Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in columbus, OH

Park Street is the Place To Be this Weekend

June 11, 2009

June is one of my favorite months. Not only is my birthday during June, but it's also the start of the summer festival season. There are festivals scheduled across central Ohio nearly every weekend for the next three months, and many of these festivals have lots of activities for young children.

This weekend Park Street in the Short North will be closed to traffic for the Park Street Festival. This annual festival offers live entertainment on the outdoor stages on Friday and Saturday nights, but on Saturday from 11am-3pm there is a family festival for all ages to enjoy.

40 Things You Must Do With Your Child in (or near) Columbus Before They Grow Up

March 10, 2009

We all tend to fall into patterns of existence. You go to the same parks, eat at the same places, and as a result miss some experiences going on around you. Say, right in your own city, to be precise.

To help you out, I'm compiling a list of things you must do with your child in Columbus before they grow up. Some are specific, some more vague.

This will be a constantly growing list. You can help your fellow parents out as well - send me suggestions and I'll add them to the list when I update!
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Looking Back Over 2008

by Christina Mack

December 30, 2008

2008 has been an exciting time for Savvy Source and Being Savvy Columbus. It was in the spring of this year that Savvy began the task of gathering writers for 30 different cities to put together local guides for preschool parents of each city. Now there are far more cities in the list, in the US as well as Canada, and 2009 promises to be even better. Here are a few of my favorite posts  Read more...

Celebrating the New Year Downtown

by Christina Mack

December 29, 2008

My plans for New Year's Eve are fairly boring this year. I have a child who refuses to stay awake later than 8pm, so we're staying in and inviting other parents over to celebrate with games and fun for everyone. I love going out to parties, though, so I'm hoping in a year or two we'll be able to spend our New Year's Eve downtown at First Night Columbus . When I was eighteen, I spent  Read more...

Memberships Make Year-Long Gifts

by Christina Mack

December 16, 2008

My family asks me every year what they should get my daughters for Christmas. It's not that they don't know the girls well enough - they know all of their interests and spend time with them often. But my family doesn't like to buy a lot of toys, because they don't think the girls need thousands of toys. (And they're right!) But there are only so many books we can have before we need to  Read more...

Hometown (or State) Books for Preschoolers

by Christina Mack

November 25, 2008

A few days ago my daughter and I got into a discussion about Columbus. She didn't understand when I told her that Columbus was our home. "Our house is named Columbus?" she asked. I tried to explain more about the city, how big it is, and how it is part of the state of Ohio, but I think it was too much for her to comprehend. Or maybe I just wasn't doing a very good job of explaining it.  Read more...

More Proof Columbus Is A Great City

by Christina Mack

November 12, 2008

When my husband and I were recently married, the topic of where we would eventually live came up. At the time we were living in a small college town as he finished his degree. We considered several possibilities, including Chicago and Cincinnati, but we eventually settled on moving back to Columbus. This is my husband's hometown and we have a lot of family here, but there was more to our  Read more...

Did You Miss These Posts?

by Christina Mack

September 30, 2008

It's hard to believe, but Being Savvy Columbus has been going for five months now! Today I'm looking back at five of my favorite posts so far, with an emphasis on the posts from May and June, when you might not have been reading. I try to vary some of the local Columbus spots that I feature each week, which means that a few places I really love have fallen away, lost in the archives.  Read more...

See The City Without The Kids

by Christina Mack

September 16, 2008

I'll be the first to admit that parents need time away from their kids. Spending all your time with people who consider crayons and construction paper high art can wear you down. When my husband and I find ourselves still watching Noggin after the kids have gone to bed, it's a clear sign that a date night is needed right away. There are plenty of things to do in Columbus when you want a  Read more...

Take A Walk Around Columbus

by Christina Mack

August 01, 2008

A recent study ranked Columbus #27 of America's Most Walkable Cities . At first I had to laugh - are you kidding me? We need our car to even get out of our neighborhood! How could we be that high on the list? But as I thought about it, I realized there are some pretty awesome places to go for a walk in Columbus. This can be either for a nature walk, a walk through a vibrant neighborhood with  Read more...

Three Days In and Around Columbus: Day 1

by Christina Mack

July 08, 2008

So, lets say you've decided to visit Columbus as a tourist and you're trying to figure out how best to spend three days in the heart of Ohio. Or maybe you have friends or family coming in from out of town and want to take them to the best family sites the city has to offer. No worries! Over the next three days I'll be giving you an itinerary for how to keep yourself (and your  Read more...

Discover Columbus History With Your Preschooler

by Christina Mack

June 24, 2008

Do you know what year the city of Columbus was founded? When it became the state capital? OK, I'm not really sure of the dates of either of those without looking them up, either, but we probably should know it, right? Columbus has a rich historical heritage, including forts, old factories, beautiful Victorian homes, and several tributes to the city's namesake. Like other topics, teaching  Read more...