Free Monthly Activities

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Did you know that you could fill all of your Saturdays every month with FREE activities for kids? There are lots of ways to keep busy and have fun all without paying one penny!

Here are some ideas:

1st Saturday of the Month — “Books 2 Movies,” Park City Library

On the first Saturday of every month, the Park City Library (1255 Park Avenue, near Main Street) shows free screenings of kids movies that have been adapted from books. We went to see “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (a Roald Dahl book) a couple months ago.

2nd Saturday of the Month — “Family Art Saturdays,” Utah Museum of Contemporary Art or UMOCA

The UMOCA downtown (previously known to me as the Salt Lake Art Center, where I used to volunteer in high school) has Family Art Saturdays on every 2nd Saturday of the month from 2-4pm. We went last month and did a stamping/sticker-making project and toured the exhibitions.

Theo placing a wish on Yoko Ono’s WISH TREE.
Placing stickers all over the museum, as part of Family Art Saturday.

3rd Saturday of the month — “Third Saturdays,” Utah Museum of Fine Art

I’ve written about the UMFA on here a couple times before but wanted to mention again that every 3rd Saturday of the month from 1-4pm they have free admission and kids crafts, that coincide with a current exhibition.

Ongoing Saturdays of the month —

I’ve previously written on here about the kids cooking classes available at Williams-Sonoma, which run weekly on Saturday mornings.

Also check the Utah Film Center’s schedule for their year-round Tumbleweeds screenings around the state which are always free.

BabyLit — Books for little ones and not-so-little ones

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Our dog, Poe, and his almost eponymous book, Edgar Gets Ready for Bed.

When I first heard of the BabyLit series of books a few years ago, I was immediately taken by their charm and overall concept. I was in baby mode and to see a children’s board book that was derived from literary classics made me so excited. And the design and illustrations! I wanted every single one (not just for Theo, but for me) and thought they were the perfect baby gift.

I am a self-identified Jane Austen fanatic so to have several of her novels BabyLit-ified was gratifying to see. So many of my other favorites (Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina) also got the BabyLit treatment. The books were geared towards young children as “primers” on number, opposites, etc, but also gave a nod to the parent reading the book who was familiar with the original literary source. Check out how cute these are:

The Dashwood sisters: Single and Married
Suitors from Sense & Sensibility
Pride and Prejudice: 4 Marriage Proposals

When I discovered that the author of the books was local to Salt Lake City, I couldn’t believe it. My favorite independent bookstore, The King’s English, was holding a book signing event and that’s when I met Jennifer Adams and realized she lived here. She is the embodiment of these books: charming, lovely and erudite. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her better and seeing her passion for writing and literature in person.

She continues to write for the BabyLit series and just released her first “early reader” book, Edgar Gets Ready for Bed. In this book, Edgar is the name of a raven (nod to Edgar Allen Poe) who balks at having to go to bed, much like many young children we know. She will be having a book launch storytime on Saturday, April 12 at 11am at The King’s English. Drop by and listen to the story and pick up a few (or all) of the BabyLit books while you’re at it!

March on TV (again) and Theo’s Meta Adventure

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Since Theo is on spring break this week, he got to come along with me while I went on the air for my latest TV appearance to talk about this very blog. He managed to not break anything and enjoyed the behind-the-scenes look at being on TV.

Here is the clip from today, which announces the winners of the Tumbleweeds Film Festival giveaway and talks about this weekend’s Utah Symphony concert.

Click to watch the video here.

Theo was invited to come onto the set with me while I did my thing but he declined and instead sat quietly on the side. He behaved great for the few minutes I was on the air.

Afterwards, we were invited to go into the control room to see where all the magic happens. So many buttons! A lot of people do a lot of hard work to get the show on the air every day. I’m so grateful to have the chance to share the information on this blog with viewers of the show. Thank you, KSL and Browser 5.0!

Tumbleweeds Film Festival

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Theo the Sundance Kid

I’ve written previously on here about how excited I was that this year was the inaugural year of the Sundance Kids program during the Sundance Film Festival. As you can see, Theo really soaked up the VIP film festival vibe.

I’m equally as excited for the Tumbleweeds Film Festival (sponsored by the same group, the Utah Film Center, who programmed Sundance Kids) which is coming up on March 14-16, 2014. This is the 4th year the festival has been running and features a weekend festival of independent, documentary and foreign films just for children! They helpfully categorize the films into age-appropriate groups (all ages, 8+, 10+ and 12+) and also have workshops.

They’ve thought of everything! I love how they handle the issue of foreign-language films and subtitles for pre-readers:

To enhance our young viewers’ appreciation of foreign-language movies, we have readers read subtitles aloud. We play the readings through individual headsets, to allow those who do not require the service to experience the film without hearing the reader.

Not to be confused with the annual film festival, the Utah Film Center also holds monthly FREE screenings of children’s films throughout the state, throughout the year, also under the name Tumbleweeds.

Theo and a friend enjoying a screening of “Fantastic Mr. Fox” at the Park City Library.
Another thing I love about these films is that they always include a Sensory Sensitive screening (also FREE) for kids who may benefit from a more welcoming environment. Their description of these screenings:

Sensory-friendly screenings are presented as part the The Utah Film Center’s commitment to ensuring that children of all abilities can enjoy the wonders of film alongside their peers. We do this by ensuring a “sensory-friendly” film screening where the lights aren’t turned down quite as low as you’ve come to expect in a traditional movie theater, the audio isn’t as loud and there aren’t any trailers. But the most important aspect of what we do is to create a welcoming and friendly environment for all. Our Sensory-Friendly Film Screenings program was launched two years ago at our annual Tumbleweeds Film Festival for families affected by autism or other sensory disabilities.

Now that you’ve read through this post and are all excited about checking out the Tumbleweeds Film Festival, I have an announcement to make. I will be giving away 2 screening vouchers (each valid for 2 tickets to a film during the festival) to a reader of this blog/viewer of KSL.*
To enter, post a picture to Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #youngfilmfan.
Enter between March 4-11, 2014.
Winners will be randomly selected and announced on the air on Wednesday, March 12 during the noon newscast of KSL-5 (NBC).
Hope to see you at the festival!
*Fine print: I received these vouchers as part of a package that I won’t personally be able to use. The Utah Film Center in no way paid for me to endorse them or the film festival, but are aware that I am doing this blog giveaway.

Sweet Treats

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We could smell the (pumped in?) scent of chocolate from here.

The Natural History Museum of Utah is a favorite and we have been charter members since they first opened a few years ago. We were very excited to see a new exhibit at the museum, which will be here until June 1, 2014.

For a $1 fee, you can learn about the development of chocolate from cacao to candy bar.

The exhibition originated at the Field Museum in Chicago, which is the natural history museum I grew up going to, so I felt a sense of nostalgia sharing something with Theo from my own youth, as tenuous of a connection as it may seem. We learned all about how the chocolate we eat first comes from the cacao plant seeds and the history of cultivation and trade around the world. Chocolate was first served spicy before sugar was introduced and it became a sweet treat!

Theo and his friend pose in front of the giant chocolate box backdrop.

The exhibition does not have an extra charge on top of regular museum admission prices, but there is a special chocolate sampling presentation for $1 per person with timed entry. We thought it was worth it for the little taste of chocolate at the end after you have been thinking and smelling and craving chocolate throughout the exhibit.

***

One of the co-sponsors of the exhibition is the Sweet Candy Company, which is a local company based here in Salt Lake City. They used to offer public tours of their factory but recently suspended them and are developing a new visitor’s center. We went on a tour in 2011 and had a great time, and look forward to learning about what they will be offering soon.

Theo, age 2, with his post-tour treat.
Moms and Toddlers ready for the tour with their mandatory hairnets.

Cooking Lessons for Chef Theo

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The store doesn’t open to the public until 10am so the class is private until regular store opening hours.

For Theo’s last birthday, we threw a cooking themed party where the kids made treats (ice cream and gummies) and everyone had a blast. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that our local Williams-Sonoma store offered free cooking classes for kids. I had been to their adult cooking class before and learned a lot about Italian pastas and sauces (incidentally, one of the most genius kid food recipes I’ve ever heard was from this class: Cook up some rigatoni [wide tubes], cut string cheese into thin strips the length of the pasta, stuff the string cheese pieces into the pasta, cover with sauce and bake!).

The store still offers the adult classes, but they also started offering kids classes as well. The teacher of these classes is named Patsy and she started these here in Salt Lake City and the corporate office heard about it and started expanding to other areas!

A W-S teacher (not Patsy) showing Theo how to hand whip some whipped cream.

We went to the Baking 101 class yesterday and Theo learned how to grease and flour a baking dish, make whipped cream by hand, sift flour, and whip egg whites until they formed peaks. Spread throughout the class is the use of tools that are handily sold at the store, but there is no pressure to purchase anything. However, parents get a discount if they do decide to shop after the class!

Shaking flour around the bread loaf pan to prevent sticking.

Details for the class (at the Trolley Square location in Salt Lake City, ):

Dates: Saturdays from 9:30-10:30 am
Register: To hold a spot, call the store at 801-359-0459
Ages 4+
Cost: FREE

Here are the upcoming topics:

March 8 — All About Strawberries
March 15 — Chop & Slice It!
March 22 — Let’s Stir Fry!
March 29 — Easter Egg Decorating
April 5 — Lemonade Day
April 12 — Easter Cookie Decorating
April 26 — Making Fresh Pasta

Music for Kids

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Happy Theo at the Utah Symphony

We went to the “Magic of Harry Potter” concert this week and had a great time. There was certainly magic in the air as Theo was able to sit through nearly 2 hours of classical music past his bedtime. It was a sold-out show, and I got a kick out of seeing so many kids (mostly older kids) there, some wearing their Gryffindor scarves and holding their wands. Hopefully they had a good time too, and will consider going to the Symphony again in the future!

“What’s the next song, mommy?”
One of my favorite parts of the evening was watching Theo subconsciously/inadvertently moving his hands around to the rhythm of the music. In his music class at school, they have been learning about tempo and I could tell he was internalizing the concepts. At one point the trombone had a big solo and he moved his arms back and forth mimicking the musician playing the instrument.
I love this book that helps kids (and adults!) better understand classical music and the different parts of the orchestra. We checked it out of the library on a whim when we were going on a long car trip and enjoyed reading and following along with the accompanying CD which was a great audio aid. It introduces readers/listeners to general musical concepts, composers, genres, and each of the different families of instruments.
Now that you’re in the mood to demonstrate your knowledge of classical music and see it live in action, the next concert in the Lollipops family concert series is called Tyrannosaurus Sue: A Cretaceous Concerto and will feature two works, one of which is the titular piece:
The other piece that will be performed is based on the book “The Story of Babar,” in an orchestral piece composed by Francis Poulenc, L’ Histoire de Babar.
My friend Aimee has done a lot of the prep work in finding books and albums from the library or iTunes to help her children get ready for the concert, and I love that kind of effort to help kids better understand the performances beforehand. I think it will make a big difference in their overall enjoyment of the experience!
Since I’m on the topic of music for kids, I also wanted to share a couple of our favorite non-classical book/music albums. Theo has the great fortune of being a child of parents who spent their adolescence during the 1990s. (If you know the song “Stay” by Lisa Loeb and can sing it in its entirety from memory, you too may be a child of the ’90s.) Luckily, Lisa Loeb grew up and had kids too and wanted to write music for them! This is our favorite one of them all which features original music as well as old-timey classics:
The songs are short, catchy, and clever enough for parents to enjoy (sample lyric to The Disappointing Pancake, about a wandering pancake’s misadventures, including to a baseball game: “The crowd yelled, ‘Batter, batter!’ He felt right at home…”). A bonus is that Steve Martin (yes, THAT Steve Martin) also plays the banjo on the songs which I just love b/c I am in love with Steve Martin and everything he does.
The other album that we really enjoyed when Theo was younger was this one based off of the books by Sandra Boynton:

My friend Maggie introduced us to this, luring me with the promise of hearing celebrities singing (Kevin Bacon and Meryl Streep, among others). The lyrics are taken right from the pages of Boynton’s books and are also short, catchy and cute, but not so cute that you want to claw your ears off.

There is tons of music geared towards kids, with varying degrees of annoyingness (see: “What Does the Fox Say?”) but when you can find something that you can both enjoy, it’s a huge win. Of course, introducing kids to “regular” non-kid music is also important, and I’m grateful for my husband for giving Theo a thorough education in The Beatles, among other bands. There’s nothing better than sharing things with your children and having them form an appreciation of something you love.

Activities for All Abilities

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Have you been enjoying watching the Olympics? We have! I asked Theo what his favorite event to watch has been so far and he said “Upside Down Skiing!” (i.e. Aerials). What these athletes do with their bodies mentally and physically is just astounding.

As the Olympics come to a close, I am looking forward to introducing Theo to the Paralympic Games where physical limitations do not stop these amazing athletes from competing at the highest levels. This year’s Paralympics will also be held in Sochi and run from March 7-16; they will also be broadcast on NBC and NBC Sports Network. There will be five sports in competition which include: Biathlon, Cross-country skiing, Alpine skiing, Ice Sledge Hockey, and Wheelchair Curling.

Also, are these just the most adorable mascots ever or what?! I’m pleased to introduce to you Snowflake and Ray of Light.

Here in Utah, there is a wonderful organization called the National Ability Center which provides adaptive recreation programs and events for people of all abilities, including children. On March 6 they will have a Paralympic Opening Ceremony party for members and their families. I love their mission and the fact that they also provide social activities to enhance the feeling of community.

Photo Credit: National Ability Center (discoverynac.org)

If you have a family member who could benefit from their programs, they are currently registering for their spring 2014 activities which start at the end of March (early bird registration with a discount ends on March 10).

This is their comprehensive schedule of available activities. If you want to just check out their facilities and see if they would be a good fit for your family, they will host a free Demo day in May. They have a fun schedule of family activities throughout the summer as well.

I’m grateful for events and organizations that help all of us be more understanding of the world around us and that personally give me a way to impart important values to Theo. When a classmate of mine won the Bronze in the Nagano Paralympics our senior year of high school, it made quite an impression. Let’s celebrate the fact that the human spirit is the same within all of us, regardless of the differences in our physical bodies.

February on TV

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I was lucky to have the chance to go on the air and talk about some of my latest posts.
Click to watch the video here.
The topics discussed were the upcoming Olympics and fun Music&Movies mashups.
It is always a fun time and I am looking forward to going back on the show next month!

[UPDATE 2/8/14: I heard back from the Utah Symphony PR people that there will not be screens set up during the Harry Potter show, but the music from the movies will be performed. Just wanted to clarify!]