 Picture courtesy of Heritage Gardens Gardens Aglow 2020 By: Molly Gardens Aglow is back this year with some changes for the pandemic. I was given two tickets to Gardens Aglow on 12/3 at 6:30pm in return for an unbiased blog post about the event. Gardens Aglow at Heritage Gardens is open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday night from 4:30-8:30pm with timed tickets starting on the half hour. You may arrive 30 minutes before your timed ticket time to park and bundle up and stay as long as you want until close. Tickets cost $18 Adult, $16 Adult Member, $9 Youth (Ages 3-17), $8 Member Youth (Ages 3-17) and free for children 2 or younger and is currently sold out. Food can be bought at the Cafe and from the food trucks.  We arrived right at 6pm on Thursday night with temperatures in the low forties so bundled up everyone was comfortable. Due to the pandemic Gardens Aglow was a little different this year. For starters everything including Santa is outside so no car museum, exhibit buildings or carousel. They did a wonderful job of setting the train up outside by the windmill and lighting the whole new area that is behind the windmill and wraps back around to the main path. On this path there are some beautiful projected lights on the trees. Santa can be found on the outdoor stage but we didn't take an up close look as the kids were not interested. We wound our way down through the gardens by finding each of the eight reindeer and saved marshmallow roasting for last and to do on the way out (the pits are next to the cafe this year). All the lights were beautiful. My favorites were the flower lights by the windmill and the lights projected on the trees. My only complaint is it was more crowded than I expected and socially dstancing by others was lacking at times. Words can’t really capture the lights so here are some pictures.
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 Fun Fall Activities By Molly Fall has arrived and with it lots of fun activities to do. Below you will find some of my families favorite activities plus some that we want to try. Apple Picking is one of my favorite fall activities. We always go to Nicewicz Farm in Bolton. Nicewicz is our favorite because it is quieter, their fruits and vegetables are closer to organic since they use integrated pest management and the owners remember us every year. This is a no frills apple picking experience there are fruit trees and pumpkin picking, the gardens and a farm stand where you can buy produce including corn, squashes and flowers. If you are looking for more upscale or caramel apples Nashoba Valley Winery is down the street. I have never been but for apple and pumpkin picking on Cape there is Crow Farm in Sandwich (apple picking is done for the season). Heritage Gardens in Sandwich for a beautiful walk on the grounds. The kids love riding the carousel and playing in Hidden Hollows and adults can take in the galleries and car museum. There is also the newly restored windmill and a new garden to checkout. Heritage Gardens is open now through 10/14 but they also host Sandwich Halloween Festival 10/25 and 10/26 5pm-8:30pm for Halloween fun $5 per person. Green Halloween at Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. This is one of my kids favorite Halloween activities. This year it is on 10/26 10am-2pm and is $5 per child ages 3-16 with adult (adults with children are free). There are activities and crafts throughout the entire museum to complete for prizes plus refreshment and a hay maze outside. Orleans Halloween Sidewalk Stroll. On 10/26 2:30-3:30 starting at the Orleans library (after the 1:30 Toe Jam Puppet Band show) stroll through Orleans center and trick or treat at the shops. My kids love this because they get to wear their costumes during the day and walk around the center while collecting candy. After if you are not too tired there is more Halloween fun in East Orleans including hay rides. Take a walk at the Wellfleet Audubon Sanctuary. Audubon also has lots of fun Halloween activities that you can check out here! What are your favorite Fall activities to do?  Molly, her husband, and their 1, 6 and 8 year split their time between their little piece of the cape in Orleans and Cambridge. She was a kindergarten teacher before her oldest was born then became a SAHM. She loves running, books, supporting literacy, nature walks, arts, craft, knitting and sewing as well as being outside and on the beach!
 The Discovery Museums By: Molly If you find yourself in Acton, MA or close by I highly recommend going to the Discovery Museums. The Discovery Museum is actually three attractions in one place. There is the Children’s Discovery Museum geared for children ages 0-6 which is open Tuesday through Sunday 9-4:30, the Science Discovery Museum geared for children 6 and up which is open 1pm-4:30 Tuesday through Friday and 10-4:30 on the weekends and Discovery Woods which is great for all ages (open 9am to dusk Tuesday-Sunday). In addition there is also outdoor exhibits including Whisper Dishes, the Slapaphone, and Bessie's Cove spread throughout the 4.5 acre campus, and a trailhead to 180 acres of Great Hill conservation land. And don’t forget to visit Bessie the dinosaur out front. The Discovery Museums recently had a sale on memberships so I decided to join. If you don’t have a membership admission is $12.50 per person. My kids and I went one afternoon this past week arriving at 1ish and the museums were pretty quiet. We started by exploring Discovery Woods which just opened over the summer and we had not been to yet. In Discovery Woods there is a tree house with small tables set up with two to three activities for the children to explore; today was building bugs out of various materials, observing items with magnifying glasses and kid tweezers for exploration. There are also child level shelves all around the tree house with materials for the children to explore, it reminded me of a Montessori classroom. Below the tree house is a slide which unfortunately is out of order since it is a little too fast (a solution is being worked on). The slide leads to a building area with a tippee structure in place and other sticks, fabric and material for exploration. Continuing along the path there are two wigwam like structures one with kitchen materials in it. Beyond that is a vernal pool area, bird houses and a gated path down to the conservation area. Also in Discovery Woods is a playgroundish area with a great saucer swing, hoppy balls, EZ steppers, jump ropes and hoola hoops. Plus there is a seating area, a gravel pit, spider web climber and logs to play on. Outside my kids enjoyed the tree house and play area best. After about 30 minutes we headed into the Science Discovery Museum. First we hit up the bathroom which is conveniently located right by the entrance. Then we went to the craft and inventors workshop room. My daughter spent about 45 minutes at the craft table creating a masterpiece out of recycled materials. My son (with my assistances) enjoyed hammering, sawing, and drilling wood creations in the inventors workshop. Then we waited in line for the Harmonograph table where both kids made cool geometric drawings; the wait is definitely worth it! By this point the kids were hungry so we headed out to the car for a snack (there is no snacking inside the museums do to allergies but there are tables/benches outside).  After refueling we went to the Children’s Discover Museum which we had to ourselves. This museum is quite small and great for little kids. Since we were the only ones there the kids were able to roam room to room easily. We spent most of our time in the train room which has an engine to “operate”, a ticket booth plus play train tracks and Bessie’s cafe which is a pretend diner setup. There is also a Water Room, Ship Room, Backyard at night, Sensations exhibit, Chain Reaction Room and AirPlay exhibit. My kids love exploring this museum and the freedom it allows them (they feel like big kids there). They would have stayed longer but it was getting close to closing time. If you are looking for a day trip or are already in the area you should go to the Discovery Museums as they are an unique and wonderful experience. I would definitely recommend allowing a whole day when you come to visit the Discovery Museums. We stayed over 3 hours and never even saw the rest of the Science Discovery Museum. I came here as a child and loved the museums and Bessie and now my kids do too. Have you been to the Discovery Museums in Acton? What over unique museums have you been to?  Molly Hubner
Usborne Books & More Independent Educational Consultant I am always looking for people to join my Usborne team, host parties (Facebook or home), or just share these wonderful books! For more information visit my website or contact me at mollyhubner@gmail.com. Plus follow me on Instagram www.instagram.com/mollyhubnersusbornebooks Is It RAINING On Your Summer Fun? Check Out the Cape Cod Children's Museum By: Britt Is it RAINING on your summer fun?! Here's a good indoor place to check out! Cape Cod Children's Museum 577 Great Neck Road South, Mashpee, MA Kinesthetic learning is a learning style in which learning takes place by the students carrying out physical activities, rather than listening to a lecture or watching demonstrations. People with a preference for kinesthetic learning are also commonly known as "do-ers" Says any college education class or school. You know who loves to hands on learn? YOUR KIDS. They need to touch, hear, smell, see, lick, dance, and experience with their whole body. Sometimes I get sad when I see article about "Let kids play! It's how they learn!" Umm.... ya, precisely. I hate that people have to be told that. I wish it was common knowledge. Let your kid touch, jump, wear costumes, bang instruments. put together puzzles, pretend to drive a tractor, slam on a fake cash register, play with other children.
That's what the children's museum is on Cape Cod.
A place for kids to be free and experience hands on learning. The museum sells memberships that make it so cheap for you to go and play. They run classes and fun events constantly. Keep your kids active and exploring! Check it out in Mashpee! Cape Cod Children's Museum More information on events at the museum and other similar activities on our activities calendar!  Britt is a Beach bum, Mom, Wife, Sister, Friend, Coach, Wanna be Photographer, Special needs advocate, Library enthusiast, Yogi, Mom blogger. Britt lives in a barn on Cape Cod with her husband, two toddlers, and stinky black lab. You can read more of her adventures at You're Somebody's MOTHER. Or if you have a short attention span, follow her on Instagram @somebodys_mother
 By: Suzanne Golden, M.S., CCC-SLP This week we met some friends at the Children’s Museum in Easton. It was a bit of a drive for us from Plymouth, but well worth it for a few hours of fun! The Children’s Museum in Easton is housed in an old firehouse, which means the inside and outside have some pretty cool features! Inside the museum there are three floors full of kid-friendly activities, including a Fire Pole the kids can climb up! Outside there is a fenced in picnic area with sculptures and other interesting things to explore. One of my favorite things about this museum is that most of their activities really promote being creative, exploring and using language!  Here are some ways exploring at the children’s museum helps to promote language development: · Spend some time in the various pretend play areas: rocket ship, train, stage with dress up clothes, kitchen area, fire truck, dinosaur room, doctors office. These pretend play situations can open your child up to a variety of vocabulary that may be new to him/her. Model language for your child and then allow him/her to take the lead and you can expand on whatever language/pretend play scripts he/she creates! · Check out the rolling ball mazes. These mazes allow the child to drop a ball at the top and watch it make its way to the bottom. The ball maze on the bottom floor has pieces that can be moved so your child can explore different pathways. This activity opens the door for a variety of language about location, size and problem solving.  · Make new friends! A museum full of other children and parents is a great place to make new friends. Encourage your child’s social/pragmatic language skills by encouraging him/her to introduce him/herself to a new friend and engage in play with him/her. If the Children’s Museum in Easton is too far of a drive, check out the Cape Cod Children’s Museum, located in Mashpee. Although we didn’t go to the Cape Cod Children’s Museum this time, we have been there before and love exploring all of the various areas it has to offer! I hope you take advantage of one of these great Children’s Museum and enjoy the rest of your summer, while also building speech/language skills! For more information about the Children’s Museum in Easton, visit: http://www.childrensmuseumineaston.org/home0.aspx For more information about the Cape Cod Children’s Museum, visit: http://capecodchildrensmuseum.org/ 
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