Hillcrest Apple Orchards

We are right in the middle of apple season in Georgia, and Hillcrest Orchards in Ellijay is the most fun place to get apples. You can buy them all over Ellijay, but Hillcrest has an Apple Pickin' Festival on September and October weekends. Besides having great apples and products to buy in their store, there are tons of fun things to do while you are there.

You can watch a pig race, go to the petting zoo, pick apples, take a hay ride, play on a playground, walk through the woods to see nursery rhyme recreations, slide down a huge slide built into a hill, and milk a cow. There's a band and lots of festival food like barbecue, turkey legs, hamburgers, and hot dogs.

The store has great apple cider donuts and frozen cider slushes, among other things. Buy some Honeycrisp apples while you're there - they are so sweet and crisp, and much cheaper than the grocery store. Mutsu apples are great for baking.

The cost for the festival is $5.00 per person - the petting zoo is $3.00 extra.

Hillcrest is definitely country, and it is a gorgeous ride up there. Don't forget that you can store fresh apples for months sometimes in cool, dry conditions - it's worth stocking up!

Kids Consignment Sales

Fall and spring are the times of year for consignment sales! If you are new to Atlanta, you may not know how huge consignment sales are. But with the economy being what it is, you should certainly check them out.

Atlanta Parent magazine has a good listing of consignment sales by county. It's too late to sell clothes at most sales for fall, but head out to get some deals and think about selling in the spring.

Tips for Buying

1. Bring cash or checks - most sales do not accept credit or debit cards.

2. Bring something to carry clothes in, like a laundry basket.

3. Many shows will not permit strollers or only permit them at scheduled times.

4. It may be impossible, but don't bring children if you can avoid it - those sales get crowded!

5. Be careful about buying items like cribs - they may have been recalled.

6. Avoid t-shirts. You'll usually pay a couple of dollars, and you can get clean, unfaded, non-pilly new t-shirts at Wal Mart or Target for a dollar more.

7. I like to buy church clothes or nicer items at the sales: usually they've been worn less. You can find boutique brands and good quality name brands at good prices.

8. Look over your kids' clothes before you go so you won't come home with more of the same.

9. Ask around for the "best" sales. In Forsyth County, my favorite is the Cumming First United Methodist Church.

Do you have any more tips or opinions about the best sales? Leave them in the comments!

What To Do With Your Preschooler - Part Two

Here are some more ideas for preschooler/parent fun while older siblings are in school!

Cultural

The Atlanta History Center has Magic Mondays one Monday per month. The program is for kids ages 18 months - 5 years from 10:30 -11:30. Click the link for dates and themes. The cost is $5.00 for children and $6.00 for adults.

The Center for Puppetry Arts is showing The Adventures of Little Noodle on Fridays from August 14 - September 11 at 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. If you can make it today (Thursday, August 13) the preview performance is half price: $8.00. Regular price is $16.00, which includes the museum and puppet-making following the performance (highly recommended!). Besides, you are right down the street from the Varsity for lunch!

Imagine It! Children's Museum is recommended for kids 8 and under, so now might be a good time to visit if you have older kids. Through September 13, the main exhibit is Exploring Trees: Inside and Out.

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Nature

Cagle's Dairy has dairy tours and harvest garden tours Tuesdays-Fridays 9:30-11:00 a.m. The cost is $7.00 for ages 2-92.

Autrey Mill Nature Preserve has a couple of preschool programs to choose from that you'd need to register for in advance. They have a nature camp for ages 4-5 on September 1-3 from 10:00-1:00. You can attend any or all of the days, and the cost is $35 per day for non-members. They also offer two four-week preschool classes this fall. Running from 11:00-11:45 on Tuesdays, they meet for the first session Sept. 15-Oct. 6 and the second session from October 20 -November 10.

Sawnee Mountain Visitors Center offers Preschool Explorers classes for ages 3-5 that meet for 6 weeks on Wednesdays or Thursdays at either 10:00 or 1:00. The first session runs from early September to mid-October and the second goes from mid-October to late November. The cost for non-Forsyth County residents is $54.00.

What To Do With Your Preschooler

If you have a school-aged child as well as a preschooler or two, this time of year is interesting: the older one is in school, but most likely the preschooler doesn't start until after Labor Day. I like to use the opportunity to do things with my preschooler that he will especially enjoy; the one-on-one time is great. It also helps the younger child adjust to having the older sibling gone all day. Many activities are focused on under five's, so it's a good time to try out a class without the older sibling.

Here are some ideas for making the next few weeks fun.

Library or Bookstore Storytimes

Check your local library for times - most of them have multiple times per week. Here's a list of Atlanta area library website links.

Barnes & Noble, Borders, and independent book stores also have storytimes. Check with your local store for times.

Art Classes

Farmhouse in the City in Alpharetta has Mommy and Me art classes at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The cost is $10 per child.

Purple Hippo Art Studio in Dunwoody has a series of Mommy and Me classes from August 18 - October 6. Classes for ages 2-4 are either on Tuesdays or Wednesdays from 10:00-10:45 and cost $165 for the entire session.

Museums

The Southern Locomotive Museum has Mommy and Me classes at 10:00 a.m. on Thursdays for ages 3-5, free with museum admission.

The High Museum of Art has Toddler Thursdays for ages 2-5 from 11:00-3:00, free with museum admission.

The Atlanta Botanical Garden has storytime in the garden on Wednesdays at 10:00. They also have a free tour for kids in strollers on Fridays at 10:30.