Patch Picks: Vacation Week Plans in Newton

Beach Day at Home – So you can’t make it to Florida or California this vacation. No problem- bring the beach to your house. Go to the hardware store and pick up a bag of sand (with this mild winter, you haven’t needed it for your driveway), cover the kitchen floor with newspapers and fill some boxes or pans with the sand. Crank the heat in your house and put the kids in bathing suits or shorts and tees. Grab some funky sunglasses, different sized containers and some doodads for decorating. Then make sand castles in your kitchen!

Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt – This will take some planning, but it will be well worth the effort. Get together with some of your neighbors, preferably with similarly aged kids, and start planning ASAP. Come up with a theme – pirates, faeries, zombies for the older kids – and a list of thematic things the kids can find around the houses or strategically placed in back and front yards. Print up the lists, make sure the kids know to be safe first and foremost (no running across the street without looking both ways), and let them go to town.

Movie and a Meal- The 50^th anniversary edition of Disney's classic “Lady and the Tramp” was just released on DVD last week. Why not make a delightful meal that goes along with the equally delightful movie? Remember the iconic scene where Lady and Tramp share a spaghetti and meatball supper in the alley behind the Italian restaurant? You can make homemade pasta with your kids and then make a fresh marinara sauce and some tasty meatballs. Just encourage the kids not to slurp their spaghetti or push the meatballs around their plates with their noses.

You Like to Draw It, Draw It- The is having day-long art programs on Monday-Thursday of vacation week, all dedicated to the art of Madagascar (the island, not the movie). The description on their website says, “Escape with us to the island of Madagascar, off the coast of East Africa! From lemurs, giant baobab trees, and the cultural richness of the Malagasy people, to the amazing biodiversity of its wildlife; this vacation week will give us plenty of inspiration to paint, draw, sculpt and create rich, colorful pieces of art!” Register at the New Art Center website and take a walk on the wild side.

Get Wicked Smaht- Just because you’re on vacation, doesn’t mean you have to stop learning. is offering a wide variety of programs sure to keep your mental motor purring and your skills sharp. Classes include Domino Physics, Wicked Wacky Lab Week, Make a TV Show and Babysitting Certification. Register by calling 617-559-6999 or go to the Newton Community Ed website.

We know there are a TON of local vacation week programs -- so if you have one not listed here, write it in the comments below! We want to hear from you.