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You can find families with young children at playgrounds, libraries, the mall and so many other places. No matter what time of year it is, anyone watching babies, toddlers and preschoolers will tell you how important it is to get OUT and do things in the morning to ensure that oh-so-precious nap time arrives just as it should after lunch time.
During the summer months in Champaign-Urbana, we have one more option to add to the list — tiny tots splash time at Sholem! We love Sholem Aquatic Center for about a dozen reasons and tiny tots splash time is just one of them.
What: Tiny Tots Splash Time at Sholem Aquatic Center
Who: Ages 5 and under with parent/guardian
When: Monday – Friday 8:30 – 11:30 a.m.; Saturday – Sunday 8:30 – 10:45 a.m., except for a few days here and there (click on Tiny Tots Splash Time for specific dates)
How much: $5 (resident) per person; free for season pass holders. Children ages 2 and under are free with a paying adult.
Packing for a visit to tiny tots time is just like a visit to the pool during any other hours. The only difference is that you will spend your entire visit in the fenced-in kiddie pool. Approved swim diapers are required for all children that wear diapers. The other areas at Sholem are being used in different ways (or not open) during this time.
You may want to confirm everything is still on before you go, as this can get canceled sometimes if the weather is not cooperating. You can check the Champaign Park District Rainout Line or sometimes find info on the Sholem Facebook page.
The kiddie pool at Sholem is a very shallow splash pool with some water spray features and an adorable turtle slide (shown below) in the middle. Children can safely maneuver up the stairs and down the slide and walk or crawl around under the watchful eyes of their parent and the Sholem lifeguards on duty.
It is worth noting that the concession stand is not open during tot swim hours, so pack those snacks and plenty of water before you leave home.
If you hold a Sholem season pass and are planning on staying for open swim when it opens for pass holders, you will have to pack up when tiny tots swim wraps up, exit Sholem Aquatic Center and re-enter when swim time begins.
Whether you go to splash time just once or twice a summer or you make it a regular part of your summer routine, you’ll definitely meet other adults you have something in common with — a great part of any great baby/toddler outing — and your child is going to have a fun time, too. It definitely checks the box of ensuring you have a quiet rest of the day while your little recoups from all that fresh air and splish-splash fun!
The post Tiny Tots Splash Time at Sholem Aquatic Center appeared first on ChambanaMoms.com.
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From Champaign to Mahomet, Rantoul to Bloomington, there are numerous splash pads that Champaign-Urbana area families can visit during summertime months. Some are newer than others, some have more bells and whistles, but all of them prove to be great for keeping cool and staying on a budget.
The newest splash pad in C-U is at Human Kinetics Park on the north side of Champaign. Runs 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, Memorial Day until Labor Day.
Mahomet’s Barber Park is sure to have lots of visitors this summer. The splash pad features a dumping bucket (!) and will be turned on from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. There is also an inclusive playground that your kids will want to visit again and again.
Perhaps the most famous splash pad in Champaign-Urbana, Hessel Park has been there for far longer than this generation of today’s kids. The Champaign Park District property was updated in 2018 with new water features and many improvements. Runs 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, Memorial Day until Labor Day. It has a theme of bugs/critters and your kids are sure to find this adorable. A handful of nearby benches are available. The bathrooms, if you’ve not experienced them before, have the feel of pool bathrooms.
RELATED: Read our full review on the splash pad at Hessel Park.
Not as “famous” as Hessel Park but nearly equal in size and features, the Douglass Park splash pad is on the same block as the Douglass Branch Library and at the same park that features a real “fitness trail.” This splash pad is typically much less crowded than Hessel (the secret is out now!) and it is another great spot to set up camp for a couple hours while the kids play. Bathrooms are available at the community center (located on the same property). Runs 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, Memorial Day until Labor Day.
The splash pad at the Rantoul Sports Complex highlights sports-themed features and offers a great way for kids to cool down before, during or after a game at the adjacent sports complex. It is famous for turning on before Memorial Day (the only one on our list!)
You’ll find it running, weather-permitting, during summer days and special events. A mud-free playground also opened next to the splash pad, so you can really have a good time letting your kids burn off some summer energy here. Located right off the Rantoul exit from Interstate 57.
This splash pad is located outside Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington-Normal, just under an hour’s drive from the heart of Champaign-Urbana. Why do we think it is worth the drive? The abundance of water features, for starters! This splash pad is HUGE. We don’t have the specifics on square footage, but we can tell you it feels gigantic compared to the other splash pads on our list. Kids can aim the sprayers towards other kids running around the splash pad (or siblings, ahem) and get just as soaked as they would in a pool. So don’t skip the swimsuits if you’re coming to this destination. Note: We’ve been known to trek over with our littles JUST for the splash pad, without even venturing to the zoo located across the park from here. It is a trip in and of itself.
The park in downtown Homer is a lovely place to head with your kiddos to cool off in a shaded playground with a water play option. If you are looking for a quiet, small-town park feel, Homer is the splash pad for you. It is much smaller than the other options on this list, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a welcome outing for your kids, especially younger ones.
Want another water play option in Homer? Be sure to visit the natural playscape at Homer Lake. Not a splash pad, but another free option to get cooled off (pictured below).
Opened in 2023, Arcola’s Moore Park now includes a splash pad.
The post Splash Pads Around Champaign-Urbana appeared first on ChambanaMoms.com.
shadowkatsnickficPeople asking me what the documentary's like it's a ROMANTIC COMEDY with a bit of ROCK N ROLL
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booknookLast night I finished book #18 from the “Women in Translation” rec list, which was Pink Slime by Fernanda Trias, translated from Spanish by Heather Cleary. Pink Slime is a dreamy nightmare of a novel set in the aftershocks of an ecological disaster as one woman struggles to hold onto her life.
Nothing is as it once was: society has been upended by the “red wind” that kills anyone caught in it; the narrator is divorced from the husband she first met in childhood; and she has left her job in journalism to work as a caretaker for a disabled young boy.
This is a reflective book; there is very little plot. It drifts between the narrator’s present, her memories of the past, and in some cases, a future-tense look at the next few minutes. She observes the ways the government tries to cover for the damage the red wind continues to do, and the way society continues to fracture. She continues to visit her ex-husband in the hospital, although his condition never changes. She continues to fight with her mother.
In some ways, Pink Slime is a story about someone trying to hold onto a life that is already gone. The narrator clings to the past, for obvious reasons—it was better than her present. And yet, nothing new can be made until she releases that hold.
The thing that will stick with me most about this book is the birds. In the narrator’s world, the birds have gone. Where, no one knows. It is a topic of frequent discussion among the townsfolk. Will the birds come back? It reminds of a line from a Florence + The Machine Song: “What if one day there’s no such thing as snow?” Ecological disaster brings with it a poignant grief. How do you explain birds to a child who’s never seen them but in picture books? What is lost for each of us when an animal or plant or phenomenon is destroyed?
I enjoyed the morose, grief-stricken mood of the book, but it does feel directionless at times in a way that’s not wholly captivating. I can’t say what I take away from it on the whole. I would be curious to read more from this author.
rocky41_7 posting in booksLast night I finished book #18 from the “Women in Translation” rec list, which was Pink Slime by Fernanda Trias, translated from Spanish by Heather Cleary. Pink Slime is a dreamy nightmare of a novel set in the aftershocks of an ecological disaster as one woman struggles to hold onto her life.
Nothing is as it once was: society has been upended by the “red wind” that kills anyone caught in it; the narrator is divorced from the husband she first met in childhood; and she has left her job in journalism to work as a caretaker for a disabled young boy.
This is a reflective book; there is very little plot. It drifts between the narrator’s present, her memories of the past, and in some cases, a future-tense look at the next few minutes. She observes the ways the government tries to cover for the damage the red wind continues to do, and the way society continues to fracture. She continues to visit her ex-husband in the hospital, although his condition never changes. She continues to fight with her mother.
In some ways, Pink Slime is a story about someone trying to hold onto a life that is already gone. The narrator clings to the past, for obvious reasons—it was better than her present. And yet, nothing new can be made until she releases that hold.
The thing that will stick with me most about this book is the birds. In the narrator’s world, the birds have gone. Where, no one knows. It is a topic of frequent discussion among the townsfolk. Will the birds come back? It reminds of a line from a Florence + The Machine Song: “What if one day there’s no such thing as snow?” Ecological disaster brings with it a poignant grief. How do you explain birds to a child who’s never seen them but in picture books? What is lost for each of us when an animal or plant or phenomenon is destroyed?
I enjoyed the morose, grief-stricken mood of the book, but it does feel directionless at times in a way that’s not wholly captivating. I can’t say what I take away from it on the whole. I would be curious to read more from this author.
hannah
senmutmarycatelli posting in booksmarycatelli posting in book_lovennozomi posting in guardian_learningasianjunkie_feed - RESCENE appointed as ambassadors of Geoje after Minami’s viral clip, she visits the city with Woni istarandrea - "flowers" is definitely a subject linechambanamoms_feed - Tiny Tots Splash Time at Sholem Aquatic Centerchambanamoms_feed - Splash Pads Around Champaign-Urbanashadowkat - This that and the other thingamagigsnickfic - it's been a great few weeks in Oasis land <3torachan - Daily Happinessgenarti - quick signal boost for a local-to-me and worthy causeprincessofgeeks - idle questionleecetheartist - MerMay The TwentySecondmistressofmuses - (no subject)lumiosecity in smallbatchicons - Stock: Flowerssummersgate - friday laterrocky41_7 in booknook - Book review: Pink Slimerocky41_7 in books - Recent Reading: Pink Slimehannah - Another evening ripping DVDs.senmut - meme time!marycatelli in books - Spaceman In The Iron Maskmarycatelli in book_love - Spaceman In The Iron Masknnozomi in guardian_learning - 第五年第一百三十二天branchandroot
