A large family, homeschooling, adoption, special needs, whatever strikes my fancy, sort of blog.

A large family, homeschooling, adoption, special needs, whatever strikes my fancy, sort of blog.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Our Visit to Safetyville, USA


Our church recently celebrated it's 14th birthday by renting Safetyville, USA for a family fun day.


What is Safetyville?  Well, aside from having the cutest mini dumpsters in the world, Safetyville is a miniature city, designed to teach kids about safety in a variety of locations and situations.


Some of the mini buildings are local landmarks, like the state capitol.


Some of them are the sort of buildings you would find in any town, like McDonald's, or the Fire Department.  On a tour, guides stop at various places and explain safety information relevant to that location.  This was not a tour day, but we were here for a field trip several years ago.


This is a replica of Shriners Hospital, where Hannah and Katie receive care.


And even the mini debris boxes (next to the faux construction site) are cute and realistic.


This day was more of a "fun on wheels" day, and many families brought bikes, scooters, Heelys, etc.  Katie poached this cute little bike from another child when we first arrived, and really enjoyed it.  It did make me notice, however, how she holds her feet when she scoots herself along, and I'm guessing a trip to the physical therapy department at Shriners would do her some good.


As you can see, it was a gorgeous day.  It got up to 79*.


That's Eli on the bike.


And Jack on the swing car.


I sat Lukey in the grass for the sensory experience.  I rubbed his hand along it, but he wasn't interested.  He sat in the sun and rocked for a while.


It's hard to tell how much he sees or takes in or understands, but he was quiet for about an hour.


Have I mentioned that Katie really loved the bike?  We have a couple pink things she can ride on.  I guess it's time to get those out and let her loose on them.  We haven't done much "bikes out front" play with the little girls yet, because everything we've tried for Hannah has been a flop.  I had such high hopes for the Big Wheel she got for her birthday, and it just hasn't worked out for her.  


Speaking of birthdays, since it was the church's birthday, there was CAKE.  Hannah was the only one I got a picture of enjoying the cake.  I was busy feeding cake to Katie and Luke, and I didn't even see the other kids with their cake.  Having older kids is really nice, because they are low maintenance (bug HIGH quantity) in the feeding department.  


After cake, it was back to the bike.


Notice the helmet in her hand?  Helpful, right?  


Luke did not want to be done with cake.  He's hitting himself in the head.


Hannah tried out Jack's swing car.  She liked it, and could propel herself forward, but her leg kept falling off the side of it.  I'm tempted to look into those battery powered kid cars for her.  I swore my kids would never have one because they're so expensive, and kids get great exercise riding their outdoor toys, but I think I might make an exception for her so she can wheel around out front with the big kids.  She's got a birthday next month...  


Brianna and Katie on the skateboard.


This was a fun place to visit, and would make a great field trip, if you're local to or visiting the Sacramento area.  


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10 comments:

  1. Check walmart! My in laws got 2 for my kids for under 300 total I was shocked

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    1. Thanks for the tip! I was poking around Amazon earlier. I'll have to check WM, too. :)

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  2. There are straps for pedals to help keep feet on. It took forever for my 10 year old to figure out how to pedal. She could balance a two wheeler for over a year before she could pedal one. A standard tricycle was what worked best, plus her foot braces. Something about the angle of the pedals on a trike.

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    1. The folks at Shriners assure me that there are people who build special bikes for kids with prosthetics, but I just can't afford a custom bike. The combination of half an arm and an above knee prosthetic makes a regular bike impossible.

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  3. How fun! We have a small place called "Safety Town" but they have a very narrow age range because they have small cars to drive around too...so my kids have never been.

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    1. That sounds fun, too. It's hard when you have a variety of ages, to find things to do that work for everyone.

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  4. What a neat place! Thanks for sharing at FTF!

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  5. Thanks for sharing this at The Homeschool Post. I'm posting it to our Facebook page today. :)

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