Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Philadelphia, PA

There are so many things that make Daylight Savings Time--even in its new, shorter form--challenging. It's hard enough for adults to adjust, but for kids, it's impossible, especially those children too young to understand things like "time" and "winter" and "planets revolving around the sun." Heh.

In our house, we HATE the time change in the fall. I hate that it gets dark so darned early, I hate the sun hitting my face so much earlier in the morning, and I hate--now--having a kid that suddenly thinks that 5:30am is a PERFECTLY reasonable time to get up and start her day, even though it means that she has hours to go before her first nap of the day.

But the worst thing is this: now, she wakes from her afternoon nap either right as it gets dark, or right before. Gone, now, are our afternoons at the playground. Now, we are stuck inside (although sometimes we'll go for a walk) all afternoon and into evening, and that means we have one energetic kid on our hands come bed time.

Sadly, most of the indoor places we could take her to--the swimming pool at the YMCA, the local children's museum, or the nearest indoor playgrounds, are all close to closing time when we're ready to arrive. I find this rather shocking; surely there are other parents with kids my daughter's age trying to find a way to tire their kids out on winter afternoons?

Here's the limited list of what I've found so far.

??? Libraries. Libraries often have pajama storytimes for kids. Since I live in the Philly burbs, there are enough libraries around me that I can find an activity a couple times a week at a local library.

??? Indoor playgrounds. There are plenty of these around Philadelphia (I'll do a list another day), and while on weekdays they usually close between 4 and 5 pm, on Fridays and Saturdays many of them stay open later.

??? Malls. I know, I know. But there is plenty to look at, my daughter can run and run and run, and it doesn't cost a thing.

What do you do with your energetic kids on winter afternoons? All tips welcome!