If you are looking for a rainy day activity, you might want to look into the Kids Bowl Free program. 

(FYI, you still have to pay shoe rental, but at least the cost is down from what it normally would be.)

Have fun and let us know how it goes!

Win Before You Buy:

Enter to win one of (2) family 4- packs to the Ringling Bros. Circus

by posting "The Circus is coming to GR September 16-19 at the Van Andel Arena" as your facebook status

and leave a comment on the grkids.com Facebook page reporting that you did it.

Contest ends June 28 and winners will be notified via Facebook Message.

My daughter had never been to a dance class before last week.  She just turned 3, in case you were wondering.  Probably like most 3 year old girls out there, she loves princesses and dresses that twirl.  So when I told her that we were going to try "twirling" camp for a week so was beyond excited.

I was glad that Tianna from Integrity Dance in Byron Center chose to advertise her dance camps on grkids.com because that is how I learned about them!  We chose Tiny Twirls because it was one of the few classes that accepted 3 year olds.  Couple that with a grandma who was willing to help with logistics and we were ready to give it a shot.

Did I mention that my daughter is 3?  Well, I mean that in the fullest sense of the word.  Everything we do is dramatic, has to be done her way, and things that were once easy are now hard.  I literally had to dress her in the van the other day because she wouldn't cooperate inside the house!

Now picture this strong-willed child walking into her dance camp, lining up & participating, and having perfect manners for the next 90 minutes.  Wow!  That's a testimony to how engaging and well-organized the camp was!  The camp my daughter went to was structured in 3 segments: tap, devotions and crafts, and tap.  I thought it was a $65 well spent and we are considering signing her up for another camp this summer.

They offer classes for older dancers, too.  And it seems that boys get half off of their class fees as an incentive to get boys to dance.  If you want to know about specific offerings this summer, click here.

It was an unusual Father's Day... hubby, son and grandpa took off for a Tiger's Game.  That left me, due any second with our 3rd child, to entertain our 3 year old girl.  What to do?

The weather was beautiful.  The beach beckoned.  But which one?  I thought of driving out to Lake Michigan but didn't really want to make the commitment.  Millenium Park?  That might work but I thought it would be really busy on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  Then I recalled Versluis Park in Plainfield township.  I had driven by a few times, but never visited myself.  It was about 15 minutes from our house and cost $8 for a vehicle to enter.  So it was settled...let's go!

Upon our arrival I was struck by the multitude of rules posted at the gate.  Here's a synopsis:

• No food on the beach (they don't want to encourage geese and ducks to hang out on the beach)
• No flotation devices (rafts, swimmies, etc), except for coast-guard approved life jackets
• No swim masks, flippers, snorkels, etc.  Goggles are okay as long as they don't cover the nose.
• Parents must be in the water with children under 10 years old.
• If you leave, you must pay to re-enter.

Now that we've got the rules and regs covered, let's talk about the fun stuff.