237 Events coming up in the Capital District that are FREE!

Publisher's Note:

Dear KOA readers:

Last week, I wrote about the need to allow our children to fail, and learn from failing, rather than simply endlessly assure them they're great. It generated more feedback from readers than this space has had in a while; clearly this has been on many parents' minds. Most readers agreed, but one cautioned that even though the ability to manage failure is indeed something everyone needs to learn, parents must still protect their kids from letting failure become a habit. Her point was that the experience of success is still critical: If a child comes to think of himself as endlessly failing, then this embeds itself in his self-concept and handicaps him for life. POINT WELL TAKEN! Parenting is an endless balancing act, isn't it: the structuring of our children's experiences so that they can, step by step, become masters of their own destiny, both experiencing success and stretching themselves enough that they occasionally fail. (And we do this all while, if possible, maintaining a sense of humor.) Whoever thinks it's possible to parent mindlessly is in for a rude awakening, no?

2) Speaking of helping kids succeed, it's that point in the school year when a child's interest in the musical instrument she has chosen can start to wear a little thin. What do you do when your child doesn't think that trumpet or violin is quite as cool as it used to be, and practicing becomes a struggle? Check out our (timeless) article by Cherylann Bellavia, What To Do When Your Child Doesn't Want To Practice. If you have your own suggestions, email them to me and I'll see if I can add them in a comments section at the end of the article.

3) It's Still Winter Break! We have new events offered all the time,  so it's worth it to take a look, even if you have already done so.
Winter Break Events

4) Lots of FREE stuff to do still, today and tomorrow!

Free Events Thursday:
Songs from the Piano Bench at the New York State Museum
Tween Creativity Lab at Guilderland Public Library
Family Movie Night at East Greenbush Community Library
Teen Talent Contest Audition at Steamer No. 10 Theatre
Minute to Win It at William K. Sanford Colonie Town Library

Free Events Friday:
Melvin the Magnificent at Guilderland Public Library
Science Around the House at East Greenbush Community Library
The Puppet People presenting - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at Saratoga Public Library
Troy Night Out
Preschool Movies at Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library
Songs by Ryan Cooney at William K. Sanford Colonie Town Library

5) Two more days of  February Vacation Daze from Steamer No. 10 Theatre: A different show every day this week!

• Thursday: Kids' Fare presents Hansel & Gretel
• Friday: The Zucchini Brothers

6) The Top 20 Places to Take Kids in the Capital District also is a great place to get ideas for Winter Break fun and activities.

7) In our Winter Break newsletter, I linked to all of the local museums. That was REALLY popular, so I'm providing that link again.
Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center & Henry Hudson Planetarium
Albany Museum of Art
Albany Pine Bush Preserve & Discovery Center
Brookside Museum
Columbia County Historical Society
Crailo State Historic Site
Emma Treadwell Thacher Nature Center
Empire State Aerosciences Museum
Fort Ticonderoga
Hyde Collection
New Netherland Museum and the Half Moon
New York State Museum
Old Sturbridge Village
Pember Museum of Natural History
Rensselaer County Historical Society - Here is their February Break handbook
Schenectady County Historical Society
Schenectady Museum & Suits-Bueche Planetarium
Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site
Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site
Shaker Heritage Society
Slate Valley Museum - Holding Winter Break programs Tues and Thurs
The Children's Museum at Saratoga
The Children's Museum of Science and Technology (CMOST)
World Awareness Children's Museum

8) We are in the final days of the current giveaway up on KidsOutAndAbout:

A GREAT debut album! Riff Rockit is a live action children’s entertainer who performs music the entire family can enjoy.  For the debut self-titled album, aimed at school-age kids, Riff Rockit a.k.a Evan Michael took his favorite elements of rock and roll and combined it with a fun, entertaining, and educational way to delight, excite, and inspire kids on the 12-track release. Developed in association with experts in the youth market, Riff Rockit and RiffRockit.com aim to capture children's imaginations, promote movement and activity, empower children with self worth, and encourage social development and school readiness. Win Riff Rockit's new album by going to our giveaway page!

9) Hannaford Kidz Expo update: Plan Plan PLAN ahead to March 3, when you'll want to visit the Hannaford Kidz Expo at the Empire State Plaza... and not just because KidsOutAndAbout will have a booth there. It's free, and there's a ton of stuff to do. Here are all of the details. And if your organization is interested in having a booth there (about 3000-5000 people attend that day!), click here.

--Debra Ross, Publisher

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From your editor, Katie Beltramo:
  
10) Can you believe that winter break is almost over? It always seems like such a long stretch at the beginning, but then it flies by for us. It hasn't been my family's best time ever on vacation. My 7-year-old is sick, which means that we haven't been as productive as I'd like, plus we haven't been having much fun, either! It's pretty sad, people. There's been quite a bit of reading, some playing outside, and games, like a new favorite, Set.
 
11) It looks like we might just not have a real winter this year, doesn't it? The good news is that if you want to ski, many local resorts make enough snow to provide a decent family outing. If you've been holding out for the big snow to go and do your skiing (like we have), well, it might just be time to give in and enjoy the little snow that's available while it's still around. If you're up for skiing and a party, on Saturday it's Snapple Ridge Fest 2012 at Maple Ski Ridge. Of course, watch: we'll all give up on snow and go skiing, and next thing you know we'll have a late spring nor'easter.
 
12) If, instead of lamenting the lack of snow, you're excited at the prospect of spring, there are some other fun outdoor activities planned, like Outdoor Day at Cherry Plain State Park and Family Fun Day at Gavin Park at Wilton Wildlife Preserve and Park.
 
13) There are some great kid-friendly cultural events this weekend, including free library events like Songs by Ryan Cooney at  William K. Sanford Colonie Town Library, and The Puppet People presenting - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at Saratoga Public Library, as well as little-kid music playgroups, like Saturday Musical Playdate for young children at Kindermusik with Miss Lisa and Family Music at My Place to Play.
 

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14) The Bravo Family, the Wall Family, the Woods Family, the Smart Family, and the Walker Family are our fictional families that take their kids to activities based on their particular interests. Here is what they are up to this weekend:

The Walker family focuses on health and physical fitness. Here are their plans.
Friday: Troy Night Out
Saturday: Snapple Ridge Fest 2012 at Maple Ski Ridge
Sunday: Yoga Kidz and Teen Yoga at Sidney Albert Albany Jewish Community Center

The Bravo Family loves the arts.
Friday: Songs by Ryan Cooney at  William K. Sanford Colonie Town Library
Saturday: Saturday Musical Playdate for young children at Kindermusik with Miss Lisa
Sunday:  LECTURE-Harold Holzer, "Lincoln and New York" at Albany Institute of History and Art

This is the Woods Family. They love nature and the great outdoors.
Friday: Scoop on Poop at Albany Pine Bush
Saturday: Family Fun Day at Gavin Park at Wilton Wildlife Preserve and Park
Sunday: Winter Botany Workshop at Thacher Nature Center

The Smart family focuses on educational and cultural activities. They also shop smart!
Thursday: Hand Building with Clay at Art Smarts
Friday: The Mysteries of Matter at The Children's Museum of Science and Technology (CMOST)
Saturday: Furry Tales & Touchables at New York State Museum
Sunday: LECTURE-Harold Holzer, "Lincoln and New York" at Albany Institute of History and Art

The Wall Family prefers indoor activities. Here is their weekend itinerary:
Friday: The Puppet People presenting - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at
Saratoga Public Library
Saturday: Family Music at My Place to Play
Sunday: Miracle 4 Maddie Memorial Fund Fundraising Event at Tiny Tots Tea Room
 

15) Here is your day-by-day weekend guide to upcoming events:
Friday, February 24
Saturday, February 25
Sunday, February 26
 

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16) RESOURCES

Everything that's free (upcoming events that are free...237 of them on the calendar right now!)
Top 20 Places to Take Kids in the Capital District
Indoor Play Centers
Places to ski within driving distance of Albany
Places to have birthday parties
Private Schools
Preschools
Extracurricular classes
Clubs/Scouts/Teams for Kids and Parents
Libraries
Parks / Outdoor recreation areas
Kid-friendly restaurants
Organizations & schools that provide resources for kids with special needs
Upcoming shows and performances
Museums

17) Have you checked out the results of our survey of Top Places to Take Kids in the Capital District? No? Well, check out the new page: Top 20 Places to Take Kids in the Capital District

Here are the Category Winners!
Favorite Indoor Play Center: Tiny Tots Tearoom
Favorite Outdoor Play Center: Hoffman’s Playland
Favorite kid-friendly museum: New York State Museum
Favorite nature center: Thacher Park/Nature Center
Favorite farm (agri-entertainment): Indian Ladder Farms
Favorite professional sports team: Tri-City Valleycats (baseball)
Favorite children's theatre: Proctors Theater
Congratulations to all of the winners, and thanks to all of you who voted!

18) Folks who "Like" the KidsOutAndAbout.com Albany listing on Facebook find out about stuff in advance and even can enter Facebook-only giveaways, so make sure to Like us! These Facebook-Only Giveaways happen frequently, so don't miss a thing..."like" us today!

19) Have you wondered about creative places to host your child's birthday party in the Albany-Troy-Schenectady area? There are 96 Birthday Party Locations on our list; check them out!

20) I'm sure you can think of other folks who would enjoy finding out what's up for kids and families every week, so please, think of a few friends and forward it along! Here is the direct link they can use to sign up, themselves.

Have a great weekend!

Debra Ross
Publisher, KidsOutAndAbout.com

Katie Beltramo
Editor, KidsOutAndAbout.com