KidShow–Great Lakes Mall

Yesterday, I happen to see the KidShow at Great Lakes Mall mentioned somewhere on the web.  I looked up a bit of information and decided it would be fun.  Today, Stephen, the kids and I headed to the mall and arrived at 10AM.  I always like to go early since the crowds aren’t as bad and our kids are at their prime.  The KidShow is basically a collection of many kid oriented vendors with tables of activities and information.  There was also a main stage with entertainment.

We went in through the main entrance and made it as far as the cars that you put money in before they wanted to stop.  We talked them into just a quick try since the cars would always be there.  We never put money in the cars.  They still have fun!  Our first official stop was the Step 2 booth.  They had a play area set up and since we arrived early, there wasn’t a crowd yet.

One of my favorite stops was for Widening World preschool.  We have other preschool plans for the kids, but this was an awesome booth.  It was inviting.  They had trucks and vehicles on the floor, recipes and literature on the tables, photos on the display boards, a tribute to Eric Carle with books and stuffed animals and a few awesome activity bins.  Nick and Sally were enjoying this one for play dough.  I picked up a recipe for homemade sidewalk chalk.  I can’t wait to make it with the kids this summer.

Many of the booths had crafts and coloring.  Here Sally is making a book mark.  As we wondered, we ran into various characters.  Nick and Sally are pictures with a rhino here.

Another favorite booth was for the local boy scouts.  They brought a display that included pinewood derby cars.  Since Stephen and I were both involved with scouts, it was fun to see Nick interested.  They picked out cars to race and eagerly watched for the finish.

The Cleveland Children’s Museum brought these blocks for the kids.  Nick and Sally had fun playing with them.  The people at the booth challenged them to go through the tunnels.  Sally went through just fine.  Then Nick decided to add a block and then try.

Surprise!  He knocked them all down.

We finished with a couple of temporary tattoos before leaving their booth.  We took a break for lunch at Subway in the food court.

After lunch, we finished with Nick’s two favorite activities.  The Great Lakes Science Center brought along a line following robot.  Nick loved it.  He would have played with it all day.

Our last stop was the Lake Captains booth where Nick and Sally had the opportunity to swing a plastic bat.

To our surprise, Nick hit the first 3 balls in a row!

We ended up staying at the KidShow for 3 hours.  We had fun and were exhausted when we left.  The show is in its 14th year and runs through Sunday, March 25th.