Free Skate. Well, Almost Free, at the Kettler Capitals Ice Complex

Arlington sponsors a public skate time on Tuesdays, for $1, including skate rental. Such a great deal I just added our hand-me-down skates to the Goodwill pile.  For the summer of 2009, these sessions will be from 5:00-6:00 on Tuesdays.  Ice skating is a creative way to cool off.  If you grab a coffee, beer, or chocolate milk from the snack bar, keep an eye out for Caps players, past, present and future. This complex is their practice facility.  A parking discount is offered for skaters, or take the metro to Ballston.

http://www.kettlercapitalsiceplex.com/

If Grandma is paying, look into the Learn To Skate programs, including Mom/Dad and me class.  Price for 7 sessions is around $185, and includes passes to use the rink during the week.

No Ticket Thursdays: The Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage

At 6 p.m. each evening, The Kennedy Center hosts free performances for the public.  From Bluegrass, to Afro-Cuban Rhythms, introduce your children to new beats and sounds. Great opportunities for movement, and dance.  Inspire your future musician or cultural anthropologist to clap along, people watch, and appreciate all the area has to offer.  Take the metro to Foggy Bottom and take the shuttle over, or park under the building on rainy days.  http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/schedule.html

If Grandma is paying, check out National Symphony Orchestra's Teddy Bear Concerts, for children around age 3 and up, which last about 45 minutes. Tickets sell for $18 a few times a year. Bring your own bear.

Wammie-Winner Wednesdays

When I downshifted to a 3-day work week, after my second child turned 1, a friend asked me if I really chose Wednesday as a day off JUST so I could still go to Jammin' Java in Vienna to see this trio of modern-day School House Rockers.  Yes. Yes I did.  Especially with a newborn, the access to coffee, a chair, and something adults and kids find funny is very precious.  Lyrics to songs include "I wish we had the metric system, but we don't so we'll have to use the other one," "Gotta get up, get outta my jams, I'm gonna yawn and stretch and flex my little gams", and "Chow dogs have pink tongues and that's a fact."  

If you visit most Wednesday mornings, you pay for children over 1 for a $5 cover charge, but feel cooler than you would at Chuck E. Cheese, because you just brought your baby to a club.  The adult with the child, or children, is free.  Kids rule the dance floor and anxious parents sit "criss, cross, applesauce" nearby, or in chairs lined up for the performance.  

If Grandma is paying, shirts, CDs, and "shaky eggs" are sold, but resourceful nannies have recycled Easter toys for this purpose.  

There also many opportunities to attend a Family Happy Hour, which costs a bit more, but you get a free juice box with every grown up drink.  I had birthday party (#37) during one, since cover charge for all of us was cheaper than a night of babysitting.  Donations went to pediatric cancer research.

http://www.rocknoceros.com/shows

Toddler Tuesday

The only thing better than a movie for a dollar is a free movie! While the time on this one may inspire more than one abused sick day, isn't calling in for your mental (and financial) health, a worthwhile endeavor? 
Regal cinemas offer great films for kids on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and call it the Family Film Festival. These may not be the opening weekend of Harry Potter, but you may find it fun to let the fruit punch spill on a different floor as you rediscover Horton Hears a Who or Madagascar 2. Lots of parking at the Potomac Yards location, and you can check out the sales rack The Children's Place or Old Navy afterwards.

http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/familyfilmfestivalschedule.aspx?state=VA

If Grandma is paying, there are 3D movies, as well, priced at about $9 for children and about $11 for adults.  

Mondays at the Movies

Being a parent means that the adventures of Disney/Pixar characters are often part of the table talk. While I confess that I saw Madagascar and Finding Nemo b.c. (before children) at the movie theater, keeping up with the character on this year's lunch box can get expensive.
Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse has an answer. On Monday afternoons, around 4:30, you can catch a movie for kids for $1. The laid back atmosphere meant for me that my "active" son could pace, climb, and shout back at Shrek, without disturbing the other viewers. If you choose to order more than popcorn, a kid's menu includes the classics, and juice boxes are available. Beer or wine is served in a glass, without judgement. Movies may be the the new happy hour. Check the calendar each week for an evening out that you can finance out of the dimes and nickels you left in the ashtray. If Grandma is paying, host a birthday party or buy tickets in advance for one of their Saturday events for families.