the floor and draw a huge mural
Find local craft, 4H, or ag/county fairs
Use cardboard to build a fort in the backyard
Have a "dance party"
Act out a favorite story with improvised costumes and props
Have a "move night" where everyone stays up late, eats popcorn and snacks and watches a favorite movie
Play in the mud/dirt/leaves/snow
In-house "Nerf" wars, or other non-injurous projectiles (have also used stuffed animals)
Find local minor league, non-professional sports teams to watch (typically a much more affordable way to enjoy sports)
Dig out a garden bed (let kids help with sandbox shovels, trowels, etc as age appropriate), let kids pick seeds they want to plant
Build a bird feeder, set it up by a window; find a bird field guide at the library, and see what sort of visitors keep coming back
Write up a scavenger hunt and take it to a public place and have the kids check off the things they find
Go "snipe hunting"
Bang spoons, pots, pans, etc, note that different materials make different sounds (wood, metal, pyrex, plastic, etc)
Host a formal "tea party" either with just your family or with friends
Is there such thing as Kids geocaching? Because if there isn't you should start one.  Buried treasure is exciting!
Have a themed day, and do everything that day according to theme (pirates, knights, monsters, butterflies, cowboys, etc)  For pirates I would serve "Marshmallow Mateys" for breakfast, fish sticks for lunch and a chicken vegetable soup for dinner loaded with round carrot "gold coins," we'd all wear hats and eye patches, and do silly pirate talk all day

***Ask the kids what they want to do and DO IT!***  It becomes an adventure in itself!

[theSchmett]

Train stations, historic railroads, ports, airports...

The IKEA in Elizabeth, NJ for example has its cafe overlooking the NJ Turnpike (trucks!) Newark Airport (Planes!) and is right next to Port Elizabeth (Cranes! Boats!).

I was walking around Perth Amboy NJ before a meeting, wandered down to the waterfront, and saw a damn oil tanker cruise by through Arthur Kill. Would have blown my 3yo's mind.

And some airports, small ones, have restaurants nearby that are situated to watch planes taking off and landing.  Maybe not mustachian but good clean mechanized fun!

[mrsggrowsveg]

My little one is still too young to enjoy these yet but someday we will do these:

-fort building
-you-pick fruit
-picking up trash at a local park
-Visit Bass Pro Shop or Cabelas to see the animals/fish
-raking leaves and jumping in piles
-homemade play dough