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Tea time for American Girl Doll friends!
Step back in time and enjoy the simple pleasures of a relaxing afternoon tea. Or introduce the young girl in your life to an elegant tea event while learning manners in sipping tea, along with history to share with her favorite doll and you. Now in its 10th year, the American Girl Doll Tea Party has become a tradition for families or a new experience for many moms, grandmothers, girls and their dolls. Hearthside’s Tea Party offers an opportunity for girls and their dolls to dress up and attend an afternoon tea with their mom or other relative. Prizes, raffles, a favor for each girl, tours of the house and shopping for a special treat in Hearthside’s Gift Shop. Because of the popularity of the event, two seatings offered each day, June 3rd & 4th, at 12:30 p.m. or 2:30 p.m. Admission: $25 per person. Seating is limited and is always a sell-out. Tickets must be purchased in advance by sending an email to info@hearthsidehouse.org or calling 401-726-0597.
Go fly a kite!
Bring a kite to Watson Farm and enjoy a day of family fun. Watch a professional kite flyer fly three kites simultaneously. Hike out to scenic fields where you can launch your own kite or just watch others enjoy this old-fashioned pastime. Follow a self-guided tour of the farm trails down to Narragansett Bay and back, and learn more about local history and agriculture. Grab a kite, bring a picnic lunch if you wish, and come enjoy the breathtaking views of Narragansett Bay’s West Passage. Free. Registration is not required. Please call 401-423-0005 ext. 3 for more information.
Take a hike!
Kids are notoriously interested in the landscape, and at Casey Farm, you’ll have the perfect opportunity to bring your little ones together with a professional herbalist for a walk through the farms beautiful wooded trails. Learn about the farm’s wide variety of herbs and their benefits, with a dose of history on the side. Hike meets at the cow barn. Includes admission for a tour of the historic farmhouse. Admission: $5 Historic New England and Rhode Island Historical Society members; $10 North Kingstown residents; $15 nonmembers.
Get messy in the museum
The John Brown House Museum is offering a free “Family Fun Morning” once a month on Saturdays, May-August, from 9 to 10am. Perfect for your younger kids (ages 5-10), the kid-friendly program encourages kids to use their “green thumb” to cultivate “live results”. The program includes a story time and seed-planting activities, and kids can even take home the plantings to watch them grow! In addition, children will also be exposed to history, learning about 18-century families (like the Browns) and what they might have planted in their kitchen garden 200 years ago. Let your kids guess if you have the same plants in your home! Admission: Free with registration.
Scavenger hunt & crafts!
For this month’s “Morning at the Museum,” The John Brown House will be highlighting the unique architecture of the museum, considered the first mansion in Providence, and providing a host of children’s activities. Kids will start with a guided architectural scavenger hunt around the building, and then have the opportunity to use their hands to craft their own historic mansion. Enjoy what John Quincy Adams called “most magnificent and elegant private mansion” that he’s “ever seen on this continent” with your family during this special free program. Recommended for families with children ages 5-12. For questions, please contact Jen Davis at jdavis@rihs.org or call 401-331-8575 x362.
Make a day of it at the Market!
The Mount Hope Farmers Market is a year-round community market, happening every weekend in every season. During summer 2017, there are some great reasons to bring your whole family! Not only is the market a bounty of local goods and food-stuffs that families love, but Mount Hope Farm has nature trails and barnyard animals too! If you take Cove Road, it will lead you to amazing views of the ocean, so bring your walking shoes. After shopping, tour the historic Governor Bradford House or simply stroll over to the ever growing barnyard featuring all sorts of animal friends: goats, pheasants, chickens and sheep. Make a day of it!
Along with the goods listed below, you’ll also find local crafts, live music, demonstrations and tastings!
-Vegetables
-Herbs
-Fruits
-Meats
-Eggs
-Cheese
-Seafood
-Honey
-Coffee
-Bread/Pastries/Pies
-Prepared Foods
-Salsas/Sauces/Relishes
-Potted Plants & Seedlings
-Soaps & Lotions
-Cleaning Products
Bring the whole family, shop for local food, visit the sheep, goats & poultry, grab a trail map, and walk the beautiful grounds of the farm!
Windmills and garden tips
Do you have a garden? Or are you planting seedlings with your children? Whether you’re growing lettuce or lupines, it’s important to know who to turn to for advice – and the URI Master Gardeners are here to help! Bring your questions, your little ones, and even a soil sample from your garden for free analysis, to Prescott Farm in Middletown. Let the kids explore the grounds, see the ducks paddle around the pond, and marvel at the old Robert Sherman Windmill, built in 1812. It’s a perfect place for family photos too! For soil sample how-to’s, visit Newport Restoration Foundation’s website.
Made-to-order Mondays
Experience the Museum of Work & Culture in a low sensory, less crowded environment. Sensory elements such as lighting and sound are adjusted, and trained staff and volunteers are on hand to provide supplementary tools and offer tours to visitors who have children with special needs. Families have free access to therapist-led art and music activities designed to help children and teens with sensory sensitivities engage creatively with the Musem of Work & Culture themes. Two sessions will take place beginning at 10am and 11am. Each session is open to 10 participants and registration is required. See more information here.
Imagination Station
Step into the halls of the Providence Athenaeum and bring the kids to the Children’s Library, where a workshop is waiting each Thursday in July. Designed to foster creative exploration, this week’s event features weaving. For budding architects and mosaic makers, plan your visit to the library for the remaining two workshops this month! Best for children ages 5 and up. Space is limited, to make reservations contact Lindsay at 401-421-6970 or lshaw@provath.org.
Wake up the Barnyard!
Some visitors come to photograph Coggeshall Farm’s stunning location or to soothe their senses as they stroll the serene coastal farmland. Others come with their families to interact with the farm animals or learn about the property’s history. This Saturday, “Wake Up The Barnyard” is back! And the setting couldn’t be more perfect. Head over with the nature lovers in your family to help get the barn animals ready for the day. Starting promptly at 9am, visitors can help feed and groom animals and have a unique behind the scenes experience!