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Get Outside: Homer Lake Playscape Coming Soon

From The Editors — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 02:24:31 +0000

By Daniele Frerichs

Kids will get back to nature on the Homer Lake Playscape, currently under construction. Credit: Daniele Frerichs photos

Just what is a natural playscape?

According to Champaign County Forest Preserve District, a natural playscape is a landscape designed for play with the express purpose of connecting people to nature. Natural playscapes use natural materials like streams, plants, boulders, logs, earth mounds and more to provide a highly creative, interactive play experience.

The basic idea behind this type of play area is to bring back the way our parents and grandparents played, and that was simply, in nature.

Did you ever skip rocks on the stream or climb a tree? Well, multiply and combine those experiences and you have the natural playscape at Homer Lake Forest Preserve. When completed, the playscape will include a sand play area, tumbling creek, hill slide, log, boulder and stump-jumping area, human-sized bird house, a large horizontal climbing tree, tallgrass maze, spider web climber and more.

According to the forest preserve district, there are many benefits to natural playscapes, including:

A foundation for environmental stewardship
More creative play
Improved motor coordination
Enhanced emotional coping and reduced stress
Increased concentration and impulse control
Reduced symptoms of ADD and ADHD
More environmentally conscious attitudes and behaviors in adulthood

I decided to do some on-site research and took my girls out there to play in the new playscape, which is under construction. (Well, I might be criminally implicating myself here, but, yes, we walked right around the big barricades saying “authorized personnel only” and enjoyed ourselves for an hour or so.) Because this is area is still being built, we were only able to admire the stream (built but not filled with water yet), play for a lengthy amount of time on the grandfather tree, and jump off boulders, which my youngest particularly enjoyed. My kids climbed on the tree just as they would have on any other monkey bars or climbing structure. They played for a long time and did not seem to get bored with the tree, as I anticipated.

As for me, I can say that I did seem more at peace enjoying my girls play at the natural playscape (besides the fear of getting caught by a ranger every time I heard a car drive by). I think it was just the joy of being in at the park environment and enjoying nature that took the edge off and allowed us to enjoy playing as a family.

When we left, my daughter asked, “Now can we go to the real playground?” I laughed and said, “Honey, that was the real playground — nature’s playground.” I think the hope behind this concept is for playscapes to become the real playground to children.

About half of the primary structures are developed and in place so far, and areas like the sand play area, tallgrass maze, human-size spider web, and others still need to be added to the existing play area. The exact timeline for completion has not been set, but spring 2012 is the latest the playscape will open, according to the Pam Leiter, Coordinator of Environmental Education & Interpretation with the Champaign County Forest Preserve District. Leiter noted that work would continue throughout the winter months as permitted, and portions of the playscape might be open sooner while construction is still in progress.

I hope to see everyone there!

Daniele (Cox) Frerichs is the proud mother of two beautiful girls: Lyla, 3, and Isabella, 1. She and her husband, Bruce, have been married for five years. Frerichs grew up outside of Rantoul, has lived within a 30-mile radius of Chambana her entire life, and now calls Royal home. She was educated at and now works full time for the University of Illinois.

Top Five: Places to See Fall Colors

Laura Weisskopf Bleill — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:34:37 +0000

The calendar has officially landed in October, with summer just a fading memory for most of us. It’s time to get our autumn-colored glasses on and enjoy the beautiful weather and scenery in East Central Illinois.

The changing leaves set Busey Woods ablaze with color. Credit: Flickr, bradipo

While we’re not the rolling hills of Vermont, the Champaign-Urbana area boasts several great sites to see the beauty of nature’s changing palette. Here are the editors’ Top Five places to see fall colors, with a bonus sixth site for your family’s optimum viewing pleasure.

Meadowbrook Park, Urbana. Located just off Windsor Road, Meadowbrook offers not only a fantastic playground for the kids and a sculpture garden, it also offers access to old-growth trees and flower gardens where you can see how fall affects not only trees but other plants, as well.
Busey Woods, Urbana. Connected to the Anita Purves Nature Center, Busey Woods is one of the best places within the Champaign-Urbana city limits to see a wide variety of nature. Take a walk on the boardwalk (stroller/wheelchair accessible!)
Allerton Park, Monticello. A favorite spot no matter what the season, Allerton Park offers a splendid array of flora and fauna in all its fall glory. Plan to spend a significant amount of time here, and maybe even bring a picnic lunch. A great idea for a date with your honey, as well as for exploring with kids in tow.
Monticello Railway Museum train. You can get up-close and personal along the route from the depot to the downtown station, and you can see the scenery from a distance in the clearings. It’s a beautiful way to get fresh air and a little history. If you’re there Oct. 22, 23, 28, 29 or 30, be sure to check out the Ghost Train for a little spooky with your scenery.
Champaign County Forest Preserve District. These pieces of prairie and wild woods are right under our noses and over our heads. With five sites to choose from — Lake of the Woods, River Bend, Sangamon River, Homer Lake and Middle Fork River — there just has to be something near you. Each preserve offers educational activities and opportunities, nature walks, bird-watching, fishing and more for people of all abilities. Oh yeah, don’t forget the golden, warm hues on more trees than you can shake a proverbial stick at.
University of Illinois campus. Few things say “college” like the changing colors on campus in the fall. Take a stroll on the Main Quad, or walk down Lincoln Avenue to the Arboretum, which is full of a variety of trees on its 160-acre footprint.

Where else do you like to see fall colors this time of year?

Family Game Night: Forbidden Island, Pandemic

From The Editors — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 03:39:50 +0000

By Jeff Dougan

This week we’ll look at two games by the same designer and sometimes thought of as being sibling games. The overall gameplay is so similar that, once you know one of these games, learning the other is a matter of looking for the variations. The “little brother” game is Forbidden Island; its “big brother” is Pandemic, both designed by Matt Leacock. Both games are multiple-award winners, too.

The details:

Forbidden Island

Not in the Urbana Public Library collection
Plays 2-4
Publisher’s suggested ages: 10+ (It’s easily learned by younger players; see notes below.)
Purchasable at any of the locations previously recommended. Current suggested retail price $17.95.

Pandemic

In the Urbana Public Library collection
Plays 2-4
Publisher’s suggested ages: 10+
Purchasable at any of the locations previously recommended. Current suggested retail price $34.99.

Forbidden Island and Pandemic are both part of a genre of hobby games known as “cooperative games,” in which the players either all win together or all lose. A different way of phrasing this is that all the players are playing against the game, an effort that will require the players to work together.

As cooperative games, you’d naturally expect cooperation to be high on the list of skills these games can encourage, and it is. They also are excellent at helping to develop the skills of problem solving, logical/strategic thinking, and balancing risks and rewards.

Forbidden Island. Credit: AnnArbor.com, Mike Hulsebus

The “story” of Forbidden Island is that the players represent adventurers who are trying to salvage four treasures from an island before it sinks around them. During a turn, a player can take a limited number of actions, chosen from the following:

Move around the island
“Shore up” one nearby part of the island that is already beginning to sink
Give resources to another player in the same space, or
Trade in a matching set to recover one of the treasures.

To help them in this endeavor, each player will have a unique ability that makes it easier for them to perform one of the tasks above. For example, some players may be able to move in ways not accessible to the other players, or have an easier time moving cards to another player’s hand.

After a player has moved, the island continues to sink. At various points in the game, randomly determined as the treasure cards are drawn, the waters will begin to come onto the island faster and may wash away parts of the island that are already underwater. Should the players recover all four treasures, they then need to return to the helicopter landing site and use a particular card to escape the island. If, at any point during the game, it becomes impossible to recover one of the treasures, if the helicopter landing site is washed away, or if one of the players is on a washed away part of the island and can’t escape, all the players lose.

In Forbidden Island, a player’s cards are always on the table in front of them, so that all the players can discuss possible courses of action and what might happen. This really helps when trying to teach a new player, especially a younger new player, about how the game works and the need to work together. It can also allow a more experienced player to “prompt” somebody if it’s OK to use a card out of turn to help everybody else.

Pandemic. Credit: Boardgamegeek.com, DancerinDC

In Pandemic, the “story” of the game is trying to save the world from several simultaneous outbreaks of disease-causing viruses. The fundamental gameplay is similar, although the board is larger and therefore harder to move around, there are one or two additional options for how to spend one’s turn, and (most importantly) the cards a player holds are not placed face-up in front of them. Further, players are only allowed to talk about their cards in general terms; they could say that they could contribute to fighting the blue disease, but not that they have three blue cards, for example. When combined with rules for the diseases spreading on their own, it makes the game more challenging, and, therefore, not as suitable for playing with younger players.

Although both games have suggested ages from their publishers of 10 years and older, I’ve got direct experience that Forbidden Island is pretty easily learned by younger players, if not totally mastered. The Grasshopper really likes the game and can mostly run his own turns. (I’ll sometimes ask him why he did something or suggest that he take actions in a slightly different order.) Forbidden Island normally plays pretty easily in half an hour or so, and during the very hot last part of the summer, we would play at least twice a day and sometime as many as four times.

The gameplay in Pandemic is more strategic, and it’s my opinion that the Grasshopper isn’t ready to handle it yet. From when I’ve gotten to play Pandemic with other adults, it tends to clock in around an hour or an hour and 15 minutes.

Check it out

I mentioned in my first column, the Urbana Free Library has a monthly game event on the second Saturday of the month. This month’s is tomorrow, Sept. 10. They will block off the glassed-in area next to the new books from 2 to 6 p.m., with the entirety of the collection brought down along with whatever else people bring to play.

I’ll have my copy of Forbidden Island with me; the other games I’ve written about so far are already part of the library’s collection.

Almost everybody there is happy to help teach things to new players. Come join us!

Jeff Dougan is a scientist-turned-teacher-turned-full-time dad to the Grasshopper, 5, and the Munchkin, 15 months. A lifelong gamer, he’s always willing to teach a new game to anybody, and equally willing to learn a new game almost anytime.

Family Game Night: Carcassonne

From The Editors — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 02:10:51 +0000

By Jeff Dougan

At the Urbana Free Library’s adult reference desk you’ll find a handout that details the library’s game collection. Information includes terms of checkout, fines, and a list of the games currently in the collection.

For readers who aren’t familiar with hobby games but are interested in getting started, I’d like to introduce you to some of the games in the library’s collection, beginning with Carcassonne.

Carcassonne, available at local retailers or the Urbana Free Library, is a great game to start if you're interested in hobby games. Credit: Rio Grande Games

The details:

In the library’s collection
Plays 2-5 players as sold, can support more with expansions (sold separately)
Publisher’s suggested ages: 8+ (see notes below)
Purchasable at any of the locations previously recommended. Current suggested retail price $29.95.

Carcassonne is named after a city in southern France that is a real-life tourist attraction for its various Roman and medieval cities and abbeys. Carcassonne is a domino-like game in which the players build up the countryside while trying to control various features such as castles, roads and abbeys. It plays from 2-5 players as is, and can be played by itself or with any combination of expansion sets. Although the publisher suggests that it be played by ages 8 and up, they include a simplified version of the rules that I used to teach it to my son, the Grasshopper, last summer, and I know of several people who have taught their children as young as 6 to play with almost the full scoring rules. Playing with only the original game, it takes between 45 minutes and an hour to play; play time for a single game increases as you add expansion sets to the mix.

There are two reasons that parents have successfully taught young children to play this game, and they contribute to why I chose Carcassonne as the first game from the library collection to get an in-depth look. One reason is that, aside from one person needing to read the rules in order to teach it, there is no reading ability needed to play the game. The other is that, by using expansion sets (or not), you can make the game more or less challenging, and can also make it more directly competitive.

Credit: boardgamegeek user Mecandes

Because a player draws a random tile each turn, even fairly young kids still have a decent chance to win the game as long as a scoring system is used that’s age-appropriate. The Grasshopper likes the pictorial nature of the tiles, which helps determine legal plays (although it’s sometimes easy for him to accidentally try to match an all-grass side against a road). Even more, though, he likes playing with the wooden person-shaped pieces, nicknamed “meeples” in the gamer community.

Carcassonne has roughly a dozen expansion sets, all of which add tiles and new rules, and most of which add some kind of playing piece or another. Adding more tiles makes an individual game last longer, and the new rules can sometimes help add an element of long-term planning to a game that otherwise has a very one-turn-at-a-time nature. Some of the expansion sets include rules that make the game more directly competitive, where in the original game there’s less room for player-to-player aggression.

Carcassonne makes an excellent introduction to hobby games as a relatively inexpensive, kid-friendly game that doesn’t demand lots of in-game thinking. I encourage people to try it out, either at an open board gaming event or by taking the plunge and buying it.

Tumble Time: Go Head Over Heels For Gymnastics

From The Editors — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 02:37:37 +0000

By Daniele Frerichs

While my children are too young to participate in school sports programs, we as a family have found an alternative to get our girls active and involved at a young age, and that is gymnastics. We have discovered that enrolling our girls in gymnastics has taught them stretching and tumbling skills, trampoline skills, social skills, class routine, and has put some pure fun to their young lives.

Whether your children are younger or you have a school-age child looking for a sport to participate in, I encourage you to explore the possibilities in gymnastics.

Gymnastics has exercise AND funn! What more could you ask for? Credit: Flickr, msburrows

Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, balance, grace and passion. If you were glued to your television during the last Summer Olympics watching the gymnastics events, you have a good idea of the sport. Primary events include floor (tumbling), bars, balance beam, vault, rings and pommel horse. Trampolines are also very common in gymnastics training.

I was a competitive gymnast growing up, and when I ran into my old coach one day, I knew I wanted my girls to start gymnastics as soon as they could. Some gyms start children as young at 15 months old, and most gyms continue programs through high-school age.

Despite common assumptions, gymnastics is not just for girls! Girls and boys of all ages are involved in gymnastics at all levels. Gymnastics training is also highly encouraged by many cheerleading programs in the area to improve tumbling skills.

There are several gyms in the Chambana area to consider if the sport of gymnastics interests you and your children. Check out the information and websites below for programs, class times, pricing, and even birthday parties. Be sure to ask about free trial class to try out the gym.

Little Gym of Champaign
1333 Savoy Plaza Lane, Suite 6, Savoy
(217) 352-5500

Champaign County YMCA
707 N. Country Fair Drive, Champaign
359-YMCA

Irish’s Gymnastics
1714 E. Grove Ave., Rantoul
(217) 893-4085

I-Power School of Gymnastics
215 S. Staley Road, Champaign
(217) 359-3081

Top Star Training Center
1708 W. Hensley Road
(217) 378-5058

Head to Heel To Toe for Back-to-School Shoe Shopping

Top Five: Places to See Animals in Champaign-Urbana

From The Editors — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 04:35:03 +0000

When it comes to family entertainment, it’s obvious that one of the things that Champaign-Urbana lacks is a zoo. While you won’t find any major wild animal exhibits locally, we’ve got the lowdown on some places you can get your animal fix — domestic, farm, or even a few wild ones.

Watching the (wild) ducks at Champaign's Prairie Farm. Chambanamoms.com photo

Champaign Park District’s Prairie Farm: Open between Memorial Day and Aug. 14 (this year), this “farm” has been a favorite destination of Champaign-Urbana children for decades. Here you can see typical farm animals including sheep, cows, horses, chickens, goats, and pigs, but you can also see a few other less common varieties such as llamas, a peacock, and some turkeys. My kids love the small horses. There is a petting area open daily from 3 to 5 p.m.; remember closed-toed shoes for kids (and grown-ups too if you want to go in). Open daily from noon to 7 p.m, free.

Champaign County Humane Society: The creative caretakers at the Champaign County Humane Society have put a new twist on life for shelter cats, allowing them to cohabitate in one of several cat rooms. Outside of the cat trees and toys, the rooms look like any living room might, and are designed to socialize the animals and give them a better shot at finding a home. And if you ARE interested in adopting and aren’t just coming in for a snuggle – which is totally acceptable – take part in their Free Over Three program, where all mature cats three years of age and older can be adopted for just a donation to the Kitty Wish List.

Anita Purves Nature Center and Busey Woods. You won’t just SEE animals at the Anita Purves Nature Center, you’ll get hands-on with them and their surroundings. Bees, turtles, snakes, deer and the two resident screech owls at the center are just the beginning. Take a walk on Busey Woods’ 2.5 miles of trails and boardwalk or hang out in the observation areas and you’re bound to interact with an animal in its natural habitat. Free. (**Come see us at Anita Purves for a special edition of the Urbana Park District Neighborhood Nights, a family-friendly show by the Duke of Uke – Wednesday, Aug. 3 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.!)

Orpheum Children’s Science Museum: We love to visit our cold-blooded pals at the Orpheum. The downtown Champaign museum has an assortment of insects, reptiles and amphibians, including snakes, turtles, lizards and iguanas. The staff is happy to answer questions about them and sometimes take them out for educational purposes.

Area pet stores: One of our favorite winter pastimes — or to break up the monotony of running errands — is to stop into one of the pet stores in Champaign and Urbana (any place that doesn’t sell cats or dogs). One place we go regularly is Pet Supplies Plus in Champaign, which often has ferrets, a variety of birds, gerbils and hamsters, lizards and turtles, and a huge assortment of fish. Even Meijer and Wal-Mart have pet fish for sale, a great aisle to visit when the kids need a distraction from shopping.

What did we miss? Where do you like to go locally to see four-legged, feathered, or cold-blooded animals?

C-U Essential Toolkit: Curtis Orchard

Aubrie Williams — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 02:11:50 +0000

Editor’s Note: This entry to the C-U Essential Toolk it has been sponsored by the generosity of Dr. David P. Wickness, D.M.D.

What: Curtis Orchard

Where: 3902 S. Duncan Road, Champaign. Head west through Champaign on Springfield or Kirby avenues and turn south. Keep going, past Windsor Road, until you see the giant hay bales on the left. If you’re coming from I-57, take the aptly named Curtis Road exit (between University Avenue exit on the north and Monticello/Savoy exits to the south).

Escape the Wicked Witch of the West or just go pumpkin picking from the comfort of your own Radio Flyer at Curtis Orchard in Champaign. Credit: Flickr, Crystl

Hours And Cost: Curtis Orchard is open between July 20 and Dec. 20. From July to October, their hours are Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. In November and December, hours are Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Description: Follow the yellow brick road down to a Wizard of Oz extravaganza! Apples – and all kinds of produce – are a big deal at Curtis Orchard. Catch a ride on a tractor through the orchard or walk down the rows, reach up and pick from more than 25 different varieties of apples. During late fall the pumpkin patch is where it’s at, and you can U-pick ‘til your heart’s content. The bakery and shops have all manner of goodies, made on site (apple donuts, anyone!) at The Flying Monkey Café (open from Aug. 20 to Oct. 30) or brought in. And that’s just the food! Activities abound outside the main building, including a petting zoo, corn maze, pony rides, face painting and more. There is also a covered area for private parties, and special private tours of the grounds are available to groups.

Good For: Activities for the kids, food for the parents – it’s fun for all ages!

Aubrie’s Take: From pumpkin picking in the fall to the Christmas tree selection process in December, this place very easily becomes a family tradition — as it is for the Curtis and Graham families that run the business. Inside, the Flying Monkey Café gives you the chance to treat yourself to some treats, ranging from things you could probably bring from home (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches) to their signature apple donuts, all washed down with an apple cider – out of an apple-shaped sippy, if you prefer. Outside, don’t miss the goat walk (with a chance to feed them, if you enjoy getting licked) and the barn slide, all big draws for the kiddos in our family. There’s also a separate, fenced playground with Little Tykes slides and houses, just right for the toddler set. In October, grab a Radio Flyer and get some gourds, either in the patch – which feels like it goes on for miles – or at the door.

Curtis Orchards is enough on-the-farm fun to make you forget all about the “big city” on the other side of the fence.

Tell us why you love Curtis Orchard!

Aubrie Williams is an all-around journalist, Chambanamoms managing editor, and University of Illinois graduate who is happy to have gotten “stuck” in Champaign-Urbana. She is the doting mother of three daughters, dutiful wife of one lucky husband, and loving caretaker to two cats and one insanely messy house. And, despite the fact that she is in her 30s, she is not afraid to admit that she has enjoyed a frosty apple sippy a time or two while visiting Curtis Orchard.

Wheels In Motion: Family-Friendly Bike Paths in C-U

From The Editors — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:55:29 +0000

By Daniele Frerichs

Summer is upon us and there is no better time to get out and enjoy all the beautiful bike paths in C-U that helped Urbana earn the title of “Bicycle Friendly Community” by the League of American Bicyclists. I would like to highlight a few of the bike paths, which are, in my opinion, kid friendly and ideal for a family ride.

To start, let’s take a ride through Urbana’s Meadowbrook Park (A). This park is located on Windsor in South Urbana and contains 3-plus miles of paved bike trails for your enjoyment. This park is centered on families and on any given day you will see kids of all ages out enjoying this paved bike path. After a leisurely ride around this picturesque park, take short break for a picnic lunch on the lawn and then head on west on Windsor. Windsor has bike lanes all the way down to First Street where you can turn and head down more paved bike lanes into the south of the Research Park at the University of Illinois (B).

Take a quick spin along the bike path through the Research Park and enjoy some the art and flowers along this brand new bike path as you this loop is just over a mile in length. Continue on from the south of Research Park (St. Mary’s Road) to Boulware trail just across Neil Street on Devonshire Drive. This will be approximately half of a mile of unmarked bike paths and you will have to cross a busy intersection of Neil Street and Fox Drive/St. Mary’s Road; please proceed with caution.

Follow the 1-mile Boulware Trail (C) and enjoy the ponds and wildlife you encounter along the way. Boulware Trail is located directly behind the business district on Fox Drive and is a paved path perfect for biking and is family-friendly. Boulware Trail itself ends after a mile but yet continues and becomes Mattis Park Trail as you cross Devonshire (D).

A continuous bike trail allows you will wind though this beautiful park in the heart of Champaign’s southern business district. This trail is approximately two miles in length if you wind about in the various trails in this park. I am sure kids are wearing down at this point and an ice cream break might be needed. Head back up Boulware Trail and continue up the sidewalks on Valley Road to a brief stop at Custard Cup for a little reward after the hard ride thus far.

After this brief break, we continue on to our final stretch by crossing the street to Hessel Park (E). Finish your bike tour by this 1-mile ride around Hessel Park and feel free to stop and play at the wonderful playground after all the riding is done! Even if you don’t ride this route described above, I encourage you to get out with your family this week and try out one of these bike paths at any of these beautiful parks in C-U.

It is bound to be as much fun for all us moms out there as it is for the kids! See a map of this course below and highlighted is the paved bike paths!

Credit: GoogleMaps

Daniele (Cox) Frerichs is the proud mother of two beautiful girls: Lyla, 3, and Isabella, 1. She and her husband, Bruce, have been married for five years. Frerichs grew up outside of Rantoul, has lived within a 30-miles radius of Chambana her entire life, and now calls Royal home. She was educated at and now works full time for the University of Illinois.

Weekend Planner: Fun and Games Edition

From The Editors — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 00:42:48 +0000

Get your game on. Credit: A.A., Flickr

There’s so much to do in Champaign-Urbana in the summertime that it gets hard to choose what we should share! But never fear — we have a few hand-picked events and activities that are sure to help your family keep busy this weekend.

What: Second Saturday Board Games
Where: Urbana Free Library
When: 2 to 6 p.m., Saturday, July 9
How Much: Free
Good for: Preschool and up
Why You Should Go: The Urbana Free Library has a terrific collection of games both familiar and new. You can easily spend a few hours in the (air-conditioned!) UFL playing games like backgammon or new games you might never have even heard of. Library staff are on hand the help with directions or even demonstrate how to play.

What: Spurlock Museum Birthday Party
Where: Spurlock Museum, Urbana
When: 12 to 4 p.m., Saturday, July 9
How Much: Free
Good For: All ages
Why You Should Go: Birthday cake, crafts and music, oh my! There’s fun of all kinds to be had at this celebration at the Spurlock Museum, located on the University of Illinois campus. You will also enjoy the new exhibit, “Warriors, Guardians and Demons,” located in the Campbell Lobby.

What: Vermillion County Fair
Where: Vermillion County Fairgrounds, 1/4 mile West of Interstate 74 at exit 210, Danville
When: Carnival opens at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, July 9 and 10
How Much: Admission is free, armbands and ride tickets available for purchase
Good For: All ages
Why You Should Go: Who doesn’t love a good county fair? Rides, fried food and events like the demolition derby are sure to please everyone.

What: Historic Farm Days
Where: Penfield, Illinois
When: Saturday and Sunday, July 9 and 10
How Much: $10 per person, kids age 12 and under are free
Good For: All ages
Why You Should Go: A daily parade, live music and tractor pulls are just a few of the fun activities your family can enjoy.

Options For Family Game Night In Champaign-Urbana

From The Editors — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:00:20 +0000

Courtesy of Jeff Dougan

by Jeff Dougan

How much does it cost to take your family to the movies? At least around here, even for a matinee, a family of four is looking at about $25 before concessions. That gives you about two hours of entertainment before you’re done. If you add in even a modest amount of concessions, you’re looking at closer to $40, maybe more.

I’d like to suggest something to you that for about the same price will get you many, many hours of entertainment.

My name’s Jeff, and I’m a gamer. Board games, card games, role-playing games, I grew up playing all kinds of games, and I want to introduce you to a world of games you probably never heard of.

Did you know there are games that can keep you involved even when it isn’t your turn, that can be more involved than “roll/draw and move” but less involved than chess, and can even help out with some academic kinds of skills like math and critical thinking without making it obvious that’s what’s happening? If not, follow me and welcome to the wonderful world of what I describe as hobby games. (Other people sometimes use different terms, of which the most common are either “German” or “family strategy” games.)

Hobby games, why do I love thee? A proper selection can cover many age ranges. They have predictable playing times, usually ranging from 30 to 90 minutes. They have a mix between pure skill and pure luck that rewards knowing the game but still gives new players a chance to win. They let you exercise parts of your brain that you probably don’t use often — and have fun doing it. They have good-quality components, often heavier cardboard boards and wooden pieces. Even better, you can check them out from the library!

That’s right! Regular chambanamoms readers might be familiar with the Urbana Free Library’s Second Saturday Board Games event, started last November by adult reference librarian Brian Looker. It regularly shows up on the library’s Children’s Department calendar in addition to the normal calendar for adult events, and has been part of the Weekend Planner. Until mid-June, the game collection supporting the Second Saturday events was non-circulating but available in the library. It’s now possible to check them out from the adult reference desk in addition to playing them on Saturdays.

The Champaign-Urbana area is also fortunate enough to have two dedicated game stores:

The Dragon’s Table is located at 205 N. Market St. in Champaign (just north of the rail/bus terminal). They’ve generally got a good selection of in-stock merchandise, a very large room with tables to play on, and a program where they will reward $100 of cumulative purchases with $5 store credit. They have a weekly board game event on Saturday nights, beginning at 6 pm.
Armored Gopher Games is located at 1502 N. Cunningham in the Northgate shopping center. Although Armored Gopher Games is smaller than the Dragon’s Table, the store owner offers excellent customer service and is my choice of referral to people new to hobby games. He knows both my kids by name, learning the Grasshopper’s name after meeting him no more than twice. Moreover, he consistently greets either or both kids by name if I bring them along when I go in, and will ask about them if I’m solo. Armored Gopher runs a board game event every Sunday night, from 4:30 p.m. until the store close. Game Publisher Z-Man Games has a local demo rep who will run events there occasionally, and I even volunteer to run Worldwide D&D Game Day events for him.

Chambanamoms readers closer to Bloomington (if there are any) may instead want to visit Gryfalia’s Aerie at 309 N. Main St. I’ve not ever had the chance to shop there, but Armored Gopher’s owner has a lot of respect for their owner.