Community Corner

Give the Kids Something to Do Over Spring Break

Perhaps these ideas will help keep your children occupied and happy despite not traveling during the break from school.

It's not even been one full day of Spring Break for Fulton County Schools. Are your kids bugging you yet? Are they already saying "There's nothing to do"?

Here at Patch we mean to help, and will use this chance to give you some ideas of places they can go and things they can do if your family didn't head out of town for a vacation.

Do you have another, or even a better, idea? Add it to the comments below.

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Hike, bike or roll on the Greenway: There's miles and miles and miles of Greenway, especially now that Alpharetta's system ties into Roswell's trail system. If the kids are young, you'll have to stick with them every step of the way. But if they are responsible high school students, the last thing they probably want is you hanging around them. So grab their bikes and drop a group of them off at one end of the Greenway and tell them you'll pick them up at the other. If they are on rollerblades or on foot, you might make it just the next major entrance to the trail. Free.

Hunger Games: Yes, they've probably already seen this movie. But many of them would be happy to see it, or another age-appropriate movie again. Get them to the earlier showings of the movie so you can save the most money on tickets. Check out showtimes at or . Inexpensive at certain showtimes.

Find out what's happening in Roswellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Visit a City Park: Perfect place to take the young ones as the site lines are almost perfect so you can always see your child anywhere in the mini-park. Check with the for any special activities scheduled this week. Bring along some snacks and water or juice, and have some fun. Free

Volunteer: Perhaps your church, synagogue or temple has some activity in which your children can lend a hand. And while really can't have lots of children trying to help at its facilities, the kids might be able to hold a fund raisers, food drive or push for other supplies needed at the charitable organization. Free, except for what you donate.

Shhh! We're going to the library!: Most of the library branches in the Alpharetta area have regular programs this week for the younger kids. But there's plenty of books, magazines and even movies for children of all ages. There's the on Norcross Street, the on Mayfield, on Abbotts Bridge Road and the off Spruill Road. Free.

It's Fun to Stay at the YMCA: Are you a member of the ? It's a great place for the family, and it has a teen center, too. If you belong to one of the bigger fitness clubs, such as Readers' Choice 2012 winner or , there's much more to do than just climb on exercise equipment. But make sure these visits are supervised. Free for members.

: Your kids can have lots of fun while - and make sure you keep this part a secret - they learn something about the natural world. There's just enough native animals including beavers, owls, hawks and eagles to keep the kids enthralled. Short and long hikes are available. Plus, Camp Kingfisher is in session all this week, so you might check for vacancies for your child to enjoy. Inexpensive with a family pass.

: Who doesn't like racing around city streets, cutting corners and just keeping your vehicle barely under control as you make hairpin turns? OK, so that's a bad idea in the neighborhood. But here it's all part of the fun. As long as your child is at least 8 years old and 4 feet tall, there's a track waiting. The younger set races on the Jr. Track, while those kids 16 and older with a valid driver's license can race on the adult track. There's also video games, a rock wall, a ropes course, billiards, bowling and basketball. Pricey, so get together with friends and call about group pricing.

: If you must drop them off at the mall, how about giving them a list of items you want priced to compare with other stores? There's always the chance seeing the prices for clothing or other goods will make them think twice about asking for so much stuff. (Nah, I didn't think that would work, either, and I don't have kids.) To the retailers' chagrin, inexpensive just to look.


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