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Community Corner

Treehouse Fun, Rain or Shine

Kids and crafts make for artsy family fun--without the clean-up.

On a recent rainy day in Athens, I was on high alert. A day of Spring Break solo parenting stretched before me, and I was apprehensive about it. Some mamas make it look easy to take the kiddos out and about town, but I’m not one of them. I do much better with a plan, but of course, my wee ones tend to treat plans like they do coloring books: Scribble here, scribble there, what are these lines for, next page! Me, I like to keep my crayons orderly, so to speak.

So when I heard the drip drip drip of a wet, gray morning, my heart sank. The plan was to visit Treehouse Kid & Craft for sidewalk painting fun. The kiddos and I were ready to get messy, and then to bring the recipe home to recreate the magic. The skies said otherwise.

Thankfully, a quick check of the Treehouse facebook page showed that Treehouse maven Kristen Bach and her team quickly changed up the plans to indoor printmaking. Upon arriving, we found about a dozen kids up to their elbows in delight and tempera washables. Painting, stamping, texturing and giggling ensued during the super-fun morning. A good time was had by the little ones, who ranged in age from about 2 to 8.

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And that’s what you’ll usually find at Treehouse: big fun for little kids and fantastically, fashionably effortless shopping for their grownup family and friends. Even if some of the clothing price points are a bit rich for the budget-conscious, the classes are a nice treat at $10 per adult-child duo.

More importantly, they're well-timed: The 10am sessions can flow right into an easy, early lunch hour. And every ma and pa with a small child knows too well how a day’s magic can go black during the witching hour of 4pm. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, at least, the cure is a trip to the Treehouse.

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Besides such moments of parenting peace of mind, here’s what else the kiddie DIY center and all-around wonderland, on Broad Street near downtown, has in store these days:

  • Mondays, 4pm, Spanish (ages 4 and up)
  • Tuesdays, 10am, Exploring Craft (ideal for 6 and under)
  • Tuesdays, 4pm, Open Craft (all ages)
  • Tuesdays, Noon to 2pm, Brownbag Tuesdays, when “something good is always on sale”
  • Thursdays, 10, Spanish (ages 6 and under)
  • Thursdays, 4pm, Craft Deluxe (all ages)
  • Saturdays, 10am, story and craft (all ages)
  • And occasional handmade markets.

In fact, the next handmade fair is the Raindrop market, April 30, 10am to 5pm. Maybe we’ll see you there!

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