Highwoods Park is easily one of our favorite places in STMA to spend a summer morning.
Located on Frankfort Parkway in the Highwoods neighborhood, this park is just a hop and a jump from highway 241, making it an easy stop following a trip to Cub Foods or the library.
The park is clean and well-kept, with a large playground and plenty of green space for running around in. The playground itself is fun and creative, with a couple of features I’d never seen before. It’s also a climber-kid’s paradise, with at least four climbing structures, three kinds of monkey bars, and five different slides.
The playground overlooks the athletic fields and a slope down to the townhome neighborhood, making it an excellent place to go sledding in the wintertime!
Highwoods Park
Location: South side of Frankfort Pkwy at Mason Ave NE (map)
Features: Playground, gazebo with a large picnic table, little library, baseball field, soccer field, basketball court
Playground Turf: Wood chips, plus a small sand area
Recommended age range: 3–10
Restrooms: Portable
Parking: Paved lot
Trails: Single sidewalk around playground
This Saturday, your family can walk, bike, or roll to the St. Michael City Center for Open Streets STMA, where a portion of the street will be closed off to car traffic so that the community can gather to enjoy art, food, games while getting to know others in the community.
This semi-annual event is hosted by FYCC, and some of the highlights include emergency vehicle tours, vendor booths, and a bike parade. More details are available in the flyer below or on the Open Streets STMA Facebook page.
The weather may still be doing that crazy snow-in-spring thing outside today, but it’s already time to be thinking about warm weather and swimming. Registration for summer swim lessons is taking place at programs around our area, and the time slots are known to fill up quickly!
There are a variety of options for lessons in and around St. Michael–Albertville, and each one offers something a little different from the next. Here is a list of the most popular programs in our area, loosely sorted by distance, popularity, and price.
If you have experience with any of these programs,
please share about it in the comments below!
STMA Community Education*
Lessons are available for kids starting at 18 months with a parent, or 4 years without, and they are offered at various times throughout the summer. All lessons take place at Middle School East.
See the listings under “Aquatics” in the community education brochure: http://stmamom.com/the-summer-activities-brochure-is-here | Register online at stma.ce.eleyo.com.
(Afternoon open swim hours are also listed in the brochure)
Monticello Community Education
Kids can start lessons at 16 months in this program (age 4 without a parent), and there are five different blocks of the summer to choose from, versus STMA’s four. Lessons take place at Monticello Middle School.
More info and register: monticello.ce.eleyo.com/courses/category/65/aquatics
My kids and I are big fans of the Children’s Museum, the Works Museum, and other areas that let kids stretch their imaginations and expand their critical thinking skills through hands-on play. But the unfortunate thing about most of those great attractions in the Twin Cities is that they take so long to get to!
For us, the library in Brooklyn Park is like an oasis in the desert. It’s located fewer than 20 miles from STMA, so if you jump on highway 610, you can get there in about 20–25 minutes. It’s a perfect place to visit all year round, but especially in the winter or on those rainy days when you just need a colorful place to play.
The play area is set up in the center of the library, with the shelves of books and the computer area surrounding it. Unlike some libraries where I feel like I have to keep shushing my kids every time they make a sound, here the kids’ play area was more or less the star attraction, and no one seemed to mind all the running, giggling preschoolers.
There are about a dozen different hands-on activities for kids to engage in, from magnetic shape tiles to an interactive microscope and a giant play house. Most of the activities give kids experience with STEM concepts, while others encourage exploration in reading and pretend play.
My daughter kept running from station to station trying out everything, while my son fixated on the giant wall-sized Lite-Brite (pictured above). We could’ve played here for hours, especially if we came in time for the library’s story time as well.
Have you been here? Tell us about it in the comments.
My recommended age range for the play area is 1 to 8.
Visit the library website (link) for location and hours.
Don’t forget to pin this post!
Ahhhhh, springtime! Spring is hands-down my favorite time of the year. Maybe it’s because winter in Minnesota is just so long, but everything about the coming of spring excites me!
And for our family, a sure sign of spring is when the Little Library boxes begin to appear around town.
The goal of the Little Free Libraries is to inspire a love of reading and build community through the free exchange of books. It’s very simple… take a book, leave a book! Or, borrow a book for awhile, and bring it back when you’re done.
Many of the boxes in our area were put in by the STMA Rotary and STMA School District, but a few were put up by individuals, Girl Scout troops, and even neighborhoods.
You’ll find lots to enjoy inside these literary treasure chests, including books for kids of all ages.
Here’s a list of some of the little library locations around town. (Click a location to view map)
- Highwoods Park (St. Michael)
- Gutzwiller Park (St. Michael)
- Walnut Park (St. Michael)
- 57th Street, across from the Albertville Fire Department
- Large Ave NE, by Travel Leaders (Albertville)
- Laketowne Drive neighborhood (Albertville)
- Berningwood neighborhood (St. Michael)
- 13655 50th St NE, near Big Woods (St. Michael)
- Quale Ave NE (St. Michael)
Which Little Free Library location do you love to visit? Share your favorite in the comments below.