PLAY Network

7/19 ~ Adams Center and Grizzly Stadium Tour

2010-07-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

C'Mon - admit it! You always wished you could run through the tunnel that our beloved Grizzly football team runs into Washington Grizzly stadium through, right? Well, that's exactly what we did on this awesome tour! We also learned about the trophies the athletes on campus have earned, who ended up playing professional sports elsewhere and had the run of the field!

7/9 ~ John's Backyard Garden

2010-07-16T13:44:00.001-07:00

John treated us to a tour and a taste of his backyard garden! We learned a lot about gardenting and how yummy fresh vegetables taste! Thanks, John!

6/18 ~ Smoke Jumper Center

2010-07-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

We toured Missoula's own Smoke Jumper Center and learned how these brave women and men JUMP out of airplanes into forest fires! We saw where they repair their equipment, where they store their parachutes and much more!

6/8 ~ KECI TV Station Tour

2010-07-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

"How do people get on the TV anyway?" Our children got to learn all about that with a tour from Adam Painter! And that night - they were on the news waving to the viewers!

6/5 ~ Carousel Party for US!

2010-07-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

We had the place to ourselves! Yes, the WHOLE Carousel! We rode ponies as much as we wanted! The PLAY Network threw a special private party for just our members at the Carousel for Missoula! Needless to say, fun was had by all!

5/19 ~ Life Flight Helicopter at St. Patricks Hospital

2010-07-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

Wow! Was this a treat! We were escorted to the roof of St. Pat's Hospital where the Life Flight Helicopter rests! The kids learned about this service and then were able to sit inside the helicopter. That is until a REAL call came in and we were whisked off the roof so it could take off! Very exciting day for our PLAY Network children!

5/10 ~ Lifeline Organic Farm

2010-05-11T20:21:00.000-07:00

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Jennifer and Liam (2 Yrs) treated us to a tour of their organic farm in Victor! We met some calves, pigs, and chickens and learned all about their farm. They got to see where the cows get milked - the initial step in making their products! They have milk, cheese, butter, and much more. The kids had a great time!

5/4 ~ Cold Stone Creamery

2010-05-11T20:16:00.000-07:00

We learned all bout how to make ice cream...how to make it, how it gets frozen, and best of all how to eat it! Each of us were treated to our choice of ice cream with whatever we wanted mixed right in! This was such a fun one!

4/21 ~ Fire Station Tour

2010-05-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

The kids were treated to a great tour at the Fire Station! They were able to sit in the truck, wander around the stalls where the trucks and rescue boats park and learn about some fire safety!

4/15 ~ Championship Training

2010-04-16T12:48:00.000-07:00

Mr. Corbin (James) of Championship Training treated us to a complimentary Taekwondo lesson! This was our second visit there and the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves! (Forgot my camera! Ahh!)

4/9 ~ Police Station Tour

2010-04-16T12:47:00.000-07:00

Always a very popular tour for our group is the Police Station! The kids get to see the inside of the police station and then the highlight is the sirens and lights at the end! I was with a sick child so I missed it and didn't get any pictures. :(

4/1 ~ Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-16T12:42:00.000-07:00

We welcomed spring with a bang! We held our annual Easter Egg hunt and the kids had fun, found many eggs and won prizes!

3/29 ~ Farmer John's Lambs

2010-03-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

We were treated to a tour of a sheep farm by the owner, Farmer, John! He showed us all the baby lambs and let the older children lend a hand in feeding the ewes! We learned that it is his herd that gets placed on Mount Jumbo in the summer to help with weed management.

3/22 ~ Big Sky Beetleworks

2010-03-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

Gary showed us some of the beetles that he uses to clean the skulls of animals his customers would like cleaned up! The kids were able to see many types of animal skulls - many from around here but even an alligator! Very interesting and fun tour! Big Sky Beetleworks is located just south of Florence, MT.

3/19 ~ Missoula Children's Theater

2010-03-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

Terri treated us to a behind the scenes tour of the Missoula Children's Theater! We learned about all the work it takes to put on a show including the stage, costume design and creation, prop construction and more! We saw where all the reusable props are stored. She even let us try on a few hats! Fun tour, Terri!

3/9 ~ Pediatric Dentistry of the Rockies

2010-03-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

Our kids were treated to a very educational and fun tour of a working pediatric dentist office! They learned all about brushing, flossing and more!

3/1 - Missoula Federal Credit Union

2010-03-01T16:18:00.000-08:00

We were treated to a tour of the new "Green" branch of Missoula Federal Credit Union. We saw all the recycled materials used in the construction from everything from beams, floors and counter tops! We learned about saving money through their Spend, Save and Share Program. The last "event" was dumping piggy banks into the coin counter and watching it work!

2/26 ~ Rosauers Bakery Trou

2010-03-01T13:42:00.000-08:00

We toured Rosauers Bakery and learned all about the operations of a commercial bakery! The kids were in awe of the size of the bowls used! All were treated with a little treat at the end. Great tour!

2/11 ~ Jim Palmer Trucking

2010-03-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

Did you ever wonder what those big trucks look like inside? Well, we took our group out to see for ourselves. They got to climb in the front, see where the drivers sleep, run the length of the trailer, see where the oil changes and tire repairs take place and even see what a semi-truck wash looks like! Fun was had by all!

1/26 ~ Missoula Art Museum

2010-03-01T13:34:00.000-08:00

We toured the Missoula Art Museum! Yikes you might think with a group of touchy toddlers! Not the case at all! They read a darling book about museum behavior and then kept the kids interested with all the various types of art there! What a great experience!

1/19 ~ Kindermusik with Julie Sager

2010-03-01T13:32:00.001-08:00

Fun was had by all in this Kindermusik Demo offered by Julie Sager! We danced, sang, and learned a little about music along the way!

1/8 ~ Currents Swimming Play Date

2010-03-01T13:27:00.001-08:00

We swam and enjoyed the Friday Toddler Play Group discount offered by Currents! We had a ball!

12/13 ~ Lifestyle Kids Club

2010-01-03T13:57:00.000-08:00

Denise Sullivan, owner of Lifestyle Kid's Club welcomed our members with two complimentary hours of child care to show off her new name and location. (Formerly Just Kiddin Around)

12/10 ~ Taekwondo Demo

2010-01-03T13:52:00.001-08:00

James Corbin of Championship Training treated us to a Taekwondo lesson. They really enjoyed learning some new moves. And where else is kicking, punching and yelling all encouraged?!?!

12/4 ~ Downtown Dance Collective

2010-01-03T13:47:00.000-08:00

What a treat to get to spend time with Heather in the studio! The kids danced their hearts our under her guidance. Parents and kids alike enjoyed their time here.

11/24 ~ Pacific Steel Recycling

2010-01-03T13:46:00.000-08:00

We took a tour of Pacific Steel Recycling where the kids got to watch the day to day activities of the recycling center.

11/20 ~ Indoor Playtime

2010-01-03T13:45:00.001-08:00

We rented the space at SHEC and let the kids spend a little energy. And they did - all seemed to have a great time!

11/10 ~ Glacier Ice

2010-01-03T13:44:00.001-08:00

Our members met for a day of skating at Glacier Ice.

11/2 ~ Grizzly Peak Halloween Parade

2010-01-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

We put those Halloween costumes to use one more time for a Halloween Costume Parade for the residents of Grizzly Peak. We were treated to cookies and juice after. :)

10/27 - Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

2009-10-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

We were treated to a guided tour of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation where we learned all about many animals and their habitats. We did a coloring/scavenger hunt activity, played with all the buttons and heard many elk sounds and ended up with our own set of antlers to take home as a souvenir.

10/23 ~ MISMO Gymnstice Demo Class

2009-10-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

Our children went ot MISMO for a field trip! They split the group up by ages and had them play on three pre-set circuits. I know mine took a super nap after the activity filled morning! :)

SoccerTots - 10/12/09

2009-10-14T13:52:00.001-07:00

What great timing this was! After a few very frigid days in a row, our group was treated to a demo class by SoccerTots! They ran, chased Coach Joe, learned soccer skills without even knowing it and blew off a little steam from being cooped up inside!

PEAS Farm - 10/08/09

2009-10-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

Once again, the PEAS Farm treated us to an educational and FUN tour of their working farm! What a turnout we had! We were able to taste kale and cabbage right from the plants. :) I've never seen kids so excited about kale!

Scavenger Hunt - 09/21/09

2009-10-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

Our group headed to Greehough park in search of "Y" shaped twigs, insect eaten leaves, blades of grass and more for a fun scavenger hunt!

Great Harvest Bread Co - 09/14/09

2009-10-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

Great Harvest Bread Co. was generous enough to let us tour their bakery! The children learned about the very basics of bread making down to the wheat plant itself! Each got a little piece of dough to handle and were treated to a sample piece of bread at the end of the tour! Great fun...and full tummies...were had by those there. :)

Museum of Mountain Flying - 9/03/09

2009-10-14T13:26:00.001-07:00

September started out with a tour of the Museum of Mountain Flying. The children were able to climb right in to the pilot seat of several airplanes, climb aboard an original smoke jumper aircraft as well as several other airplanes! This is located right on the grounds of the airport in Missoula and is a great hands-on tour for kids of all ages.

Great turnout for the Griz!

2009-06-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

Whoa it was a crowd today at the Grizzly Stadium! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as my family did. The boys ran themselves ragged on the football field. Here's an awesome group photo where we managed to capture at least most of the kids and a few of the parents. Thanks for coming out!

Post office tour

2009-06-15T14:23:00.000-07:00

The Post Office tour was a big hit with the mail shooting down various places. When something hit your basket, it almost seemed like Vegas! My kids couldn't stop talking about it. Although most of these events seem like mass chaos, it really is amazing how much the kids retain and actually learn about these places they get to see firsthand.

Don't miss the Landfill tour tomorrow or the Griz Stadium VIP visit later in the month!

Celebrating one year

2009-06-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you who have made the PLAY Network a success this last year!

We have a great board moving in to take over and we are excited to see what the next year will bring.

Here's a few photos from the PLAY party at the Carousel and a special thanks to Lighthouse Espresso and Great Harvest Bakery for donating food and coffee for this event. Thanks also to all of you who baked and brought your own goodies.

May activities

2009-05-31T14:13:00.000-07:00

We had a great month of May with some exciting special events. The tour of the St. Pat's lifeflight helicopter and helipad was a favorite as well as the Lifeline Dairy tour and the hike up the M.

Zootown Arts

2009-04-06T19:38:00.000-07:00

It's time to pick up your fired pottery at Zootown arts, if you haven't already! We had a great time painting pottery last week and now our creations have been glazed and fired and are ready for our shelves! If you didn't get a chance to check out ZACC with the PLAY Network, make sure you do sometime on your own. You can check out their website for times to go paint your own pottery. I think we were all impressed with the facility and professionalism of the staff.

Clark Fork Organics

2009-03-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

Many of you joined us today for a romp around the Clark Fork Organics farm. We saw lots of animals and planted seeds that we'll be able to come back next month and see how far they've come. Plan to make it next time if you missed this one!

Beetleworks, beetleworks, beetleworks!

2009-03-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

Last week we ventured to Big Sky Beetleworks in the Bitterroot Valley and had a grand old time checking out beetles in their various stages of life as well as seeing the skulls and bones they clean. Gross, but gratifying!

Voting Should Feel Good

2008-11-03T16:53:00.000-08:00

Look at this month's newsletter and see that Molly encourages you to bring your kids to vote with you and I encourage the opposite. Why? My experience with my own kids taught me that I feel better about voting when I'm not trying to keep my kids from taking down the voting booth or offending the older folks tired from working the tables. I think it's hard to concentrate when the kids are asking questions about the bake sale and getting bored with my distracted answers.

So I've learned to teach my children about voting in the comfort of my home. I vote from home with an absentee ballot sent to me by the county. It gives me time to think, read and look over the ballot and discuss the issues with my whole family. I can explain how it works to them in a very low pressure situation and I can even let them fill in the bubbles for me now that they are older. So I think it is great to teach your kids about voting - just not under the supervision of people with enough time on their hands to volunteer all day at the thankless polling places.

Apple Pressing!

2008-10-28T20:30:00.001-07:00

A great time was had by all when we visited Ft. Missoula for some apple pressing.

The kids got to get their hands dirty dropping in apples and grinding them up. The best part was tasting the cider after it was all finished, though.

It was Autumn at its finest!

Clothing Swap also benefits Pass It On Missoula

2008-10-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

There were lots of cute clothes, Halloween costumes, and a few toys, to choose from at the clothing swap on Thursday, October 9. On Saturday, I delivered the leftovers to Pass It On Missoula. The PLAY Network will receive a donation of 10% of the sale price for any items sold by Pass It On. Items that aren't sold will be donated to local organizations or families in need.

Both the clothing swap and Pass It On provide great ways for your family to "wear it, then share it" with others. Thanks to everyone who participated.

If you picked up something particularly cute, why not send a photo to the other members of the PLAY Network?

MISMO gymnastics day

2008-10-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

A big thanks to MISMO for the free gymnastics class last week. Remember that both MISMO and Bitterroot Gymnastics offer smokin' deals for PLAY Network members. Contact Lara for more information.

PLAY Network Open House - A Smashing Success

2008-09-17T15:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who made the PLAY Network Open House such a smashing success. We met lots of new parents and kids and saw a lot of familiar faces as well. The Door Prizes were fabulous (thanks to Coryll) and so was the food (thanks to everyone!) Please be sure to say thank you to our sponsors the next time you shop or dine at one of the great places that supported our event.

Thanks to everyone who signed up for our new groups as well. Someone will be in touch shortly to get the ball rolling for Book Club, Bunco, Crafters Club, Movie Mavens, Walking Group, and Wine Tasters. If you have an idea for another group or questions about the PLAY Network, please email us at playnetworkmissoula@gmail.com.

See you soon,
Molly

Welcome!

2008-08-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the PLAY Network Blog! We're just getting started with this online presence so feel free to comment.