ADVENTURELAND-A REVIEW

STRIKE bowling alley and Arcade

A few months ago my son Ryan was invited to his "BEST FRIEND" (at the time) Marco's 6th birthday party.  The party was held at a place called Strike which is located at 1350 Union Turnpike in New Hyde Park, Queens, New York.

     With much anticipation we counted down the days to the party.  We bought the Happy Birthday 6 year old card, signed, and sealed it, and the present was purchased, wrapped and ready to go.  If only the big day would come!!! Ryan just couldn't wait.  It was the second birthday party he had been invited to this year and having had a taste of party play dates, he couldn't wait for this second one.  The big day finally arrived and off we went.  I actually drove right passed the place because it is located in seemingly such a small building and set back quite a bit off the road.  My navigation system said:  "you have arrived" and I looked around and said:  "WHERE???"  We had to make a u-turn and head back.  When I saw the building I thought:  How can they fit a bowling alley in there?  The building was THAT SMALL!  I parked the car as Ryan (and his friend AJ who along with his mom had driven with us) were completely bursting with excitement:  "PARK THE CAR MOMMY!" "We're here, PARK PARK PARK!"  Parked and unbuckled, we all walked into the building and found steps that took us down to our destination.  It was a bit dark, but what would you expect when going down below street level.  The place was quite huge actually--who knew???  We met up with Ryan's friend Marco and the rest of the kids who were anxiously awaiting their shoe rental.  While I put on Ryan's fabulous new shoes, I watched his eyes scan the place and grow wide with anticipation and he began to rattle off all of the things he wanted to play prior to leaving.  It was at that moment that I knew we were in for a long, but fun-filled day.

     The party was very well run.  We had two girls assigned to our three lanes who made sure that the kids were set up and that the games were runnning smoothly.  The food was great--perfect for kids!  They set up a mini buffet table and one of the girls helped the kids serve themselves chicken fingers and fries and assorted fruit.  The drinks were pre-poured so the kids (and adults) could help themselves.  After eating, the kids bowled a few more games and then it was on to Brithday cake.  After two hours of bowling and eating the official party had ended and the kids were given goodie bags by Marco and his parents and a strike credit card which could be used in the Strike arcade.  We went around playing games for about another hour and Ryan (king of the tickets) racked up over three hundred tickets playing the games.  We redeemed Ryan's tickets for some cool kids' prizes and called it a day.  Ryan and I both had a great time; he got to spend time with his classmates and I got to sit down with the other moms and chat.  We also got to enjoy some mommy and son time without his baby brother getting between us which is something I know he misses.  On a scale of 1-10 ice cream cones, I give Stirke 10 ice cream cones.  Ryan gives it 110 ice cream cones.

P.S. Strike also has late night bowling, a bar, a lounge, and makes a great place for happy hour with your friends. 

Vacation Bible School

The Howard Beach Assembly of God Church will be holding its Vacation Bible School again this year.  It will be a great time for all involved both children and the adult volunteers alike as we go on an Expedition through time.  The theme this year is "Answers in Genesis: Amazon Expedition-The Ultimate Trek though time" and promises to be both entertaining and educational as well as uplifting.  The event runs from July 31st through August 8th from 9 a.m. to noon and is for children ages five and up.  This is a free event .  For more information, contact 718-641-6785

Why Noggin is One of the Best T.V. Channels for Your Kids:

Those of you who have toddlers and pre-schoolers are probably already Privy to the wealth of amazing shows on Noggin, but for those of you who may not know about this wonderful television station, please allow me to discuss it with you. Noggin is a television channel developed for your little ones (from birth to preschool ) that is designed to be a virtual preschool for your children. EVERYTHING on Noggin is SAFE, EDUCATIONAL, and FUN! What I love the most (coming from both a mom and a teacher's standpoint) is the fact that prior to every show they list the EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS that each show focuses on. For those of you who aren't familiar with "Educational Standards" , they are an outline that educators use when formulating their lesson plans. When a teacher writes up his/her lesson, they are expected to include one or more of a state's required "Educational Standards"; this is done in order to make sure that educational goals are met by all students. Noggin lists each educational standard that its shows meet prior to the show. For example, prior to showing "The Upside Down Show", Noggin will announce that the particular episode helps children learn opposites such as up and down, right and left, etc, and enhances children's learning through imaginary role play. I find the shows on Noggin to be the next best thing to my child being in preschool (he is still to little to actually go), and I know that he is learning many useful and many necessary skills, behaviors, and attitudes that he will need to be successful in the future. I also love the fact that Noggin is all preschool ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT. They used to cut the preschool shows at 6 p.m. and begin teen shows, but they apparently had a great demand to change to the younger audience, because earlier this year, they became a 24 hour preschool station. I love the fact that I can turn Noggin on and not worry about my kids hearing words they shouldn't be hearing or seeing behaviors that I don't want them to pick up. I have found that even some Disney movies are not worthy of praise as quite a few of them have characters calling each-other names like: "You moron" or "You Nerd". Other shows have the kids getting into jams and various scenarios that I would not want my kids replicating. I know they aren't horrible words, and very bad behaviors depicted in some shows but when you are trying to teach your child to respect others, these words and behaviors can prove to be stumbling blocks on the road to respectfulness. Some of my favorite shows on the Noggin station are: MAX AND RUBY, The Upside Down Show, and JACK'S BIG MUSIC SHOW. I even find myself sitting down to watch with the kids rather than cleaning the house, simply because I enjoy the shows and I like to interact with the kids while they watch. Other shows include: Dora The Explorer which teaches kids everyday Spanish words and deductive reasoning, Diego which also teaches Spanish words and introduces children to various animals and facts about those animals, Blue's Clues (which I love too) which is really cute as kids get to help a man find clues that his dog leaves him in order to solve a puzzle at the end. There are so many more shows worth mentioning, but I will leave it to you to explore the shows yourself. If you don't receive Noggin, I highly urge you to call your cable or satellite provider and order the channel-you will not be sorry and it will be the best investment you will ever make for your child's education .

WhitePost Farms

  WhitePost Farms is located at 250 Old Country Road in Melville, NY 11747.  Phone number:  631-351-9373

   The following is a review:

     One of our favorite places to visit during the spring and Autumn seasons is White Post Farms in Melville, NY (Long Island).  White Post Farms was voted #1 among things to do with your kids by New York Magazine and #1 for the "Best of Long Islands's Children's Party" places three years in a row, and with good reason:  It is a wonderful place to take your children.  Every Autumn my sons and I (along with my mom) take the ride out to Melville for a nice fall day of fun. There are many things to do once inside, so we try to just take it section by section.  The hayride is (according to my 5 year old) a bit boring so we skip that, but everything else is a lot of fun.  We love going in the fall the most because we like to choose our pumpkins for Halloween and pick up some fresh baked pies, and caramel and jelly apples.  There are always special events planned for the  weekends as well.  Events vary from season to season but some of the event include:  magic shows, sing alongs, puppet shows, special guest appearances (One weekend two years ago we saw American Idol singer Clay Aiken), bouncing features, cowboy singalongs, dress up characters (such as rugrats) and so much more. 

     Its not just fun for the kids either, while you are there you can purchase craft items, flowers for your garden (gorgeous full mums in the fall!) and decorations to spruce up the yard and garden for all seasons.    There is of course the animal farm where if you so choose, you may buy a feed cone for $1 and feed your favorite animal (but watch out because THEY ALL COME RUNNING!)  There are also pony rides (which cost $5 --cash), and a great train ride which is a favorite of my boys (which cost $2 per child).  My sons ride the train atleast three times per visit--so be prepared to bring extra cash with you.  Once the kids are done riding the train, they can head over to one of the many large playground areas which are comprised of slides, climbing features, playhouses, a pirate ship, wooden stand-up cut-outs of favorite characters like Dora, The Disney Princesses, and Swiper.  It is very easy to spend a few hours without spending a ton of money.  When you get hungry, there is an eatery near the train and another close to where the pumpkins are.  Just grab some food, grab a bench, and relax for a bit and a bite.  It really is such a great place to visit.  White post farms makes a great party destination as well--Call them for more information.

More Info:  Operating hours are from 10:30 a.m. till 5 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. till 5 p.m. on the weekends.   Entrance prices are very reasonable: $7 for both children and adults but they accept CASH ONLY so please remember to bring a few extra dollars because I can almost guarantee that you will see something you want to buy for yourself.  You can visit the White Post Farms website and print out a coupon for reduced admission. 

If you have been to White Post Farms please feel free to comment on your visit.