Amish Saturday's in Todd County - Free

For those of us from Todd County, seeing the Amish in and around the community and shopping at their businesses is pretty much the norm, but it's not the norm for many people even just 20 miles away.  I've always felt Todd County was special and it seems as though many things are coming together this year to really be able to promote the county, increase tourism and Saturday's seem to be the best day to come for a visit!

Kids N Play - Clarksville, TN ($)

Our Guest Reviewer for Kids N Play is Hillary Bobbett.  Hillary is a mother of 4 who is in Nursing School, who I believe lives in Elkton with her husband and does photography on the side.

Rhonda here, I was able to talk with Cheryl at Kids N Play to share our review and she replied extremely promptly and wanted me to share a few more details about passes, cost, etc, so I'll do that below in blue!

I have 4 kids ages are, 7,7,3,1. Two boys and two girls. All of my kids love Kids N Play.

There are things to climb, slides to slide, balls to shoot, trains to ride, and a kiddie corner for babies to play with soft blocks and toys.

But the best part is the dress up stations. They have built little stores and houses such as, a beauty salon complete with mannequin heads, pretend curling irons and brushes.

They have a grocery store with play food and little grocery carts.

They do have food you can buy but we've never needed to buy so I can't tell you if it's any good.

But the best part is while your kids are having fun you can sit and relax on a couch!!

Oh and remember to bring socks because that's all they can have on. They do have ones there to purchase, but just bring socks : )

Admission is $9 for 3 years and older and $6 for those 1-2 years old.

Note that if you come with your kids below 12 months, their admission is free with an additional paying child.

They also offer membership packages that can vary in time for 3, 6 or 12 months, which would be excellent for summer!  There's a lot of options in the Membership Packages, so I'll give you the link to those HERE.

There are also Frequent Play Passes for 5 visits ($7.50 off retail) or 10 passes which is a $30 off retail savings, so those might be good options for Spring/Fall Breaks or Christmas Vacation.

Here are their hours of operation:

Monday – Thursday: 10:00am – 4:00pm
Friday & Saturday: 10:00am – 7:00pm
Sunday: 12:00pm – 6:00pm

Their Facebook page can be found HERE.

Tips:

• Be sure to bring socks because that is all they can wear in the play area
• It does get pricey for multiple kids, but they do really enjoy it and if you can devote a couple hours there, it's worth the cost.





Creative Canvas By You - Russellville, KY ($$$)

We've established that "I" like to paint, and I had taken several of Lisa Haley-Miller's Creative Canvas By You paint classes/paint party's over the past few years and she even did a March of Dimes fundraiser for me several years ago, but it wasn't until this summer that I got M involved.

Lisa has always welcomed kids at her party's but at $35-$40 a seat, was it worth it for my 4 year old, who honestly is just beginning to color in the lines, to go to a paint party??

I took the chance this summer when Lisa held several Kid Art Camp classes, one 3 day event in Russellville and one 3 day camp in Hopkinsville, specifically for kids age 4 and up.

She always welcomes kids to any of her classes, but this was specifically for kids, drop your kids off even, and let them be creative.....without mom or dad around.

I didn't want to commit to an entire 3 day camp, at $80 I believe, so we opted for one night in Russellville for $35 to see how this would work for my 4 year old.

M had decided on an Owl Door Hanger prior to the event, so it was there waiting for her with the lines traced on when she arrived.  Thankfully a friend from Todd County was there as well, and they found seats next to each other and I left them to it.

What's great about Lisa and her crew is that, well, they can fix about anything that you might screw up while painting.  This is especially fabulous for small kiddos, but still handy for those of us over 16 as well!

Since I wasn't there, I'm unsure on how much of the finished project was truly my child vs Lisa's magic, but in the end, M was happy and had a ball and we had a really cute door hanger worth the $35 the class cost.

Lisa offers a ton of different kid themed projects that many times are offered at most of her posted open paint party's.  You can always grab your friends and book your own as well, but just know that it is a kid friendly place to let some of their creative juices flow.

Here's the group from that night with their works of art!

The Creative Canvas Facebook page can be found HERE.


Tips:

• Wear clothes you don't mind getting paint on
• Don't get hung up in how well you are painting, they are always there to help fix "issues"
• Have fun and just let the kids paint and have fun
• Prepare to be there for 2-3 hours

~Rhonda

The Pottery Room - Clarksville, TN ($$)

Painting is one of my favorite creative outlets, so when I realized that Clarksville had a paint your own pottery place, I had to take my daughter!

I didn't expect it to be quite as expensive as it is, so this doesn't classify as "cheap" but it is fun and you do leave with a nice keepsake.  Or gifts, as the last time we did this, M painted presents for my mom and my husbands mom to give to them for Mother's Day.  Then the cost was much more justifiable.

The place in Clarksville that we went to is called the The Pottery Room and their website is HERE.

They actually have 2 locations, but the one we went to is located right off Exit 1, the other location is downtown on Madison St.

Trenton Road
3863-A Trenton Road
Clarksville, TN 37040
931-503-3024
Across the street from the Great Escapes Movie Theater next to Whistle Stop Donuts.

M thought this was fabulous and it was a great "girls night out" and since I really love to paint as well, we both got a lot of enjoyment out of it.

Here's some details on the cost http://www.thepotteryroom.com/howitworks.html 

Basically you pay a sitting fee, $6 for adults and $4 for kids and then there is the price of the piece you choose.  There are a few things (Christmas Tree Ornaments) that are pretty cheap but most of what we wanted to paint were in the $16-$24 range, so that on top of the sitting fee.

Our first night M painted herself a Hello Kitty jelwery box and I painted her a butterfly.

Remember, it's fun to paint but you have to prepare the kids that YOU CAN'T TAKE IT HOME THAT NIGHT.  It has to be in the kiln to fire and glaze and they recommend a week before you pick up your art.  Teaching patience here!!

The next time we went we had a mission, Mother's Day presents!!

So for my mom we chose a flower pot and for my husbands mom a vase.  We let M paint them and then put her hand prints on each one.  They turned out really cute, so this is a great idea for grandparents that you have no idea what else to get them!!

They have a wide selection of pieces to choose from to paint and I've always found the staff to be very helpful, especially when working with the kids on hand prints, thumb prints or helping with wording/writing on pieces.

They also do birthday parties, but again not cheap, but would be a memorable party.

The atmosphere is relaxing, no one is rushing you, you can take as much or little time as you like.

They also offer pottery wheel classes but we haven't braved any of those yet.

The Pottery Room has a Facebook page found HERE, be sure to tell them Todd County Moms sent you : )

 Tips:

• Prepare the kiddos that they will not be taking their art work home that day
• wear older clothes, things can get messy
• just have fun with it 

~Rhonda