Anyone interested in sharing ideas for cheap or free, wonderful things to do around RI?

[PennyRoo]

Hello little Rhody Mamas!

Funds are *very* tight around our house and destined to become more so over the next year or so.  I would love it if others were interested in sharing their favorite ideas for great cheap or free things to do with kids around the state.  I just learned today, for example, of the McDermott pool in Warwick, RI.  (Look on the City of Warwick website, Dept of Parks & Recreation for hours & more info).  It is an indoor, public pool with posted hours for family and adults-only swim time.  It costs $5.00 for over 18, $3.00 for under 18, and under 5 is free.  What a cool find!  I think I can spare under $10 to take my kids and me swimming some day this winter.

A couple of our favorite freebies or almost-freebies:

Watch the Whole Foods calendars.  About twice a year they have fabulous tastings nights - serious samples throughout the store.  My kiddos absolutely love this.  It substitutes as dinner.    Free!

Pack a picnic to a great area playground.  We particularly love: India Point park on the waterfront in downtown Providence; the playground on the corner of Olney and Brown streets on the East side (awesome for hot days - mostly shaded), and the World War II Memorial in North Attleboro - a slide to excite even the most jaded youngster.

On Sundays in the fields next to India Point park there are amazing soccer teams playing one another in an adult, male, nearly all Latino, league.  The soccer is breathtaking to watch.  There are families who set up carts and sell seriously cheap food with the influences of the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Ecuador and the like.  All the fans are screaming in Spanish - such a fun atmosphere.

The Patriot theatre in East Providence - we only go about twice a year, but you can't beat the $2 movie tickets.  Just make sure you don't buy the popcorn or candy - it is priced to make up for the cheap movie tickets!!

Lincoln Woods - the lake often freezes safely during cold snaps.  It's free, and fun to skate there, or just walk on the ice and explore the lake shore and islands.

Petco on a desperate, rainy day - my DC love the animals there, and there are always a few people shopping with friendly dogs to be patted - kiddos are serious dog nuts.

There are lots of free music events and other cool festival stuff in Providence - maybe people could post about things as they learn of them?

Ideally, if folks are interested, I'd love to see people just continue adding ideas to this thread in perpetuity as they happen across them.  Hope to hear from some other cash-strapped families in the state who are still trying to live the good life!

[crunchy_mommy]

You covered a lot of my favorites already!

A couple sites that I love:

http://kidoinfo.com/ri/events/
http://macaronikid.com/

They are calendars with lots of free or cheap activities around the state.

I'm particularly looking for indoor activities for winter, DS doesn't like winter clothing so long days outside aren't always possible for us once the temps drop. I have been meaning to check out this place: http://kidzkastleri.com -- not as cheap as I'd like but you can get a 1-month membership for only $30 so we might try that in January!

One of our favorite places is Om Kids Yoga in Pawtucket. She does a free yoga story time twice a week that my DS loves. http://omkidsyogacenter.com/

[KTProvi]

I love this thread.  I know I've seen a "RI free parenting" (or close) page on facebook recently, but now I can't find it/  Maybe it was through RI Birth Network or Motion Center?  Maybe someone else can find it?Depending on how old your kids are, RISD museum has free days on Sunday mornings, and the last Saturday of each month.The Providence Atheneum has some events for kids that are free, but you have to pay attention bc some are members-only.

[mum5]

Love this thread, great idea!!

If you check out Patriot Place website they have free stuff going on throughout the fall. This Saturday I believe Radio Disney is at Patriot Place and I am thinking of taking my kids. The older ones will be out of their minds with excitement, they love that kind of stuff, while we are not super into disney, it is free and fun for them.

I am wanting to try out the WW1 park in Attleboro. It is near to me, but we have never been. Also you can see if there is a local Mom's club chapter on meetup.com, and they do loads of activites every month. It is a great way to meet people and do free or nearly free stuff.

The pool in Warwick sounds great. We were looking for a pool last winter, the YMCA memberships were too $$$ and we would not have used it that much.  I look forward to seeing other's replies.

[PennyRoo]

Originally Posted by ella-makes-3 

Love this thread, great idea!!

If you check out Patriot Place website they have free stuff going on throughout the fall. This Saturday I believe Radio Disney is at Patriot Place and I am thinking of taking my kids. The older ones will be out of their minds with excitement, they love that kind of stuff, while we are not super into disney, it is free and fun for them.

I am wanting to try out the WW1 park in Attleboro. It is near to me, but we have never been. Also you can see if there is a local Mom's club chapter on meetup.com, and they do loads of activites every month. It is a great way to meet people and do free or nearly free stuff.

The pool in Warwick sounds great. We were looking for a pool last winter, the YMCA memberships were too $$$ and we would not have used it that much.  I look forward to seeing other's replies.

I'm with you on the YMCA fees - I think it's $85 per month or something, plus there is a steep joiner's fee, so only joining for 4 - 5 months each winter just for the swimming would not be cost effective for us.  The free swim hours are also horribly inconvenient.  The McDermott pool hours for public swim are a little odd/inconvenient as well, but I think I can happily suck that up if the price is right!

Love the above links (I already knew about kidoinfo - know the woman who created and runs the site  - she is a gem and the site is awesome!) and the idea about checking the Patriot theatre website - thank you!

So glad some are interested in this thread and hope there will be continued contributions.

[Gracie0509]

Bass Pro Shop at Patriot place is always a winner with my son and his little friends!

Also, RI monthly magazine sends out a weekly email with 5 "Don't miss Events".  Sometimes they are pricey, but sometimes they are free, so it's worth checking out.  For the winter months, the memberships at Kidz Wurld (Plainville, exit 5 off 95) and Monkey Joe's (Rt 1 in South Attleboro) aren't bad (maybe $20/month) and provide hours of running around indoors.

The Pawtucket Parks and Recreation programs are usually pretty good.  They offer VERY affordable programs for kids and families.  http://www.pawtucketri.com/departments/parksandrecreation/  The library also has regular story hours that are free.

Great thread idea!

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by KTProvi 

I love this thread.  I know I've seen a "RI free parenting" (or close) page on facebook recently, but now I can't find it/  Maybe it was through RI Birth Network or Motion Center?  Maybe someone else can find it?Depending on how old your kids are, RISD museum has free days on Sunday mornings, and the last Saturday of each month.The Providence Atheneum has some events for kids that are free, but you have to pay attention bc some are members-only.

http://www.facebook.com/parentingforfree