Free Skating for Kids

Philadelphia has so many amazing free assets - plentiful public swimming pools, Fairmount Park, etc. Here's another one: free skating at city rinks. These rinks also offer free hockey programs for kids.

This is all courtesy of the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Program, which took over the city's rinks during the last fiscal crisis. You do have to pay to rent skates - usually about $2. The rental skates my husband, son and I recently tried left us slipping and sliding all over the ice, though city officials say they will fix that problem once a sharpener arrives.

Those problems are minor compared to the benefits. I wouldn't be surprised if Philadelphia is the only city in the country to have free rinks.

The Snider hockey program teaches kids how to play and how to work hard. You can read more here.