What to Do with the Kids during Thanksgiving Break?

Any mom will tell you, sometimes it feels like the kids are off school way too often. Since when is the day after Halloween a holiday??? From what I recall, when I was an elementary school student, I used to only get Thursday and Friday off for Thanksgiving week. But my kids now have the whole week. Which presents the dilemma: What to do with the kids during Thanksgiving break?

So this week, I found myself scrambling (I'm not the kind of Supermom who plans ahead for these things). I do have my mom -- who kindly offers to help watch my children. But for the sake of her sanity and the kids', I started looking for mini camps.

To my surprise, there are a ton of options. The Chaffee Zoo has Zoo Adventures. The options run from "Cubby Camp" (Ages 3-5), "Adventure Camp" (5-11), "Young Naturalist" (11-17) all the way up to "Shadow a Keeper" (Ages 14-17). It's not cheap, costing anywhere from $36-$57 per day. But the kids love the program, which promotes understanding of animals and nature through live animal interactions, animal observations, games, arts & crafts, and many other exciting activities.

The Little Gym in Northeast Fresno has Adventures of T-Rex camp next Monday through Wednesday and Friday from 9am to Noon. The kids will get to run, jump and climb to the point of exhaustion! Call for rates and reservations.

The Young Chef's Academy in Northeast Fresno has the Turkey Break Kids' Cooking Camp next Monday through Wednesday from 9am to Noon. You can register for all 3 days or 1 day ($110 for all 3 days, $45 per day). The kids learn the basics of cooking and kitchen safety and get to eat all of their creations.

Skywalk, the trampoline arena, has bouncing times open all next week, divided by age groups (that way the little ones aren't run over by the big kids). Reservations aren't required but encouraged.

There are some great kid movies out right now too. I'd highly recommend Disney's Wreck-It Ralph and Brave just came out on DVD.

Any more suggestions for keeping kids busy? Happy Thanksgiving, by the way!