Kid Baltimore | Family Activities with Children in Baltimore, Maryland

Boo...

Two of my three children happily settled for off-the-shelf costumes this year: an angel and Ironman. Hardly creative, but functional. The third one wanted to be an octopus. Hmmm...

I started picturing my late night sewing session with too many appendages and got a little queasy, but then I realized that she was perfectly capable of handling this one herself, with just a little guidance from me. She made the pattern for the legs and cut them out of fleece. Then she machine stitched them, right sides together, turned them inside-out and stuffed them. 

My only contribution, aside from buying the materials, was sewing the final seam to attach the legs to the sweatshirt body. She hot-glued buttons on for suckers, and added strings to move two of the legs.

Voila! Instant octopus.

And it's a lot of fun to dance in...

 

Happy Halloween!

Shake Rattle & Roll Event

WHEN: Saturday, Oct 24th, 2009, 12:30–3:30 pm
WHERE: Luckie’s Tavern at Power Plant Live
            34 Market Place, Baltimore MD

General Admission: Adults $28 / Children (ages 3–12) $15 / Children under 2 Free
VIP Admission: Meet the band before the show.
Adults $40/ Children (ages 3-12) $25
Order Tickets at www.bcaci.org/milkshake
All proceeds go to support BCAC.

 A great event and a great cause. Just in case you haven't had your Milkshake fix lately, you can still get tickets for Shake Rattle & Roll, featuring a Live Concert by Milkshake plus Halloween Costume Contest, Pumpkin Bowling, Pumpkin Painting, Karma Dogs, Face Painting and more!

All the proceeds of the Shake Rattle and Roll Event and Milkshake Concert will go to benefit the non-profit Baltimore Child Abuse Center that helps over 900 children and 600 families a year recover from the trauma of sexual child abuse. A centralized facility focused on the family, BCAC provides free, state-of-the-art interviews, support services and collaboration with other agencies to eliminate the need for the child to relate and relive the experience over and over during an investigation.

To learn more, volunteer or donate visit www.BaltimoreChildAbuseCenter.org.

Apple Picking at Baugher's

 

When we pulled into the drive at Baugher's to pick apples, I was honestly shocked. Never underestimate the power of the apple. Cars were lined up all the way back to the road, and scouts were directing traffic. All this for apples? I mean, I love a good apple, but really?

Then I realized, it's not just about apples. It's apples, pumpkins, hayrides, apple butter, kettle corn and even a petting zoo, all wrapped up in one. Well, maybe for the rest of the crowd, but for me, it's about the apples, so outta my way.

We headed to stand in the tractor line for a ride to the apple orchard. It was a short wait, and we were quickly on our way. My gripe with apple picking is always the same. It just doesn't take long enough. But with little kids, that is not entirely a bad thing. We filled up 2 half bushel boxes in a short amount of time and caught a tractor ride back.

Of course, with apples in hand, there was no way we were leaving without checking out the other stuff. By the time we left, the kids had petted (or tried to pet) every animal around. The trunk was loaded with a big fat pumpkin, a bushel of apples, some tomatoes to can, and of course a huge bag of kettle corn.

Okay, I'm lying. The kettle corn rode up front with me.

Just one note: always call first to check availability.

410-876-5642

Baugher's
1236 Baugher Road
Westminster, MD 21158

[Map it]

Fall Harvest Festivals

There are lots of great Fall Festival's going on this weekend. Two that definitely sound like fun are the Harbor Harvest and Harbor East's Fall Harvest Fest. Both are FREE and both have lots of kid-friendly activities.

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Saturday, October 17, 2009
11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
HARBOR EAST'S FALL HARVEST FEST

Harbor East celebrates autumn’s bounty and the season’s best shopping and dining with Harbor East’s Fall Harvest Fest. Musical entertainment will include The Crawdaddies from 11 am to 1 pm; Mambo Combo from 1:30 to 3:30 pm; and the Junkyard Saints from 4 to 6 pm.
 
Throughout the neighborhood, guests will be able to enjoy spooky strolling entertainment, pumpkin carving demonstrations by renowned master pumpkin carver Sean Fitzpatrick, and much more! There will also be a treat for your receipts: show $75 in merchant receipts from that day and receive a free eco-friendly Harvest Fest commemorative bag.
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Sunday, October 18, 2009
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
HARBOR HARVEST
West Shore Park (between the Visitor's Center and Maryland Science Center) on the Inner Harbor Promenade

The festivities continue with Harbor Harvest on Sunday, October 18, with FREE activities for kids of all ages from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at West Shore Park, located in the Inner Harbor. The park will come alive with activity featuring a hay maze, pumpkin patch and decorating, live performance by Mr. Norman, a petting zoo, face painting, cookie decorating and more.

Photo courtesy WaterFront Partnership: Laura Siciliano at the pumpkin patch

Kids' Cooking Class

WHAT: Kids' Cooking Class with Chef Diane

WHERE: Green Spring Station

WHEN: Saturday, October 10, 2:30-4:00 pm
           Saturday, November 21, 2:30-4:00 pm

          *Please Note: the November date has been canceled.*      

I'm a big fan of kids learning to cook. Such a big fan, that I often turn my own kid loose in the kitchen to prepare meals now that she is the ripe old age of 10. Yes, I hover close by for anything that involves heavy lifting or high temperatures, but she is in charge. For her cooking days, she plans the meal, writes the grocery list and does most of the cooking herself. I have to say it is working out well. Better than well. Last week we had salmon poached in white wine with tarragon mushroom cream sauce.

That's why I was excited to hear that Chef Diane, owner of For The Love of Food is hosting two *free* cooking classes in conjunction with the Green Spring Station Farmers Market. The classes will use fresh ingredients from the market. No reservations are required and this event is open to all ages.

Green Spring Station
10751 Falls Road
Lutherville, MD 21093

[Map it]

Leonardo Da Vinci — The Genius

I stopped by the Maryland Science Center for a sneak peek at their new show Da Vinci — The Genius, which opens Saturday October 3, 2009 and runs through January 31, 2010. While this is a very grown-up show, they also have kid-friendly activities. My favorite parts are the working models that are marked with a "please touch gently" symbol. The intricately built models show Leonardo's sketches for mechanical studies in real life, with cranks that turn and pulleys that lift. There is even an example of one of his military inventions, an emergency bridge, where kids will be able to experiment with building their own small scale version with wooden logs.

I love the replicas of his journals, all written backwards to reduce smearing (he was left handed). Me? I just put up with the smearing. Leonardo? Writes backwards. Genius.

His paintings are also explored; from the Mona Lisa, to the Last Supper, to a new work just discovered in 2008. All replicas, of course, since the originals are fragile and priceless, but seeing his artwork side by side with his other work really gives you a sense of the broad scope of Leonardo's accomplishments: artist, city planner, inventor, military strategist, scientist.

Now about the title, Da Vinci — The Genius. I have no doubt that he was a genius. But the da Vinci part? Even though I nodded off more than a few times in my art history class, I still retained enough to know that his name was not da Vinci anymore than my name is da Baltimore. His name was Leonardo, and he was from the town of Vinci. I asked the reason for the name. "That's what most people would recognize." But I think we deserve a little more credit than that, even if we are not geniuses.

That said, this is the most comprehensive exhibit ever produced of possibly the most brilliant person that ever lived. And you've gotta love that.

410-685-5225

The Maryland Science Center
601 Light Street
Baltimore, MD 21230