5 Unique Places to Take Your Little Ones in Glendora

I am a full time real estate agent. But, I am also a full time mom to two fun, energy-filled boys. On Tuesdays, I stay home with my boys and it is always an adventure trying to figure out what activities we are going to take on. It is a lot different than the weekends when I have another set of hands to help. After lots of trial and error in choosing places to go to get out of the house, I have found a handful of places locally that make my life easier and their lives more fun! And, they are all free for the most part!

1. Glendora Gardens

This place is a huge outdoor garden filled with flowers, water fountains, chickens, and ponds filled with big fish and turtles. During the week it is pretty low key so it's nice to let the kids just wander around and enjoy the outdoors. The workers always bring the kids food to feed the fish and turtles and that is a major hit! We recently purchased some strawberry plants from here and started to grow our own at home. I was able to get information on them and teach my boys how to plant and grow them. I am all about hands on learning and this place is a free and fun learning experience for them! My three year old, Grant's imagination goes wild when we visit here and it is so fun to watch.

2. Barnes and Noble

This is one of my kids' favorite places to visit because we normally go in the morning. Before we get started in the book/toy section, we stop by their in-house Starbucks and get some food and drinks. Although Barnes and Noble has scheduled reading time for kids, I typically take my kids when there is nothing going on because they enjoy jumping from one thing to the next at their young ages. I can get a good one-two hours in here if I want to! Between the books, toys, puzzles, and more, my kids just go go go and mommy gets to sit back, relax, and watch.

3. Chick-fil-A

Now this is one of my favorites because if you have young children, you know how hard it is to get them to eat, let alone be able to get a meal in for yourself when they are around. At this

Chick-fil-A, we always sit at the tables that are directly across from the play area. We order our food and the kids know that in order to play, they have to finish their food. It works like magic! Then, while they play, I eat and I can see them from where I am sitting. Once I am done, I will go inside the play area and watch from there, but it is totally kid friendly and safe. The restrooms are also in sight from where we sit, so when my toddler needs to use the restroom, it is not a long trek to get there. It is very convenient and by the time we leave, the kids are always ready for a nap!

4. Willow Springs Park

This park is our happy place. When Jack was a newborn baby, I discovered this park and we have been going ever since. I love it because there are rarely people there (besides when school gets out at Sellers). Jack would normally just sleep in his seat under the shaded tree while I played with Grant. Now that Jack is mobile. he plays with us! It's more like they play and I am the third-wheel. One of our favorite things about this park is the picturesque view of the mountains. It is so beautiful. The only downfall here is that there are no bathrooms. We always make Grant use the bathroom before we go. A tip I learned from a fellow toddler parent is to purchase an extra training toilet and keep it in the trunk for emergencies. I have yet to do that, but so far we have been okay!

5. Sergio's

I thought it would be helpful to add a sit-down restaurant to this list because there are many times we choose to stay home because it can be so hard with little ones at restaurants. When we come here, we almost always sit on the outdoor patio. We are usually the only party sitting outside and when our wiggly kids decide they are done sitting, they can cruise around the patio area. It is completely fenced in, which means we can somewhat relax and enjoy our meals! The waiters and waitresses have gotten to know our family because we make this a weekly spot and they are super friendly and accommodating. We will even pack some small toys for the kids to play with!

That concludes my top five favorite places to go with my kids in Glendora (among other well known places like the library and Finkbiner Park)! I hope this helps some other local parents have a more smooth and enjoyable day with their little ones. They sure do that for my family!