Go Fly a Kite

I adore snow. I really do. I also adore season changes... I am a Midwest girl through and through... but this year... this year winter was a little long for my liking and I was quite happy to bid it adieu officially with my family. How do we do this? We go fly a Kite!

One of our favorite Spring traditions is Kite Flying and over the years, we've learned a few things:

Cheap Kites WORK like a charm!

The cheap kites you buy at the Dollar Store, Walmart and Target... they FLY! The dollar kites have always been the absolute very best for my kids. They are easy to assemble and they always work. The fancy kites are great fun too and we love to watch our giant Butterfly kite sore, but fancy kites and stunt kites require more skill and patience - so they are really best for older kids and adults who want a bit of a challenge.

There are MANY beautiful parks for Kite Flying in KC

If you've been following www.KCParent.com this spring, you may have seen the list, but in case you missed it I composed a list of our family's FAVORITE Kite Flying Parks in KC and they're all worth checking out! Good kite parks require lots of wide open green space and an absence of power lines.... and you need to be safely off the road without concern for traffic.

Longview's Flights of Fancy Festival is WONDERFUL!

Every year, we pack a picnic, our favorite kites, and the camera for a day of fun on the lawn of Longview Community College for the Flights of Fancy Festival. This free festival is open to the public (THIS SATURDAY, April 17th from 11am-4pm) and it is absolutely wonderful. Kite enthusiasts gather every year to fly their favorite kites. You'll see gigantic kites, stunt kites, Chinese kites, and fun kites... last year we loved Snoopy and his dog house. They even have a giant kite kids can climb through and the kites do a candy drop over the field. The festival is a wonderful way to enjoy Spring and it's such a relaxed, beautiful nice family tradition... we never miss it!

Mary Poppins is Supercali... oh who am I kidding? I can't spell it, but you get it!

Mary Poppins may be our family's favorite musical and spring puts us in the mood to watch Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke and celebrate happy endings with "Let's Go Fly a Kite" (though I can't really imagine that many people flying kites on a city street in London or anywhere for that matter).

It is Kites in the Sky Week at Paradise Park!

Make a Kite Collage, Rainbow Running Kites and more in the art studio this week. Make Graham Cracker Kites in the interactive kitchen all week in the Children’s Edutainment Center at Paradise Park.

So, if you haven't already... or even if you have... before Spring ends, I highly recommend that you go fly a kite! And tell me, how does your family bring in spring?

Written by Kristina Light