STX Toddler Activities

Yes, hurry and escape the winter weather! You would not BELIEVE how easy it is to meet people with kids on this island. We just moved down (temporarily) about a month ago and our 8-month-old already has as many friends as we do. 🙂
You're welcome to PM me when you get to the island and we can get together. I'm working three days a week and my husband is working two, so one of us is always home with the baby.
Good luck with the move!
Julie

Thanks so much, Julie, for the warm welcome. We will be sure to look you up when we arrive. It is so nice to hear that we will find playmates 🙂

Another thing, I'm sure this is a stupid questions, but does Kmart have a lot of stuff for kids? I am thinking about crayons, play doh, I know they have diapers and probably baby toys, but do they also have toys for toddlers? Alexandra has found me a lead on a crib, but if it falls through does Kmart have reasonably priced cribs?

Alison

My almost 3 year old granddaughter is coming for a visit next week. I have been looking in Kmart for the past few weeks for appropriate toys. Not having much luck. A couple of days ago, there were 2 coloring books in the entire store, and the covers were torn on them. I have not found any age appropriate puzzles, building blocks, etc. Some Easter stuff right now, but not all that much, ( mostly junk candy and hugh baskets filled with stuff of no interest). Where else do parents shops for such? I think Kmart has OK cribs and that sort of thing.

When buying toys, noneducational and educational, I try Kmart, or Education Central. Education Central, has a good variety or educational toys.

Some toddler activities on the island include, swimming lessons (mommy and me, and preschool), gymnastics classes at Beeston Hill Gym and of course the beach. There is also putt putt golf at Divi. There is a moms group on island and they have a couple of activities a week, like story hour, beach day, Fun Zone play dates, Easter egg hunts, Valentine parties, etc.

I have had cribs at my store on occasion, and if I don't have one when you need it, Carlos Furniture sells cribs as well as Kmart West.

There is also a great store in Gallows Bay with kids toys and clothes,higher end... and at least one or two stores in Christiansted that are specifically children's stores. The bookstore in Gallows Bay - Undercover Books - has a good variety of kids books and does storybook readings (as does the library I believe). . K-Mart has 4 or 5 rows of toys, in each of the two K-Marts but they tend to be more the dolls and trucks than educational /activity oriented items. I second the recommendation of Education Central - located now I believe next to Plaza Extra East. Cost U Less also has a isle of kids toys/water toys/etc. Cost-U-Less is a good source for crayons, colored pencils, coloring books, etc. Coloring books are also usually available at all the dollar stores.

One thing you learn living here is that if you see something in the stores that you want, buy it then. Shipments do not come in regularly and you might see something today - food, beverage, toy, whatever - and not see it again in the stores for the rest of the year.

Welcome, no worries, you'll find what you need or you will find a substitute.

I found a bunch of books at the Women's Coalition store, Closet to Closet. I also found a great car seat there for $5.00. This past week-end's yard sales netted some games, a back-pack and a V-Tech "computer" in perfect condition. We're already signed up for swimming and the gym. The storybook readings sound like a great idea, and thanks for the reminder about putt-putt. That sounds like a job for Grandpa!

Gee, I don't think I had any activities planned when I was a toddler other than playing with our pet pterodactyl. 🙂

Good luck for your moving,

After the hell (cold, winter expenses, traffic jam, high cost living, stressful people and business etc..) of big city life, you and your family can take deep and peaceful breath on this beautiful island. You will find the wheather quite mild and lovely and also people. It is gonna be 5 months since we moved here from Istanbul. Thank god we did have same dream with my husband and made it. Good luck again..

Sermin & Keith

Trade I think my toddler activities were playing in the dirt. JJs activities are playing in the dirt and sand and hunting crabs. Honestly though. Kmart has playdough and bubbles, all kinds of water toys, sand toys, trucks and cars, baby dolls and tea party stuff. We have play station, xbox and all kinds of video games. My husband is always trying to get JJ, our 4 year old to do stuff like that. Me, I kick a soccer ball with him and play catch. We play in the sand, making mermaids and crabs. We look for buried treasure and make a game of picking up trash on the beach. Inside we have treasure hunts with the treasure being cookies or a favorite book. Remember paper dolls. We used to cut out their clothes and dress them. My favorite. Ok I'll stop now. Moral. Give the kids some down time. Imagine and play.

replies on this thread are very encouraging ! I have learned there are many more stores than I thought including Dollar Stores!! I love Dollar stores. We are still weighing our options and our kids 5,10,11 are really the only part of the equation that is causing us to hesitate ( as they should be our priority) but your positive input and hearing from so many others in the same boat is very comforting.
foltzie

I agree with foltzie, thank you so much to everyone for all these resources. We should be arriving on the island in the next couple of weeks, assuming we are able to close on the apartment we are selling next week. It is so nice to read all these encouraging notes, because my husband and I are confident that we will enjoy our transition to the Virgin Islands, but we just hope our children will be happy as well. Since they really really enjoy playing in the dirt I think everything will probably work out really well. And the added option of sand will probably entertain them more than all the play-doh in Kmart. Thanks for the nice responses - see you soon!

Alison