Community Corner
Patch Asks: How Are You Surviving The Long Winter?
Weigh in on how you keep the family busy during the tough winter months.
For just about everyone in the country, this has been one of the longest, coldest and downright dreariest winters in years. With kids, the days couped up at home seem extra long as we work to fill in cancelled school days and activities and keep the “Mommmmm, I’m bored” count to a minimum.
With park and playground season on the horizon, let’s make the most of the last few weeks of winter and explore some of the local, family friendly activities that we can all be taking advantage of to keep active, entertained and spend some real quality time with our family and friends.
Tell us about the activities you have been participating in or some neighborhood spots we all need to check out before the parks thaw out and the ice cream man rolls into town.
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Center is amazing in the snow; nice gentle hikes, wildlife, interactives in the very warm nature center: http://queens.about.com/cs/parks/a/pk_jamaica_bay.htm
Get some family exercise and get to know your neighbors through random acts of shoveling kindness! The pedestrian and bike path through Forest Park is usually cleared very quickly. The park is beautiful in winter, and you can do some excellent bird watching, particularly the red tailed hawks. — Christa Acampora
Since I home school my youngest child, we have the luxury of skating when it's less crowded because schoolchildren are in class. But, it should be fun after school or on weekends even if a bit more crowded and a few dollars more. Since my son has his own skates and I sit on the sidelines, it only costs me $5. Admission (only those actually going on the ice) is $5 weekdays and $8 weekends and ice skate rentals are $5. During Presidents' Week, they are going to be charging weekend rates. There is a snack bar which offers plenty of hot and cold snacks. http://www.worldice.com/ Saturday, Feb. 19.
Find out what's happening in Forest Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Try Hockey For Free Clinic!! Due to the construction under the Van Wyck, there is temporary parking in Lot D adjacent to the rink. It is easy to get to from the Grand Central heading north, exit 9P. Make a left turn after the exit ramp and then a right turn onto Perimeter Road which goes around the tennis stadium. Follow this road until you get to the "All Highways" sign on the left and you will see Parking Lot D. The building with bridge-like structures houses the skating rink as well as the swimming pool. — Betty Chen