Beltway Bambinos

(re) discover Washington DC through the eyes of your children

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  • Camps and Classes
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  • Outdoor Play
    • 15 family friendly hikes
    • Pick your own fruit and vegetables
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    • 20 classic outdoor games
    • Trains and carousels
  • Beltway Bambinos Concierge
    • Customized itineraries
    • Introducing Beltway Bambinos Concierge
  • About
  • Beltway Travel
    • Introducing Beltway Travel
    • Family Summer Getaways
    • Traveling with Little Ones?
    • Why Now is the Time to Plan
    • Travel Advisors Save You More Than Money
    • Why You Should Work with Me
    • How Do You Make Sure the Trip Has Something for Everyone?
    • DC Hotels with Indoor Pools
  • Itineraries
    • 5 Days in Costa Rica
    • {Winter} Staycation
  • Home
  • Indoor Fun
    • Theater & musical productions
    • Guide to Indoor Fun for Kids
  • Fall
    • Halloween guide
    • Fall festivals, farms, orchards
    • Fall Foliage Spots and Drives
    • Fall events
    • Fall classes
    • Fall bucket list
    • Survive Daylight Savings
  • Winter
    • Holiday gift guide
    • Holiday shows, ballets and concerts
    • Hanukkah Celebrations
    • Holiday Tea
    • Christmas Trees, Lights & Markets
    • Ski and snowboard
    • Cut-your-own tree
    • Ice rinks and roller rinks
  • Spring
    • Cherry blossoms
    • Easter egg hunts
    • Easter basket & spring gift ideas
    • Spring bucket list
    • Mother’s Day
    • Memorial Day weekend
    • Tax day steals and deals
  • Summer
    • Summer Camps
    • July 4th
    • Ice cream
    • Sunflower Fields
    • Summer bucket list
    • Live outdoor music
    • Outdoor movies
    • Outdoor swimming pools
    • Splash parks
    • Trains!
  • Camps and Classes
    • Fall classes
    • Spring classes
    • Summer camps
    • Mid-winter break camps
    • Winter camps and classes
    • November 2, 4, 5, 11
    • DCPS spring break camps
    • Schools out, camps are in
    • Year-round classes
    • Gymnastics and dance classes
  • Neighborhood Guides
    • Annapolis, MD
    • AU Park, DC
    • Baltimore, MD
    • Bethany Beach, DE
    • Breweries in the DC area
    • Brookland, DC
    • Chevy Chase, DC
    • Georgetown, DC
    • Philadelphia, PA
    • Lancaster County, PA
    • Madison, VA
    • Frederick, MD
    • St. Louis, MO
  • Outdoor Play
    • 15 family friendly hikes
    • Pick your own fruit and vegetables
    • Beaches and state parks
    • Outdoor fun
    • Trails, marshes and gardens
    • 20 classic outdoor games
    • Trains and carousels
  • Beltway Bambinos Concierge
    • Customized itineraries
    • Introducing Beltway Bambinos Concierge
  • About
  • Beltway Travel
    • Introducing Beltway Travel
    • Family Summer Getaways
    • Traveling with Little Ones?
    • Why Now is the Time to Plan
    • Travel Advisors Save You More Than Money
    • Why You Should Work with Me
    • How Do You Make Sure the Trip Has Something for Everyone?
    • DC Hotels with Indoor Pools
  • Itineraries
    • 5 Days in Costa Rica
    • {Winter} Staycation

Weekday Adventures: Our favorite places in and around Washington, DC (Part 2)

August 24, 2014

We’re going with last week’s theme of posting some of our favorite places due to the lack of events happening again this week. We hope you’ve liked the change in posts. Don’t worry though, next week some of your favorite musicians and events are back in action! 

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Reston Zoo where you can ride a free wagon through open spaces with roaming animals. You can feed and pet sheep, goats, pigs, llamas, rabbits and many more barnyard favorites! Bottle feed little lambs, goats and piglets. Pony rides and a reptile house are also highlights of the zoo.

Falls Road Local Park, featuring Hadley’s Playground, a unique and fully accessible playground that allows children of all ages and abilities to play together. Very similar to Clemyjontri but on a smaller scale. 

Tuesday and Thursday you can sign up for a free class at Great Play of Fairfax. Choose from Sports classes and Motor Skills classes for your Bambino.

DC Library Events for the week can be found here.

Visit George Washington’s home on the Potomac at Mount Vernon. Take a tour or walk around on your own.

Mini Golf at East Potomac Golf Course (Hains Point) is the oldest continuing operating DSCN0529mini golf courses in the country, according to The National Register for Historical Places. You could hit 18 holes with your little one, or like a few and then hop over to the pool.

Brookside Gardens has self-guided exploration, hands-on activities, educational games, books, and puzzles in the Visitors Center Children’s Classroom. In the Children’s Garden, School’s Outside!, your kids can experience learning in fun outdoor classrooms planted with colorful flowers, “alphabet plants,” topiaries, and other curiosities like a “Little Library.” Each classroom offers a lesson that will connect the garden to several classroom concepts.

All Aboard! Hop on one of these trains.

Time is running out to take a dip in one of these pools, splash parks or water parks. Splish, Splash! 

Here’s a link to last week’s favorite spots in case you didn’t see the list.

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Filed Under: Weekend Picks Tagged: brookside, gardens, golf, library, mount vernon, pool, zoo

Weekend Picks: Bao Bao’s Birthday, Arts in the Park and Thomas and Friends

August 21, 2014

Maryland Renaissance Festival is this weekend! The festival is free to children 11 and under this weekend. Take a time machine back to medieval times. With plenty of entertainment, including music, joisting, puppetry, pony rides and so much more. Your children will see people dressed up in 16th century outfits. Can’t catch it this weekend? Don’t worry it you can dress like a knight and come any weekend through October 17.  

Friday-

11:00am-2:00pm: Chuck Brown Memorial Park Dedication
(2901 20th St NE Washington, DC)
The Chuck Brown Foundation will be giving away 500 drawstring backpacks to children in attendance. In conjunction with OneCity, DPR, DGS, and DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

5:45pm: The Red Dirt Rangers at 10th Street Community Park
(1117 10th Street NW Washington, DC 20001)
Family-friendly, free concert.

[Read more…]

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Filed Under: Weekend Picks Tagged: art, birthday, chuck brown, movie, music, panda, park, spanish, zoo

Weekday Adventures: Our favorite places in and around Washington, DC

August 17, 2014

We’re switching up the Weekday Adventures this week and providing you with a list of some of our favorite and fun places to visit in and around Washington, DC.

See live animal encounters, pet an alpaca and feed the goats at The Leesburg Animal Park.

Rent a paddle boat, go fishing or hop on a pontoon ride on Lake Needwood.

Big_Bus_Company_10-5-07Take a fun ride on the hop on and off bus that tours around DC, your Bambino(s) will love the double decker Big Bus.

Pick your own raspberries and blackberries at Butlers Orchard. Stay and play on the climbing equipment and have a picnic.

Your kids will want to spend all day at Clemyjontri Playground. Designed for children with all abilities, this playground is colorful and has something that will appeal to every child. Arrive early as parking becomes hard. The carousel costs $1.50 to ride.

Your airplane enthusiast will love sitting at a picnic table and watching the airplanes from Reagan fly over their head at Gravelly Point. 220px-Gravelly_Point_airplane_couple

Celebrate Bao Bao’s birthday a few days earlier, beating the crowd at The National Zoo.

Taxi! Grab a water taxi from The National Harbor and relax on a 20 minute ride to Alexandria. The Potomac Riverboat Company charges $10 for children 2-11 and $16 for adults for a roundtrip.

Take a quick and simple trip to a farm at Oxon Hill Farm. Check schedule of events for the week as they offer story time, wagon rides and a chance to feed the chickens. Be sure and check driving directions before leaving since the newly 295 has been finished, my directions took me an old way and I couldn’t find the farm.

Looking for indoor fun on a rainy or hot day?

There’s many splash and water parks in our area to spend the day.

All aboard the choo choo train!

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Filed Under: Indoor Play, Playgrounds, Summer, Weekday Adventures Tagged: airplanes, animal, bus, indoor, lake, orchard, outdoor, paddle, playground, water, zoo

Weekend Picks: Mom’s picking this weekend =)

May 8, 2014

images10:00am-4:00pm: EU Embassies Open House 2014 
(Various locations)
Experience the best of European Culture without the Jet Lag! The European Union Embassies and the EU Delegation to the United States will open their doors to the public for the annual EU Embassies’ Open House: a day of family fun, food, culture and more. The event offers visitors a rare look inside the embassies and provides a unique opportunity for them to experience the cultural heritage and national traditions of the 28 member countries.

10:00am-6:00pm: Bethesda Fine Arts Festival
(Bethesda Woodmont Triangle, Norfolk Ave., between Auburn and Del Ray Aves., Bethesda, Md)
Delight in fine art created by 130 of the nation’s best artists, live entertainment and Bethesda restaurants. Children’s area will be on Auburn Ave.

[Read more…]

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Filed Under: Weekend Picks Tagged: art, asia, embassy, festival, fiesta, garden, music, science, the yards, train, zoo

Weekend Picks: Cherry Blossoms, Bookworms and Architects

April 10, 2014

Cherry blossoms are in full force according to our Facebook News Feed and we can’t wait to get home from vacation to see them first-hand. Have you made your way to Kenwood or The Tidal Basin to see them? 

Saturday-

9:30am-12:00pm- Children’s Architectural Tour of Cleveland Park hosted by the Cleveland Park Historical Society
(Meet at NCRC: 3209 Highland Pl. Washington, DC. 20008)
Designed for students in the 6-12 year old range. We will spend the first part of the morning learning some vocabulary, then walk around the neighborhood looking at seven different properties including the Uptown Theater, NCRC, and the Macklin Apartments. After we return from the walk, children will build a structure based upon the tour and other ideas. Once all of the buildings are constructed the children will assemble their neighborhood. The cost is $10 per child for CPHS members, and $20 per child for non-members. The cost covers craft supplies. We will need volunteers/parents to walk with us and perhaps assist the children with their models when building.

10:00am-12:00pm- National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade
(Constitution Avenue – From 7th to 17th Streets, NW)
Vibrant costumes and blossom-inspired décor create the look of nation’s premier springtime parade. Giant colorful helium balloons, elaborate floats, marching bands from across the country, and performers burst down Constitution Avenue in a grand spectacle of music and showmanship seen only once a year during the Festival.

Parade-2012-Detailed-Image1

10:00am-4:00pm- Easter Eggs-travaganza at Reston Zoo
(1228 Hunter Mill Rd., Vienna, Va)
Join your friends for two weekends packed with Easter fun!. Feed baby lambs, goats and bunnies. Enjoy excellent photo opportunities with the Easter bunny and have your face painted with your favorite animal before venturing out to take part in an Easter egg hunt. All Easter egg hunts will include eggs filled with candy, stickers, toys, and more! Children must attend the Easter egg hunts by age group. Adults: $12.95, Children (2-12): $11.95 under 2 $2.00.

10:00am- Bethesda Literary Festival
(Downtown Bethesda, MD)
Festival kicks off Friday night and goes all weekend long. Children, teenagers and adults who enjoy ready will love this festival. Check the schedule for story times, meet and greets and read alouds.  

10:30am- Mr. Skip at DC Family Fiesta at El Tamarindo
(1785 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC 20009)
Mr. Skip’s been delighting and enlightening young children for nearly 40 years. Stay after the show for El Tamarindo’s delicious food and kid-friendly options. Children of all ages will enjoy the music. $4 person/3 people for $10.

10:00am (doors open), 10:30am (show begins)-  Gustafer Yellowgold at unnamedJammin Java
(227 Maple Ave E Vienna, VA 22180)
Gustafer Yellowgold shows are a unique musical and visual experience. The minimally animated illustrations are accompanied by illustrator/songwriter Morgan Taylor’s catchy and original story-songs for a truly different multimedia experience that is entrancing children, teens and adults alike. Enjoy his unique blend of live music and moving image. Parents you may be entertained as well as Gustafer Yellowgold has performed as the support act for WILCO and The Polyphonic Spree.

Sunday-

10:00am- Bethesda Literary Festival
(Downtown Bethesda, MD)
Festival kicks off Friday night and goes all weekend long. Children, teenagers and adults who enjoy ready will love this festival. Check the schedule for story times, meet and greets and read alouds. 

10:00am-4:00pm- Easter Eggs-travaganza at Reston Zoo Row of Easter Eggs with Daisy on Fresh Green Grass
(1228 Hunter Mill Rd., Vienna, Va)
Join your friends for two weekends packed with Easter fun!. Feed baby lambs, goats and bunnies. Enjoy excellent photo opportunities with the Easter bunny and have your face painted with your favorite animal before venturing out to take part in an Easter egg hunt. All Easter egg hunts will include eggs filled with candy, stickers, toys, and more! Children must attend the Easter egg hunts by age group. Adults: $12.95, Children (2-12): $11.95 under 2 $2.00.

10:00am-4:00pm- Community Day and Open House at Valley Mill Camp
(15101 Seneca Road, Darnestown MD 20874)
The Great Outdoors awaits! Valley Mill Community Day is about getting back to nature. Feel free to stop by, bring a friend and enjoy a lovely walk in the woods. Crepe eating, bird watching, nature observing, live music, woodland waking and fun with family and friends. This event is free and may give you an opportunity to learn more about their camp offerings as well.

2:00pm-5:00pm- Portrait Story Days: Duke Ellington at National Portrait Gallery 
(Eighth & F St NW, Washington, DC 20001)
Drop in to listen to a story about a person who has influenced American history and culture and to create a special piece of art. Today, learn about American jazz musician Duke Ellington (1899-1974). Best for kids ages 5 and up.

 

*Remember to click on our Ongoing Events page at the top for local theatre productions. 

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Filed Under: Weekend Picks Tagged: book, cherry blossoms, egg hunt, Family friendly, Jammin Java, literary, music, nature, zoo

A guide to Spring Break camps in Washington, DC

February 13, 2014

2015 Spring Break Camp Guide is available!

Spring Break Camps? We had no idea this existed but it’s amazing that it does. Sign us up! We’ve found an assortment of camps for your child. Registration has already opened for most so don’t delay find a good fit for your child and sign up today. And it’s not too early to start checking out our Summer Camp Guide.

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Maryland:

Imagination Stage- April 14-18, 2014
(4908 Auburn Avenue Bethesda, Maryland 20814)
Mornings, afternoons or full day camps in Drama, Dance, Filmmaking,or a combination. Make it an awesome Spring Break, and get your child’s creative juices flowing. It’s way more fun than hanging out at home.
Ages 3.5-Grade 8.

Montgomery Parks Spring Break Camps- April 14-18, 2014
(Various locations in Montgomery County)
Archaeology, tennis, ice skating and golf are just a few camps your child can choose from. One day camps, half day and whole day depending on the camp you choose. Ages 5-12. 
[Read more…]

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Filed Under: Camp Tagged: art, camp, ice, music, soccer, sports, theatre, zoo

Your 2014 guide to summer camps around Washington, DC

February 5, 2014

2016 Summer Camp Guide is available!

2015 Summer Camp Guide is available!

Yes, it’s still freezing outside, but most summer camps are currently accepting registrations. And knowing this area, the best ones will be out of space before spring even hits. To get you prepared, we’ve put together a guide to give you the scoop on Washington, DC area camps for summer 2014. We’ve highlighted a few that are worth a look and included links to others at the bottom of the post.  As always, add to this post by commenting with your own suggestion– first or second hand. Here’s to a fun summer!

images
Steve and Kates Camp
(Grace Episcopal School- 3601 Russell Road, Alexandria, VA 22305)
(Georgetown Day School- 4530 MacArthur Blvd, Washington, DC 20007)
If we could go to camp, this may be our first choice. Inflatable slip n slide, carnival on the last day and kid sized inflatable stadium for sports. This camp gives campers a choice where they step into a world packed with possibilities. One camper dives deep into stop-motion animation. Another discovers a passion for dance. Or chess. A camper becomes engrossed in making the perfect bread. Or developing Leo Messi-like touch on the soccer pitch. K thru 7th grade in the fall.

Levine Summer Music & Arts Day Camp at Katzen Arts Center at American University
(4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016)
 This year’s theme: “A Musical Road Trip – Hear America Sing”. From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam, your child will visit the major centers of music in America. Summer camp offers top-notch instruction within a fun and collaborative environment for campers aged 3.5 – 12. Now in it’s 27th year, Levine’s camp offers kids an incredible musical education during each of its two, three-week sessions. 

Lowell School Camp
(1640 Kalmia Rd NW., Washington, DC. 20012)
Their respectful and caring atmosphere encourages campers, ages 3 to 14, to grow in self-awareness and confidence, while strengthening their cooperation and consideration for others. They have an expansive campus with fields, surrounded by towering trees, provides generous space for games, sports, exercise, and water play. Campers explore and investigate plant and animal life in a spring-fed stream, a tributary of nearby Rock Creek. The four-lane indoor pool, fully equipped technology center, three art workshops, library, and large gymnasium are also available to campers.  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Camp Tagged: arts, camp, DC, explore, language, music, outdoor, sports, spy, summer, swim, theatre, zoo

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