Living the natural, organic lifestyle doesn’t have to be hard – or expensive – and the benefits for your family are plenty. Get the scoop here on how to get started, with everything from cloth diaper info to farmers’ markets and ways to spend more time in the great outdoors!
FARMERS’ MARKETS
Here are some of our favorite neighborhood farmers’ markets and places to find fresh fruits and veggies.
IN OHIO …
Anderson Farmers Market
7832 Five Mile Road
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., May 12 – Oct. 27
Blue Ash Farmers Market at Summit Park
4335 Glendale Milford Road
Wednesdays, 3:30 – 7 p.m., May – September
Deerfield Farmers Market
4361 Irwin Simpson Road, Mason
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. May – Oct.
Findlay Market
1801 Race St.
Open year round
Hyde Park Farmers Market
Erie Avenue and Edwards Road
Sundays, 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., May – Oct.
Lebanon Ohio Farmers Market
Main and Sycamore Streets
Thursdays, 3 – 7 p.m., May – Oct.
Letttuce Eat Well Farmers Market
4040 Harrison Ave.
Open year round
Loveland Farmers Market
205 Broadway St.
Tuesdays, 3 – 7 p.m., May – Oct.
Madeira Farmers Market
8000 Miami Ave.
Thursdays, 3:30 – 7 p.m. May – Sept at corner of Dawson and Miami
Thursdays, 3:30 – 6 p.m. Nov – April at 8000 Miami Ave.
Milford Farmers Market
Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., and Wednesdays, 2 – 5 p.m., June – Oct. at 1025 Lila Ave.
Tuesdays, 2 – 5:30 p.m., July – Oct. at 453 Old St. Route 74, Mt. Carmel
Montgomery Farmers Market
9609 Montgomery Road
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., May – Oct.
Northside Farmers Market
4101 Hamilton Ave.
Wednesdays, 4 – 7 p.m., year-round
West Chester Farmers Market
9100 West Chester Towne Center Dr.
westchesterohiofarmersmarket.org
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. May 26 – Sept. 29
Wyoming Farmers Market
Wyoming Ave. at Oak on the Village Green
Tuesdays, 3 – 7 p.m., May – Oct.
IN KENTUCKY …
Boone County Farmers Market
6028 Camp Ernst Road, Burlington
Daily, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., May – Oct
Campbell County Farmers Markets
Campbell.ca.uky.edu/content/farmers-market-0
Highland Heights, 3504 Alexandria Pike
Fort Thomas, 90 Alexandria Pike
Alexandria, 7634 Alexandria Pike
Newport, 709 Monmouth St.
Please see web site for each market’s schedule
DCCH Farmers Market
75 Orphanage Road, Fort Mitchell
Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., May – Oct.
ON CLOTH DIAPERING
It’s really not that messy, can save you tons of money, and it’s even been suggested that potty training is easier and earlier with babies who wear cloth diapers. These local stores and services are the experts when it comes to cloth diapering!
Blue Cocoon
9361 Montgomery Road
513-791-1089 or bluecocoonbaby.com
Choose from a selection of cloth diapers and accessories, and be sure to check out their All About Cloth Diapering class, held the second Saturday of every month at 3 p.m. ($10, RSVP required).
Good Natured Baby
Good Natured Baby will pick up your dirty diapers and leave clean ones for you, and they also sell cloth diapering products like covers, liners, and more.
The Red Balloon Café
6200 Montgomery Road
513-620-8328 or redballooncafe.com
This cloth diapering hub offers an array of products and accessories, as well as classes and groups – visit their Facebook page for upcoming events, including the Great Cloth Diaper Change on April 21 at 11 a.m.
ENJOYING THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Spring is here, and summer is on the way, so there’s no better time to enjoy what our area parks have to offer. Here are just a few ways to enjoy the great outdoors with your family!
YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day
Head to Parky’s Farm at Winton Woods (10073 Daly Road) on April 28 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. for the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati’s annual Healthy Kids Day! Get moving and enjoy fitness class demos, scavenger hunts, bounce house, wagon rides and more. Visit myy.org for details.
Gardening at Blooms & Berries
Blooms & Berries Farm Market (9669 S. St. Rt. 48, Loveland) is known for its excellent produce and fresh flowers, along with some fun u-pick opportunities for the whole family. Coming later this month, the farm will introduce a new kids’ gardening center! Kids can check out interactive gardening projects and learn all about how easy and fun gardening can be (and parents can get some adorable photos while they’re at it). Get the full scoop at bloomsandberries.com and keep an eye out for our full Mom Report coverage on opening weekend, April 20 – 22!
Nature Playscapes
Combine education, history and the great outdoors all in one visit to a local Nature Playscape. The Cincinnati Nature Center (4949 Tealtown Road, Milford; 513-831-1711 or cincynature.org) is home to the Marge and Charles Schott Nature PlayScape, full of natural features for kids to play on and explore, while you relax on a bench or enjoy a picnic lunch. At Behringer-Crawford Museum (1600 Montague Road, Covington; 859-491-4003 or bcmuseum.org), the NaturePlay@BCM takes kids back in time to play house in a log cabin, explore a rocky cave, uncover fossils and pretend to haul a flatboat down a river.
Cincinnati Earth Day
There’s no better way to get back to nature than to celebrate Earth Day 2018! Head to Summit Park (4335 Glendale Milford Road, Blue Ash) on April 21 beginning at noon for exhibits, a scavenger hunt, live entertainment, recycling games, and a Kids’ Zone complete with games, animals, a fire truck and smoke house, climbing wall and inflatables. Get a complete schedule at cincinnatiearthday.com.
Spring Fest in the Woods
Families can celebrate Spring with children’s activities, live music, wild edible cooking demos, crafts and vendors, along with guided tours through Burnet Woods (3400 Brookline Ave.) on April 28 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Visit cincinnatiparks.com for details!
TEACHING CHILDREN MINDFULNESS WITH YOGA
Yoga can be a great way to teach kids mindfulness and how to calm themselves when they’re feeling anxious. Below are some spots where your kids can take yoga classes designed just for them, along with a few spots where you can get a good sample of what a yoga class is like!
Blue manatee children’s bookstore
3094 Madison Road
513-731-2665 or bluemanateebooks.com
RSVP for Yoga and Mindfulness, taking place from 4 – 5 p.m. on Thursdays in April, and where kids will learn balance and how to calm their bodies. Cost is $9, or $28 for four classes.
Boone County Public Library
Get an intro to stretching and mindfulness at the library. Visit the web site for a list of Stories and Stretches classes.
Campbell County Public Library
Moms and their babes can get an early start on yoga and mindfulness with Mommy & Baby Yoga classes – visit the web site for a full schedule.
The Healing Space of Cincinnati
217 Wyoming Ave.
513-288-9633 or thehealingspacecincinnati.org
Yoga Adventures for ages 3 – 5 will combine art projects, music and more with their yoga practice.
Kids First Sports Center
7900 East Kemper
513-489-7575 or Kidsfirstsports.com
Yoga With Pooja is designed specifically for kids with a progressive, curriculum based, structured course to help children ages 2 – 14 years old develop their physical, mental and social life skills.
Modo Yoga
3527 Columbia Pkwy., 513-321-9644
150 West McMillan St., Clifton, 513-221-6636
2428 High St., Crescent Springs, 859-344-8642
With a location on both sides of the Ohio River, Modo Yoga has an array of classes for babies through age 12, including a class specifically on yoga and mindfulness. Modo Yoga also makes frequent appearances at the Contemporary Arts Center’s Thursday Art Plays.
Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County
Multiple branches for the library system host yoga classes for children, including a class led by a fellow kid! Visit the web site for a complete schedule.
Shine Yoga Center
3330 Erie Ave.
Specialty classes include Little Sprouts for toddlers, Kids Yoga for ages 3 – 8, and a Family Yoga class.
GETTING YOUR ZZZZZs
One of the most important keys to a healthy lifestyle is a good night’s sleep. Not only is it necessary for growing bodies, but growing minds as well. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP; aap.org) offers recommended amounts of sleep for children of various ages:
12 – 16 hours for ages 4 – 12 months
11 – 14 hours for ages 1 – 2 years
10 – 13 hours for ages 3 – 5 years
9 – 12 hours for ages 6 – 12 years
8 – 10 hours for ages 13 – 18 years
The AAP’s top tips on getting a good night’s sleep for children include a comfy environment with cooler temps, shutting down the devices within a couple hours of bedtime, reducing noise and light (so no devices or reading in bed), and a bedtime routine such as a warm bath, small snack and a story with Mom or Dad.