Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in baltimore, MD

Weekend Highlights, 3/13-3/15

March 12, 2009

We’ve got plenty of exciting highlights this weekend, including two opportunities for you to go out, sans kids.  Have a look-see: 

 

Lively Arts for Little Ones: DinoRock - The Other Barn, 5851 Robert Oliver Place, Columbia, 410-730-4610 

 

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Preschool Garage Band

March 02, 2009

In this age of rock-oriented video games and polished pop stars who don’t play their own instruments, it’s no wonder that many kids don’t really know where their music comes from.  I mean, sure, maybe they’ve seen guitars and pianos, and maybe they’ve attended a kids’ concert or two, but how many kids, while rocking out to Yo Gabba Gabba or Hanna Montana or the newest, hippest songs on their parents’ ipods, just assume that the music has always been there, that some strange force, possibly not even human, is somehow behind those infectious grooves?  Surprisingly many, I’m willing to bet.  And how best to get these kids—and your kids, too, no matter how musically savvy they may be—to understand music, to give them some sense of how songs are made?  Why, of course, by encouraging them to participate in music, by thrusting some instruments, whether real or homemade, into their cute and potentially jammin’ hands.

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Weekend Highlights, 2/20-2/22

February 19, 2009

Well, another weekend is nearly here to divert us, and it’s time again for me to provide you with some entertainment suggestions.  Here are five widely varied activities to keep you and the kids amused all weekend long.

 

The Golden Dragon Acrobats – Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, 801 Chase St., Annapolis

Friday, 7:30 p.m.

If you’ve never seen a Chinese acrobatic show, you should definitely take advantage of this opportunity.  Count on amazing feats of strength and grace, as well, most likely, as improbably high stacks of spinning plates. 

 

Performing Arts Celebration of Black History Month – Pascal Center for Performing Arts, Anne Arundel Community College, 101 College Pkwy

Friday, 8-9:30 p.m.

While perhaps a little late for the littlest of little ones, this extravaganza of dance, music and theatre should prove engaging for children who can stay up past 9:30.

 

Rumplestiltskin – Pumpkin Theatre, St. Timothy’s School for Girls, 8400 Greenspring Ave., Stevenson

Saturday and Sunday, 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.

It’s hard not to love the story of Rumplestiltskin, what with the crafty dwarf and the peculiar name and the trickery all around.  Enjoy this musical rendition of the classic comeuppance tale. 

 

Motion Mania Dance Company – Port Discovery Children’s Museum

Saturday, 1 & 2 p.m.

Enjoy a special performance by this excellent troupe of dancers.

 

Baltimore Chamber Orchestra with the Peabody Children’s Chorus – Goucher College, Kraushaar Auditorium

Sunday, 3 p.m.

This concert, which features pieces by Mozart and Villa-Lobos, among others, is not, per se, a children’s concert.  But watching real kids perform such beautiful music might inspire your child to indulge his musical side. 

 

And enjoy art activities this weekend at The Walters, The Creative Alliance at the Patterson and Lakeshore Learning Store. 

 

Whatever you do, have fun! 

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Weekend Highlights, 2/6-2/8

by Laura Stallard Petza

February 06, 2009

It's Friday, you're sick and tired of winter, and you're probably looking for fun stuff to do . Right? Well, the weather's supposed to be pretty decent this weekend, which means, unless you enjoy Seasonal Affect Disorder, lethargy and isolation, that you should make an effort to get outside with the kids. Most of the hiking trails, thanks to ice, snow and mud, are a little on the messy side  Read more...

A Mid-Winter's Playlist

by Laura Stallard Petza

January 22, 2009

It's mid-winter, it's freezing, and you and the kids are sorely in need of some exercise. Why not dance those winter blues away with my sure-to-rock, not-at-all-saccharine, totally awesome dance mix? All the cool kids are grooving to the tunes this winter, so what's the matter with you? Turn the TV off, put the corn chips away, and get off that couch and dance! Following are five albums  Read more...

T'is the Season to Do Fun Stuff with Your Family

by Laura Stallard Petza

December 09, 2008

With so many holiday events to choose from this season, it can be tough, can't it, to pick just a few. And yet, given the demands on our time and our money, we simply cannot do them all, no matter how much fun they all promise to be. But with the holidays quickly, quickly approaching, it will be boring, old January before you know it, and all of the holiday magic will be gone. So why not,  Read more...

Weekend Highlights: 12/4-12/7

by Laura Stallard Petza

December 04, 2008

Everybody's looking for ways to save a little money, especially in the midst of these dicey economic times, and especially in the midst of the holiday season. So what could be more welcome than Downtown Dollar or Less Days, a program sponsored by participating attractions this weekend and designed to get you--guess where?--downtown. Visit such popular, family-friendly destinations as The  Read more...

Get Your Weekend Groove On

by Laura Stallard Petza

November 06, 2008

Looking for some musical fun this weekend? Following are five programs sure to get you and the kids moving, grooving, rocking and rolling. Friday, November 7 Lively Arts for Little Ones!: Rocknoceros Three fathers, all musically inclined, set out to teach your youngsters about dental hygiene, the 50 states and more. I'm so charmed by the name Rocknoceros that I think I may be  Read more...

Making Music with Your Preschooler

by Laura Stallard Petza

October 10, 2008

Chances are that you've read at least one article on the myriad benefits of music education. Research, as you probably know, shows a strong correlation between academic success and musical aptitude, and there's no better time to introduce a child to music than during the preschool years. I'll be writing a lot more about kids and music in the months to follow, but here, as a start, is a short  Read more...