Indoor Adventures

JumpingJackSports.com
44710 Cape Court Suite #128
Ashburn, VA 20147 (map it)

(703) 858-9901

I have not checked this place out yet but have heard good things. In the meantime, check out their site. If you’ve been there, please share your impressions by leaving a comment below.

A local mom shared a site with me that could prove useful given all the upcoming summer movie screenings. kids-in-mind.com reviews movies and rates their appropriateness for children. I have looked over the reviews of a few movies we have seen recently and they seem to be accurate and thorough.

Summer Family Movie Screenings:

Regal (throughout the US including Ashburn, Alexandria, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Sterling and many other VA locations) See free movies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10am. Show up early to get a seat! Click here for Maryland locations, including Frederick.

Tally Ho (Leesburg, VA) $1 Family Classics on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 11am

Please drop us a line if you are aware of other theaters that have similar programs.

ETA: You can also check your local library for summer movie showings. I know LCPL has some scheduled. 

227 Maple Avenue
Vienna, VA 22180 (map it)
(703) 255-1566

Now that I have been to three of the weekday morning Tot Rock shows that Jammin’ Java offers, I feel somewhat qualified to talk this venue up. I get the sense that Jammin’ Java would be a great place for a night out sans kids, but I haven’t gotten there in that capacity yet! Maybe the grown up venue is part of what I like about taking the kids there. Despite my uncool clothes and my permanent post-partum tummy, I feel hipper the moment I walk in the door. We have seen Rocknoceros, The Banjo Man, and Mr. Knick Knack. All are totally different types of shows, and either have been or will be reviewed individually on our blog.

The more kids you bring, the steeper the $5 per kid entry fee feels, but in my opinion it is a great morning out so is totally worth it. If you need a place for a picnic afterwards, check out Glyndon Park. It’s been a few years since my kids and I have been there, but we remember it fondly.

Speaking of eating, Jammin’ Java sells snacks geared towards kids and asks you not to bring your own food and drink, but no one is checking your sippy cups at the door. As with many cafes that offer more than just food and drink, the coffee service is slow, but that’s OK by me.

Bonus tidbit: Since they offer beer, wine, and liquor during their evening shows, Jammin’ Java also falls into my new unofficial category of bars with changing tables. I wonder if there’s a demand for a nationwide listing of these? www.barswithchangingtables.com might be a profitable endeavor….

11950 Grand Commons Ave
Fairfax, VA 22030 (map it)
(571) 522-6568

Watch your kids Climb the Pinnacle at the REI Fairfax! We went this weekend and it was fun to see how differently my two kids approached the wall. Both pretty much tackled it in character

You can find details on hours (Wed 4-8, Sat 12-6, Sun 12-5) and cost (free for REI members and $5/ non-members) online, but ages are not mentioned. The belay staff on duty today suggested that the cutoff was about 30 pounds and/or ability to fit into one of their harnesses safely, but that little folks are not allowed to climb higher than the staff can reach. This rule was not an issue for either of my inexperienced preschool-aged climbers who were done with the wall before they reached that point, but proud that they tried.

You only get one climb, and there may be a wait so this is just a short outing. There’s lots of fun stuff to buy at REI though….

(If you have any reservations about shared smelly climbing shoes you should bring socks. I think the smallest size they carry is 11.)

Sterling Community Center
120 Enterprise St.
Sterling, VA 20164 (map it)
(703) 430-9480

This Friday (6/6/2008) from 9:30-11am is your last chance (until September) to catch what may be the best value in indoor play in Loudoun County.

I have been hearing about tot time at the Sterling Community Center for months, but this week was the first chance I have had to take the kids on a field trip there. I had three lucky little ones with me and was only charged $2. Yes, only $2

There were lots of ride-on toys, mats, a tunnel, some ramps and balls, trucks and toys, etc. There was a clean bathroom, friendly staff, and a volunteer ready to play. Plus, the other kids and moms seemed nice and ready to chat, though it’s not so easy to chat much when juggling three.

Kudos to the smart dad who brought a camp chair to sit in while watching his daughter play. (I should have told him he’d be famous!)

This offering seems to attract a younger crowd, so my 4 year-old was by far the oldest, biggest kid there. If you bring a kid on the older end of the safe spectrum you may need to remind him/her that the littler ones are not quite as steady on their feet or as experienced at sharing toys.

Sorry for the lack of pics… I can give you a smell instead of a sight, though. The room this event is held in holds a faint odor of years of smelly feet. You get used to it though.

970 Edwards Ferry Rd (map it)
Leesburg, VA 20176

As with the Burger King down in Chantilly, we love that the indoor play area here has booths in a room separate from the rest of the restaurant. It’s a friendly and cozy place to run the kids on days when the weather isn’t cooperating or days when no one can muster the energy to cook dinner at home. We’ve come a number of times and the place seems to have a different energy each time depending on who is there.

Sometimes it is really quiet and sometimes hectic and crowded. We usually end up talking to the other parents since there is no way to avoid overhearing each others’ conversations in such a small space. On a good day everyone plays nicely and gets to know each other. On a bad day the kids may find gross things in the tunnels or the play area may be overrun with unsupervised kids who look just a bit too old to be playing there. You never know what you are going to get until you get there, but it’s cheap, it’s close, it’s fun, and the good days outnumber the bad so we keep going back.

UPDATE (9/13/2008): The play area at this Burger King is closed for the repairs. Unless you are going for the food alone you might want to call ahead.

Active Family Services, LLC is proud to announce our new Loudoun Family Calendar. This is the resource I dreamed of when I new to the area, new to staying at home with my children, and new to mothering two children. I hope it will help other parents and childcare providers to easily find places & events to share with their favorite little ones on days when they feel the need to get out of the house and connect with others.

We make every effort to ensure that the information on our calendar is up to date and easy to use; however, we recommend that you double-check event details with the location. If you would like to suggest an addition to the calendar or notice an error, please contact us. As with our other informational services this calendar is made possible by our local sponsors. Thank you for your support!