Montrose Community Playground

951 Mt Dandenong Tourist Rd, Montrose
Melways 52 D8

Built in 2008 by over 1000 volunteers, this community playground is fantastic and its a great place to catch up with friends with kids of different ages. My kids loved the insect and tractor springers, the birds nest swings and the fire engine. They also enjoyed playing amongst the shop fronts and running along the ramps. It is a large playground but it is relatively easy to keep an eye on multiple kids if you choose a good spot to sit and there are plenty of bench seats at your disposal. There's not, however, a great deal of shade so you might want to time your visit accordingly or pile on the sunscreen.

It is likely that the kids will want to stay for quite a while, so it might be worth grabbing a coffee at the bakery in the small group of shops towards Canterbury Road, or at Hahndorfs Chocolate Shop towards Mt Dandenong. If you are visiting later in the day and want to have an early dinner here with friends, the montrose fish n'chip shop is supposed to be good.

This would be a great venue for a birthday party and the hall next to the playground is available for hire at a charge of $50 for three hours. Otherwise there are several tables around the playground with bbqs but no shelter.

Montrose is located at the foot of The Dandenongs and is best accessed via Canterbury Road.

The Montrose Community Playground came about thanks to a local mum. Read her story here - http://www.yarrarangeslearning.net.au/PageBuilder/page.php?id=65

Monash Aquatic and Recreation Centre

626 Waverley Road, Glen Waverley (between Blackburn and Springvale roads)

This a great place to go for a family swim or a bit of water play with your little one. The large glass aquatic centre includes;
- a 25 metre indoor heated pool.
- a 50 metre outdoor heated pool.
- Victoria's largest 40 metre heated indoor wave pool
- a 20m heated hydrotherapy pool
- Spa, dry sauna and steam room facilities
- Several Toddler Play Pools with water squirting frogs, a tunnel and a bubbles section.

There is also a creche if you want to have a swim yourself, a cafe and a wellness centre.

Entry prices for a swim only are $5.60 for adults and $4.40 for children over 2. The centre is open from 6am to 9pm weekdays, 8am to 7pm weekends and 9am to 6pm on public holidays. The creche costs $8.70 per child for an 80 minute session. For creche bookings call 9265 4888 and for further information, visit the MARC website.

Shopping Centre Events

Various locations

This weather is terrible and my kids are bored of staying at home. Here are some events happening at shopping centres this month.

My Little Pony show at The Glen
Strawberry Shortcake show at Box Hill Centro
Plaster Fun House and Shrek Show at Vic Gardens
Face Painting and Balloon Modelling at Knox Shopping Centre
Be a Rock Star for a day at Eastland
Thomas and Friends & Angelina Ballerina at Docklands
Biscuit Decorating and Boomerang Painting at Malvern Central
Cat in a Hat at Werribee Plaza
Sushi Making at Forest Hill Chase

Alice in Wonderland at Rippon Lea Estate

8th - 29th January 2011
192 Hotham Street, Elsternwick
Monday to Thursday at 11am and 6pm, Friday and Saturday at 11am

Pack a picnic and follow Alice down the rabbit hole at Rippon Lea Estate this January. Directed by Glenn Elston (best known for Wind in the Willows at the Botanical Gardens), this promenade production includes acrobatics, shouting, singing, dancing, riddles and rhymes. There’s lots of fun participation for the kids and even the adults have to turn into cards and march behind the Queen of Hearts – or it’s off with their heads!

PRICES: single ticket $25, group of four ticket $90, booking fee may apply
BOOK: call 1300 122 344 or book online at www.shakespeareaustralia.com.au or Ticketmaster 136 100 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.au

Intensive Swimming Lessons

Aged 3yrs and over
Various locations

I highly recommend this to anyone with a 3 to 5 year old that is still a little fearful of water. Especially if you have a holiday planned.

After five consecutive days of half an hour lessons, our daughter went from being too scared to go in with us holding her, to loving being in the water on her own and putting her head under without any tears. Bath times have got easier too!

Check your local swimming school for details on their programs. We went to Healthways in Mont Albert but plenty of other places have similar programs.

Herring Island Summer Arts Festival

15th January - 26th April (weekends & Australia Day)
Herring Island Environmental Sculpture Park

This could be a nice picnic idea for a summers day. Tucked away on the Yarra River in Toorak, Herring Island is accessible only by boat and is a haven for wildlife. The Herring Island Gallery, which is a converted scout hall, are running a number of exhibitions over Summer, including sculpture, ceramics, photography and basketmaking.

Access to Herring Island Environmental Sculpture Park & Gallery is by Parks Victoria’s punt service which operates on weekends and on Australia Day from 11am to 5pm from the Como Landing (Melway Map 2M C2). The charge for this service is $2 for adults or $5 for families.

For more information, visit the Herring Island Summer Arts Festival website