Grandkids - 4 1/2 YO - what to do?
 

Hiya everyone!

We just moved here a few months ago. My two granddaughters will be visiting for 4 days in a couple of weeks.

Going to the pool - hiking the nature paths - golf cart excursions will be top of list.

What other fun things can we do? Prefer inside the Villages but would be willing to travel outside up to 20 miles.

Thanks in advance.

Uncle Donald's Farm in Lady Lake

Grand Oaks Resort - check their website to see if there are any exhibitions or shows/contests going during their visit. Usually it's free to attend, and they have a restaurant there where you can get sandwiches for lunch. Grand Oaks is a resort, but also a venue for horse and dog competitions and show.

Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing it's about 15 miles from here. Our grandson who was 4.5 at the time loved it. And they learn lots of things. They have a cut away engine they can hand crank and see how pistons and valve and camshafts work. Lots of really cool drag racing cars and next door lots of restored antique cars.

Mermaid show at Wickie Watchee

There is another farm off 200 in Ocala with lots of great farm animals to see

Strawberry picking will be here in a couple weeks

Homosassa wild animal park. They want to go back there again and talk about it every time we see them.

Thank you for your helpful idea. We’ll check it out!

Alligator Farm on 44 a couple miles west of 301. A little further but great would be the glass bottom boats at Silver Springs. I think there are boat rides at Lake Sumter Landing but not sure if they are every day. To top off their visit go to the Russell Stover outlet on 44 west of 301 for candy or ice cream.

Thank you everyone for all the wonderful ideas!

GatorWorld
 

GatorWorld has a big display of huge gators you drive through to see. They also have a petting zoo which the young ones (and the Grandparents will enjoy). Its located about 1 mile west of I75 on Hw 44, minutes from The Villages. Website is gatorworldparks.com. About 8 miles west of I75 on HW 44 is Wild Bills Airboat Rides. Also about 1 hour away is Homosassa State Park. They have boat rides to the Wildlife Park/Zoo. Just google these. We have been to all of these with our Grandkids and they loved it.

Silver Springs Silver Springs, FL - Glass Bottom Boats! - YouTube This place was great. The pool was great for the little ones and the practice putting green about 6 or 7 PM was great fun for the older kids. They respected the property and took some lessons from other people who were practicing. The hit for me was the Alligator place in Wildwood. I felt like a kid from the Fresh Air Fund. Very Informative. We all got to hold a Gator. the kids liked it to! Have fun. Lots of sunblock even this time of the year. Better safe than sorry.

Bocce, shuffleboard, corn hole toss, pickleball/tennis. All equipment available at the rec centers. Many 4-5 year olds (and older) love to run and laugh as they go from one activity to another and tire themselves out in the process. Good luck.

Silver springs boat ride, in January you may see the manatees

Our grandkids(6 and 4) loved Uncle Donald’s Farm off of 466 near Rolling Acres. Lots of
animals, they get to bottle feed a baby goat, hayride where they feed the cows, milk a goat, and a pony ride (extra) if you’d like. We’ve been there twice and they always ask to go back.

Venetian Gardens just outside TV in Leesburg has a great play area for kids.

omg, yes! we spent the entire day there, it was a wonderful place. very good bargain & the kids may even get to feed a baby goat, along with wildlife and all sorts of critters. is VERY close to the villages off Griffin road, & you will have a good time, too.

the boat rides are during the day after 4pm. the crew spice it up for kids on board-telling stories & talking about gators they have seen. the kids on board loved it

Crystal River is a fun place to see the manatees. There is a nice playground on Powell in Wildwood. Fun place to let the kids run about!

Any of the state parks but this one in particular is fun.Ponce de Leon springs state park. Sugar Mill Restaurant | Florida State Parks Swimming, kayaking and make your own pancakes. Also Weeki Wachee mermaid show, boat ride, animal shows & a restaurant or two. Lots of fun for everyone not just the kids!!

Try some one on one things: simple old fashioned board and card games ( battleship, give-away checkers, battling cards, old maid, simple dominoes, etc.) whip up a batch of cookies with lots of their help, watch the RC cars race, watch e-boats race, create golf cart scavenger hunts (around the neighborhood; what is red at 124 Why St (fire hydrant), what's on the drive way at 147 X St? (a painted palm tree) or maybe around Lake Sumter Landing (how many sea creatures on the bath houses?, what is name of big fish? how many restaurants?, what does the mermaid sell?).
Also check local Libraries (incl. Leesburg)for special kids programs: magic, puppets, reading, science bag. Offered usually for free and geared to the under 8 kids.

A favorite of our 4 1/2 year old granddaughter also. She insists we go every time she visits which is every 4-6 weeks.

Butterfly Forest in Gainesville. Beautiful butterflies fluttering all around and maybe land on your shoulder or arm. Our granddaughter loved it!

What to do with grandchildren in the Villages
 

:bigbow:

I have 6 grandchildren and they LOVE the golf cart. Along with that there is a small playground in Sumpter landing behind Sonny’s restaurant. Also the boat ride is great!

Ohiobuckeye
 

Oh my gosh, those 2 granddaughter will find more than enough to do here. 2 of my granddaughters were here for a week & neither one of them said they got bored.

If you can find an open platform court, I’ve seen people teach little ones tennis or pickle ball on those courts. The balls can’t leave the enclosure, so they are easy to track down and don’t run into other courts. The kids seem to love that.

Gator world on 44 in Wildwood. Petting zoo too.

Don’t forget the favorite of grandparents, let them DRIVE the golf cart. Age doesn’t seem to matter

A 4 and a half year old? Surely you are joking (I hope!)