On one of the Fridays off my kids had in March (there were a ton, though I’m not complaining because it means we get to go adventure!), I convinced my friend Margo to caravan up to Point Beach State Park with me. Remember that I’m a “wing it” kind of woman? Well I grossly underestimated the distance and sort of just got in the car and headed north, and it took us almost two hours to reach our destination. Granted, a trip to Culver’s for ice cream may have added a few minutes to our travel time.
But it was worth the drive. Once Margo, our combined 7 children, and I arrived, we briefly looked at the trail map. It was a little confusing because not everything was open and snow was covering most of the ground. So we migrated towards the beach and the kids immediately waded in the icy cold water. Luckily, our boots were waterproof enough to keep toes mostly dry.
We then decided to just head to the woods and play in the snow. A campground was across from the beach, so we made our way there.
The kids got right to eating and throwing snow, dragging sticks, and searching for frozen puddles and ponds. We hadn’t had much snow in Milwaukee, so it was a great surprise to play in lots of wet but fluffy white stuff! Margo and I watched our kids make up imaginary games, discover new “nature treasures” as my kids say, and trek over small hills and through trees.
After more than an hour of playing and walking not very far but having a blast, kids started to get a little chilly.
We decided it was a good time to head back south and try to visit the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan on our way back home. So after one last stop at the beach to get our boots thoroughly wet, we piled in the car and shoved some snacks in our faces.
We were dry and somewhat rested by the time we arrived in Sheboygan, but my lack of planning gave us less than an hour to visit the museum. The Arts Center has an amazing kids studio, called the ARTery which is open these hours. The arts center is always free which is incredible.
We made small booklets from magazines and folded paper, and worked on those fine motor skills to balance out the day.
There was also a table with clay. The kids were encouraged to check out the museum and a particular exhibit which had small figurines. They came back to the ARTery and created their own little creatures. Little T has a real strong affinity to cats, so she of course made a teeny tiny little kitty.
Our time at the Arts Center was way too short, so we’ll definitely be back. Sheboygan is only an hour north of Milwaukee, and we hope to combine it with the Children’s Museum and a trip back to Bookwork Gardens in the summer.
On the way home, the sunset was incredible. My oldest took the camera to capture the beautiful lines the clouds were making, so I’ll leave you with her shot. A little blurry, but I think it does the sky and our day justice.
Hope you all had a good weekend, and got outside to celebrate Earth Day!
A. Storm
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