Fun for the Littlest Ones
Tuesday Top Five: April Fool's Day Fun!
March 31, 2009
Yay! It's April!
Okay, if you have low tolerance for pranks or silliness, tomorrow is not so much of a fun day. If you love them, like me, you've been looking forward to April Fool's Day with great glee.
Now, of course, with little kids there's a fine line between "prank" and "just being mean to a little kid for no reason." So here are some fun ways to celebrate his day of foolishness with your little ones -- they are, after all, delightfully goofy and love to make us laugh!
Funny clothes: At my daughter's school, they are letting the kids wear PJs on April Fool's Day and bring a favorite stuffed animal to cuddle during story time. Just make sure to coordinate with the teachers and other parents so your kid isn't the only one coming to school dressed strangley tomorrow!
Backwards Day: Have, say, chicken and vegetables for breakfast, something strange for lunch and pancakes or scrambled eggs for dinner.
Poisson D'Avril: In France and French-speaking Canada, children go around trying to stick paper fish to people's backs without their noticing on April 1, hence le poisson d'Avril (April Fish). Cut out the fish today, and have them ready to tape tomorrow. This is a fun, kind-spirited prank that shouldn't result in scared or hurt feelings!
Other Pranks: Family Fun magazine has a whole host of things to do on April Fool's Day. Quite frankly I think some of them are gross (messages in the toilet? Ew), but some are cute (I like the balloon swarm thing).
Jokes: If none of these other things work out for your family, there's always joke-telling. My daughter loves knock-knock jokes. Enjoy (and forgive me).
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See Dan Zanes for Free, on Us!
March 02, 2009
Every now and then, something happens which is just really cool. Such was true for me the other day, when I opened up my email box to find a note from a guy from Festival Five Records. Yes, THAT Festival Five records, the label of the one and only Dan Zanes. This would be like my 15-year-old self just casually getting an email from REM's label or something, I was so excited.
If you're reading this, you're likely already clued in to the Awesome that is Dan Zanes. Former frontman of the Del Fuegos (part of the 1980s Boston scene that spawned bands like the Violent Femmes), he grew up, had a family and turned his considerable talents to what he calls "family music" -- songs that the whole family can relate to and enjoy.
I first got hooked when my daughter was teeny and I saw a video clip on Sesame Street that just charmed me -- a guy with crazy graying hair singing a song on the steps of his Brooklyn brownstone with his daughter and a bunch of their friends. The song was "Jump Up ," and its nice melody, sweet sentiment and overall fun happy spirit just made me smile every time I heard the song.
I did a little research and discovered he did a few interstitial videos for Playhouse Disney, under the name Dan Zanes House Party (they still run sometimes -- set your DVR now!). And shortly thereafter, he played a free show at the Detroit Institute of Arts that I to this day refer to as Toddler Woodstock because it was just simply madness, in a happy crazy dancing kids kind of a way. Proof that this is indeed family music -- my parents came with us and loved it as much as we did.
Well, what Festival Five wanted with me, and by extension you, was the following: Dan Zanes is playing in Ann Arbor on March 29. And one lucky Savvy reader will win a four-pack of tickets to the show! And 10 more of you will win a copy of his latest CD, Nueva York.
I am beyond excited to bring this giveaway to our readers! To enter, send and email to me at beingsavvydetroit@savvysource.com with your suggestion for great kid's music -- whether it was originally intended for kids or not. Winners will be chosen by a random drawing by my daughter (and perhaps my baby son as well, if he's feeling grabby that day!) I'll be contacting winners to get their mailing addresses so I can send you the CD, but I promise I am a very nice nonstalkerish person and too busy to harass anyone besides. The deadline to enter is March 16, two weeks from today, and the drawing will be done before Friday of that week. One entry per person, please.
Even if you don't win the tickets, I can guarantee you'll enjoy the show!
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Kids' Music for Grownups Too
February 23, 2009
love music, and always have. I can't keep up on the latest stuff as much as I used to, but I love listening to music and sharing favorites with my kids. And one of the most enjoyable parts of parenting for me is finding out about some of the amazing and talented musicians who are making music aimed at children these days.
But of course, there's plenty of music that we like that our kids will too. Here are some that we like:
We love Lyle Lovett, most reggae, INXS, the Beatles, New Order, the White Stripes -- basically, anything with a strong beat and danceability. I hate, hate most kids' music, with its corny rhymes and cutesy-poo cheerfulness and pandering silliness, so anything that's appropriate for my kids and enjoyable for me gets my vote.
of course, there's really great kids' music, too. Elizabeth Mitchell has been a favorite since we saw her play at Ladel's Bookstore summer before last, and she was lovely and gracious and signed our CD. I would have loved the music, which is pretty and simple and folky, without her being so nice but we'll be fans forever now.
There's our local champions of the "Mom Band" genre, the Candy Band, who play hard rocking versions of classic kid favorites and some great original songs of their own from a kid's perspective like "Timeout" and "Playdate." There's no cutesy here, just a chance to rock out.
And another one of our favorites is, of course, Dan Zanes. Watch this space for some exciting giveaways on that front very, very soon.
What are your grown up favorites for your kids? Any suggestions for us?
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Tuesday Top Five: Detroit Counts
February 03, 2009
Today's theme is counting, and fun things to count around town. Here are some of my favorite ideas: Head down to the river and count boats -- freighters now, and sailboats or powerboats in the summer. One of my favorite places to do this is Chene Park, at Chene and Atwater, but with our revitalized riverfront there are all kinds of nice places to spend some time. Watch the skaters Read more...
Help Us Out Here, Woody!
February 02, 2009
Happy Groundhog Day! Did you know Michigan has its very own groundhog predictor? His/her name is Woody the Woodchuck, and she lives at the Howell Nature and Conference Center . If you're reading this early in the morning and don't have to be anywhere, the center will be coaxing her out to make her prediction at 8am sharp. Afterwards you can explore the center and enjoy a light breakfast, Read more...
99 Things To Do Before Kindergarten
January 27, 2009
1. Go ice skating at Campus Martius 2. Do the giant slide at Belle Isle 3. Play on the playscape at Belle Isle 4. Have a picnic at Belle Isle 5. Go on a nature walk through the neighborhood 6. Have a two-park day -- go to one in the morning and one in the afternoon 7. Meet friends at Jungle Java 8. Go to storytime at Ladel's Books 9. Go to storytime at the Southfield Public Library in the space Read more...
Indie, Family-Friendly Circus Fun
January 23, 2009
There are parents who don't mind the Wiggles, or Barney, or that creepy Ralph's World dude -- and then there are the rest of us. Some are just music snobs (hi!), some are artists or musicians, and some are just generally "indie" types who want nothing to do with anything mainstream. Whichever type you are -- or if you're just looking to explore beyond the run-of-the-mill kids' Read more...
New Beginnings, Fresh Eyes
January 05, 2009
Resolutions and reflections is our theme this month. For me, January is always a month of great promise and excitement -- a whole new year to make memories. And it's often the time when the changes I have begun over the last year really begin to manifest themselves. Of course, for our kids, every day is a new beginning. Part of the magic of preschoolers is that so many of their Read more...
Tuesday Top Five: Favorite Posts of the Year
December 30, 2008
Wow, I can't believe 2008 is almost over! It quite frankly has not been the best one ever here in Detroit, but one of the highlights of my year is taking on this Savvy Source job. It's been so much fun learning more about this city I have called home for almost my entire life, and getting to know and connect with all of you. Here's a Top Five posts of the year for me -- just a simple Read more...
Tuesday Top, Um, 26: The Detroit Alphabet
November 04, 2008
A is for Avalon Bakery -- Great treats, organic ingredients, and nice people. B is for Belle Isle. C is for Comerica Park. D is for Dequindre Cut -- The new path linking downtown with the Eastern Market area. E is for Eastern Market. F is for Family Hootenanny -- Grown up local bands playing music for little kids. G is for Glancy Trains -- Little kids are fascinated by this exhibit at the Read more...
The Rainbow Connection: Bridging the Gaps and Learning About Other Cultures
September 15, 2008
One of the sad facts about life here in Metro Detroit is that we are one of the most racially segregated cities in the country, if not the most segregated. White? You live in the suburbs. African-American? You live in the city, or in one of a few suburbs. There are exceptions I'm one but it's can be really hard to find a less homogenous environment to expose our kids to people of other races and Read more...
Tuesday Top Five: Cooling Off in the Dog Days
August 26, 2008
It's the dog days of summer here in MI and right now we're experiencing an odd mix of beautiful, perfect days that make you think "I wish summer could last forever!" and horrible, swampy, humid, sweaty days that make you think "When is summer going to be OVER?" For the latter kind of days, here's a quick roundup of places to go to cool off, some high-impact, some low-impact, and some simple but Read more...
It's Time For the Fair!
August 21, 2008
It's almost here! It starts tomorrow! Are you excited? I am! What am I nattering on about? Why, the State Fair , of course. It starts tomorrow and runs through Labor Day and is one of the most fun, corny, family-friendly events to hit town all summer. I'm a teensy bit biased my neighborhood is across Woodward from the fairgrounds and so ever since we moved into this house, it's been a major Read more...
Learn More and Have Fun Too
July 28, 2008
Here on Savvy, we're chock full of cool, interesting things to do that can aid your child's development and get them ready to learn when they start K-12 schooling. But kids don't always develop on track. Luckily, there is help if you are concerned about anything to do with your child's development and it's better to act than wait. That's the philosophy behind Early On, the federally funded Read more...
Good, Dirty Fun!
July 07, 2008
How much fun is this? Wayne County Parks annual Mud Day is Tuesday! Which is exactly what it sounds like according to the parks people it's 2,000 feet of topsoil, 20,000 gallons of water, and lots and lots of kids running around in the mud. Organizers request that kids wear bathing suits or old clothes, and there's a changing area for kids to get hosed off and put on fresh clothing, so bring a Read more...
Exploring: Introducing Children to World Cultures Through Art and Music
June 04, 2008
I loathe hot weather, and it's supposed to be hot this weekend, blazing, 90-degree-ish hot. But instead of languishing in the nearest air -conditioned room I can find, I'll be moseying about the Wayne State campus area. Only one thing could get me to not only brave the heat but be excited about the prospect the Detroit Festival of the Arts . Words cannot describe the coolness of this festival, Read more...
More of Our Favorite Activities and Things to Do in detroit
Creatures & Critters:
Our Urban Jungle
Do, Re, Mi! Places to Hear, Sing & Play a Tune
Artistic Endeavors:
Our Favorite Art Venues
Room to Run:
Run, Jump & Wiggle Outdoors
Rainy & Quiet Days:
Cozy & Crazy Indoor Fun
A Sense of History:
Our City's Stories
Tot's Science Fair:
Science & Nature Sites
Splash, Spray, Play! Local Spots to Get Wet
The Most Fun in Life Is Free!
The Best of... Our Top Can't-Live-Without Spots
The Voice of Being Savvy detroit:
Amy Kuras
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