A Homeschool Day in Highland Park Neighborhood
Our family had an open day on the calendar so we headed to explore the Oak Park Highland Park area! We parked at the North Side Library’s public parking lot and headed out on foot to explore the businesses within a two block radius.
We started the day in the best way with a latte and card game at The Slow Down Coffee Co. The Slow Down has a cozy, welcoming atmosphere and delicious drinks. The kids got hot chocolate and perused the books, games, and knickknacks on the shelves. It was such a sweet way to start the day, slowly and intentionally, with caffeine and conversation.
Next, we walked to The Little Book to cozy up on the couches with a good book. There are many cute items for gifting, unique books and the familiar titles your kids love. They have a section for every age and the adult section is completely separate from the kids section. If you have younger kids, they have the most amazing interactive story times that include songs and playful interactions. While there, we purchased our next family chapter book to read aloud!
The Art Terrarium is right next door. This adorable plant shop has an excellent variety of plants and pots. Each plant is labeled with its name and care information, which is an excellent science/botany lesson in itself! There is an adorable “build your own terrarium bar” where you can choose the types of plants, soil, and fillers to go into the terrarium container of your choosing. My boys (ages 9 and 7) loved it and were able to be mostly independent in creating their desert terrarium and tropical terrarium. We got a printed card to take home that told us exactly how to care for our plants. Before we left, we had to snap a pic in front of the moss wall!
At this point the kids were hungry so we drove a few blocks to McHenry Park for a quick picnic lunch and some outdoor play! There is a covered picnic area with tables on both sides of the playground. This playground was newly updated and includes a toddler sized playground and plenty to do for the school aged kids too. There are bike trails and an open grass area to run around and explore. In the summer months, there is also a fun water feature to check out.
After the park, we drove back to the library parking lot and walked over to Aqualand Pet Store. This pet store has reptiles, fish, birds and small rodents such as mice, guinea pigs and rabbits. We walked through to view the animals and browse the many types of feed and supplies needed to care for these types of pets. We had an excellent conversation with a friendly staff member about the live crickets and what each of the different reptiles eat on a daily basis.
To end our day in Highland Park, we perused the North Side Library. This library has picture books, computers, coloring pages, a scavenger hunt, a small pretend-play space, and activity kits. Our favorite find here is the audiobooks, where you just push play on the book, and it will read aloud to you as you follow along with the text! The kids also love to watch the intricate wooden carousel that is a replica of the life-sized one at Union Park. This library, like many in the metro, has a full activity calendar to check out and plan your next adventure.