Bubbles Academy in Old Town gives kids and parents some structure
and something to do on those days when nothing's really working.
This former production studio-turned-play space offers tons of room
for city kids to enjoy.
"Yeah. It's great in the city because not many people have backyards
or basements. And they can come and run around. And I mean really
run around. But once they've got the you know their bearings, they
start to participate and follow the teacher and really get into
the movement or the activity that's at hand and they have a lot
of space to do it," said Christine Johnson, Bubbles Academy.
At the Bubbles Academy, there are all kinds of different classes,
like the Creative Movement Class.
All summer long, they're going to have the World Adventure Camp.
The camp will expose kids to other cultures by incorporating different
country themes into each class.
There is no membership fee -- regular classes run about $150 for
an eight-week session. Or you can just drop in on any class for
$20. And there are classes in just about everything-from music,
to yoga to art-these kids love it!
"Bubbles Academy is a place for parents and children to come and
get their sillies out and at the same time, learn something. So,
they learn about the environment. They learn how to stand up and
yell or act like a bear. It's just a great place for parents to
come and participate in child activities," said Christine.
For more information:
Bubbles Academy
1504 North Freemont
Chicago, IL 60622
(312) 944-7677
www.bubblesacademy.com
Fantasy Kingdom
What if the kids just want to play? Maybe you can't get them to
sit still for a structured class. That's where Fantasy Kingdom comes
into play.
"What's great about our facility is children can come in with
their parents. It's parent supervised and you pay to play. Stay
as long as you like," said Della Allen, Fantasy Kingdom.
That's right! There are no classes, just pure playtime! And there
are no schedules to keep up with. You can come in for 12 bucks and
your kids' imagination can run wild!
"We were just looking for something different to do and it was
a rainy day so we thought we'd take a drive in and check it out,"
said Becky Scherr, Naperville.
"There's a lot of different things for kids to do, a lot of costumes
they can dress up in. It's just something different," said one mother.
"Well, we have um, five a half year old twins. Boy girl twins.
And they've kind of helped us come up with the idea. My daughter
who absolutely loves playing princess dress-up and my son loves
being a fireman. I just was you know always wondering where can
I take them in the city to go have fun and play? And there's really
no place around to just go in and free play. And use their imaginations,"
said Allen.
"I love it because the girls time is usually so structured with
classes they take they've taken German lessons they take dance lessons
they take tennis lessons and here they can just come and be kids
and use their imagination play with their friends just like I would've
in my own basement but since we live in the city and have a condo
we can't have all these toys in our apartment so they can come here
and use their imagination and we just love it," said Tracy Bonthala,
Chicago.
For more information:
Fantasy Kingdom
1422 North Kingsbury Street
Chicago, IL 60622
(312) 642-5437
www.fantasykingdom.org
Are your kids bouncing off the walls at home and driving you nuts
at the same time? Lou Canellis has some ideas of where you can take
your kids to play.