I started this post last night - when I was told we had one more solid day of rain by the forecast.  But I awoke to a clearing sky so we’ll see what the day has in store.  Here’s my list - just in case.

So you have just moved to Denver and you heard everyone and their brother BRAG about the 300+ days of sunshine.  And now its been raining since Thursday night.  Personally I am enjoying it, but I understand that going into day 3 and 4 it can get a little antsy.

Well, it sounds like we have one more day of this to get through - so here are some ideas for you to enjoy the mile hi city indoors.  You can save this list for the snowy months that will come before you know it.

Denver Museum of Nature and Science - This goes first as its one of my own family’s favorites to revisit time and time again.  My son’s favorite area at the moment is the Mummy Room.  Denver, Colorado

Bowling at Brunswick Zone - There are a few locations in the area - but our favorite is in Lone Tree.  If you catch the timing right, you may be lucky to have the lights dimmed for glow in the dark bowling. Lone Tree, CO

APEX Indoor Pool - My son often has hockey games at the APEX rink, so whenever we are up there we bring our suites to hang out after.  They are closing on 8/18 for their annual maintenance, good thing they are open for this bout of rain. Arvada, CO

Movie at The Landmark Theatre - One of the nicest, and newest Theatres in town - admission includes all you can eat popcorn.  Great idea if you really like popcorn. Greenwood Village, CO

Denver Art Museum - This can be a full family experience as well and often has wonderful traveling exhibits. Denver, CO

Mr. Biggs - Previously called Fat City - If you have kids, you will be a hero.  Complete with an indoor raceway, bowling, video games, miniature golf, a bowling alley, roller rink and nerf-y ball area/playground & more - you could literally be here all day.  If your kids are old enough to roam a little on their own, bring a book & headphones. Littleton, CO

Hammond’s Candy Factory - I have written about Hammond’s before - a total sweet treat.  Denver, CO

Enjoy the cool down & the rain - the sun will be back before you know it - it is Denver after all.

Steve Scheer, RE/MAX Masters, Inc. 

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Copyright © 2008 By Steve Scheer, All Rights Reserved. ~Indoor Ideas on a Rainy Weekend in Denver~ 8/16/2008~

My family loves finding local events to attend together and this weekend will be no exception in Highlands Ranch.  A much anticipated annual event by my own daughter - the annual Colorado Scottish Festival and Rocky Mountain Highlands Games will take place in Highlands Ranch, CO this weekend.  

On August 9th and 10th, Heritage Park will become a Scottish lover’s delight as some of the best area Scottish and Irish dancer descend on Highlands Ranch along with the Highlands Games, music, ancestry tracing, food, vendors & much more.  The festival is open both days from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm.  A schedule of all of the events can be found here and a list of  all the types of things you will see is found here. 

We have been attending the Scottish Festival for years - many of my daughter’s friends are accomplished Scottish and Irish dancers and she loves to be able to see them all perform at the same time and so close to home.  My children also really enjoy seeing the Scottish dogs agility & frisbee competitions. 

The Colorado Scottish Festival and Rocky Mountain Highlands Games takes place on August 9th and 10th at Highlands Heritage Park just south of Lincoln/University at Quebec.  There will be signs all over and even shuttle transportation nearby.  Directions can be found here. 

Make sure you bring your sunscreen - shade is somewhat limited. 

Yesterday I did head over to Highlands Ranch Town Center with my family for a while for the Highlands Ranch 4th of July Celebration. We went over after lunch, walked around a bit, the kids visited several booths and games. They were particularly fascinated with the magician, which was a kid that was fabulous. He couldn’t have been more than 16 or 17. We then walked over to Civic Green Park and splashed in the fountains for a while to cool off - good thing they were on, it was hot out - it must have been at least 95. After that we walked back to the main festivities at Town Center and stopped to see all of the animals that were visiting the event with hopes to be adopted. I think there were several different organizations there that work with shelters and there were some kittens in a mobile adoption trailer and plenty of puppies and dogs as well. They were all awfully cute and it did look like several were finding new homes, which is great. After puppy viewing we ended our journey with some ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. The kids loved that. We did head out at the point, we needed to head over to Lakewood to have dinner elsewhere - but we did make it back to Highlands Ranch in time to enjoy the fireworks. We didn’t actually watch them form Town Center, but rather from the east side of Redstone Park. So the 4th of July is past - however there are other events happening around the Denver Area this weekend to celebrate the whole weekend. One of the most popular being the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. There will be fireworks in that area tonight as well. One of the best parts of living in Highlands Ranch are all of the planned activities such as this 4th of July celebration. There are great events like this all of the thime, from concerts to races. One of the next events coming up is the Rodeo in the Ranch. So, if you are thinking of moving to Highlands Ranch and wondering what there is a ton and geared toward all ages!

Often, when someone is relocating to Douglas County from outside of Colorado I
will be asked, "What exactly is the track system in Douglas County schools and
how does it work?" It is not the easiest thing to initially understand, but
once you see how it works it will make sense.

The track system was introduced in Douglas County elementary schools during the
period of tremendous growth and its purpose is to accommodate more students in
less space. Many of the older neighborhoods in the Denver area have elementary
schools that were built to accommodate the number of students enrolled at the
time it was built and did not necessarily plan for the years ahead when
neighborhoods would change and enrollment numbers would level out. This now
leaves many elementary schools in other areas with empty classrooms, low
enrollment numbers and unused space.

Douglas County decided not to go that route and altered the way schools were
built and run in the area. The track system divides students into 4 sections,
called tracks and labels them A, B, C and D. However space is built to
accommodate 3 of those sections at a time. This allows each school to house
about 25% more students in its facility than it would if a traditional calendar
was in place.

The school calendar runs year round, with the beginning of the
school year typically the week after the 4th of July and wrapping up about the
3rd week of June. In a nutshell, each track has 9 weeks in and then 3 weeks
out - with major breaks and holidays falling somewhere in between when everyone
is out - adding longer breaks for those that are scheduled to be off-track. "A
track" happens to be off-track right before Christmas so there is a longer break
there. "B track" is off after New Years, so again the longer break. A full
track calendar can be viewed here but please note that these things can and do
change from year to year.

Eventually when each school’s enrollment levels off
over time it will be able to switch to a traditional schedule without worrying
about empty space.

Here are some typical questions that I hear when someone is relocating…

So what schools are on the track system? Well, that can change. It is always a
good idea to inquire with the school district to know if your school is track or
not and what the plans are for the following year. I have met some people that
have made decisions on where to live based on if their school is track or not.
This can be a potential mistake as schools can and sometimes do change if they
are traditional or not based on current enrollment numbers. When a school first
opens, especially in a new development, it may be lower in enrollment numbers
and able to accommodate all students at once. But later in time as the
development and enrollment grows it could change to the track system. And as
things level off it can change back to a traditional schedule. IN fact, it
seems that I am starting to see that more and more.

How are tracks assigned? The overall way is a lottery system during enrollment
for incoming kindergartners, however each individual school may have a unique
policy so it is best to contact the individual school or the school district.
Students that enroll during the year or for the next school year (excluding
kindergartner) are placed on a space available basis for all children in the
family (keeping siblings together.) The school district web site keeps their
policy on this updated as well.

Which track is best & what should I hope we get? That is really going to depend
on you. I really encourage all of my clients that are moving to Douglas County,
first to find out what is available, and then to really study the track calendar
and make decisions that are best for your family when selecting your choices.

Do you like to take a fall vacation when most children are in school? Would you
like to extend Thanksgiving trips to relatives without pulling children out of
class? These are really things to think about.

What options are available to kids off-track when the parents are working?
There are many programs in the area to help families handle off-track times.
The school district itself runs programs in the schools. Many of the local
recreation centers also have day camp sessions and there are many private
programs as well that cater to this need.

At this time, only the area elementary schools are considered for the track
system. Middle school and high school students all attend on a traditional
schedule. There are many reasons for this, the most obvious being
inter-county-school interactions such as sports and other related activities.

Some new families to Douglas County do find the track system overwhelming at
first. But all change takes a little time to get used to. I do find that many
people like having time that the masses do not have off to enjoy a less crowded
vacation or just a scheduled break when the family seems to need it most. Many
other areas of the country also have some type of year round scheduled,
especially where there is a lot of growth and development and even some other
counties in Colorado have some schools on some type of rotating schedule. Give
it time, you will love it! And remember, even changes will change eventually -
it is always a good idea to double check with the school district before making
any decisions.