Weekend roundup
It may not be fair weekend yet (just another week to go!) but there are some fun things to fill up your weekend with the kiddos.
Septemberfest
- When: Sept. 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Where: Governor’s Mansion and Oklahoma History Center (Click here for map)
- What: A free, fun, family-friendly, and hands-on event. Visitors get free admission to the museum all day long. The governor and first lady will read stories to children. There also will be dancing, entertainment, puppet shows, inflatables, clowns, face painting and much, much more.
- For a full description and schedule of events, click here.
Pass it on Kids
- When: Sept. 10 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sept. 11 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Where: Church of the Harvest, located between 33rd and 15th streets off Western Avenue in Edmond.
- What: A consignment sale for fall and winter’s kids’ clothing. Half-price on select items on Sept. 11.
- For more information, go to www.passitonkids.com
34th annual Western Days
- When: Sept. 10-11
- Where: Downtown Mustang
- What: A festival including a carnival, rodeo, parade, magic show, music, car show and more.
- For more information, click here or call 376-2758.
103rd annual Cleveland County Free Fair
- When: Now through Sept. 11
- Where: Cleveland County Fairgrounds, E Robinson St., Norman
- What: A fair that has animals, a petting zoo, carnival rides, a midway, celebrity cow milking and much more.
- For more information, click here.
Oktoberfest
- When: Now through Sept. 11
- Where: Choctaw’s Creek Park
- What: German food and goods, live entertainment for all ages, dancing, crafts and activities for kids. Admission is $3 for age 12 and older. Kids younger than 12 are free.
- For more information, go to www.choctawfestival.org or call 390-8647.
If you know of any other great family-friendly events this weekend or coming up, please post them below or e-mail me.
Have a great weekend!
-Erica Smith
esmith@opubco.com
Camps for preschoolers
If you’re like me, you may be trying to find somewhere to put your preschooler this summer if their day care is closed for a week or you have a sitter going on summer vacation. Believe it or not, there are actually some pretty interesting camp options for the 3- to 4-year-old set.
Here are some of the camps being offered this summer (costs vary-click on websites or call for more information):
Oklahoma Children’s Theatre, Oklahoma City
606-7003
Dates: June 1 – Aug. 13
Preschoolers travel through time and learn performing arts basics. Camps conclude with a performance. Other camps available for up to age 12.
oklahomachildrenstheatre.org
Casady School Summer by the Lake, Oklahoma City
749-3192
Dates: June 7 – Aug. 13
Over 100 programs are available from pre-K to high school.
casady.org
Fine Arts Institute of Edmond
340-4481
Dates: June 7-Aug. 13
All types of artistic camp classes for age 2 through 8th grade.
edmondfinearts.com
Oklahoma City Zoo, Oklahoma City
425-0218
Dates: June 7-Aug. 6
43 themed camps offered for ages 4 to 15.
zoofieldtrips.com
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Norman
325-4712
Dates: June 7 – Aug. 6
Summer Explorers program is for ages 4 to 14.
snomnh.ou.edu
Ginger’s Kindermusik, Oklahoma City
722-2379
Dates: June 21-25 or July 19-23
Themed camps for children from birth to age 7 and piano keyboard camps for ages 7-8.
gingerskindermusik.com
Mad Science of Central Oklahoma, various locations
285-9643
Dates: June 21 – Aug. 6
Camps for kids age 4 to 12 include Secret Agent Lab, Science AdventureQuest and Little Agents Academy.
madscience.org/okc
Oklahoma City Museum of Art
236-3100
Dates: June 1 – Aug. 6
Themed camps for ages 4 to 16 focus on permanent exhibits and special exhibits.
okcmoa.com
Heritage Hall Day Camp, Oklahoma City
749-3002
Dates: June 1-July 23
Camps for ages 3 and older include enrichment, creativity, technology and sports options.
www.heritagehall.com
Victory School of the Arts, Warr Acres
440-2186
Dates: June 21 – Aug. 7
Classes offered for age 3 and older in all types of dance, tumbling and guitar.
victorydance.tv
Unpluggits Playstudio, Edmond
340-7584
Dates: June and July
Camp sessions have a superhero or dinosaur theme.
unpluggits.com
If you know of any other fun summer camps available for preschoolers, comment here or email me.
Happy camping!
-Erica Smith
esmith@opubco.com
How early is too early?
If you’re anything like me, you want to give your child the best possible chance of being a successful, happy person. Most of us can probably recall being involved in some activity growing up, whether in school or not, such as sports, acting, singing or playing an instrument.We see the Olympic medalists, who started training as early as 3 or other professional athletes who are shown with a football or golf club in their hands at 4 years old. We hear of musicians who picked up the guitar or started playing the piano at the age of 2. And sometimes, as parents, we think we need to get our kids involved in something that early, just so they can be one of the few who make it big.
But how early is too early? I’ve been browsing some of the activities I can get my 2 1/2 -year-old involved in. So far, pretty much everything is offered to kids that age. I’ve seen tennis lessons, acting lessons, instrument and singing lessons, gymnastics coaching, T-ball teams, rodeo coaching and even golf lessons.
So how do I choose? And more importantly, how early should he start? I don’t want to be a pushy mom and have my child give up his childhood before it even starts (gymnasts come to mind, who as children, seem to spend every waking moment in the gym). And at 2 or 3 years old, do they even have the attention span or desire to be a participant? Or is it more for the parents’ satisfaction?
On the other hand, it also seems that getting kids involved early on may pave the way for them to crave being on sports teams in school or want to be first clarinet in the school band. They’ll know and want life outside the daily routine of home and school.
So I’d like to hear from parents on this. How early did you get your kids involved with activities? What made you decide to start them at that age?
Leave your comments here or email me at esmith@opubco.com. I’d love to hear from you.
~Erica Smith
Has America’s Got Talent gotten too far?
I’m a fan of reality TV, I’ll admit it. I’ve been avidly watching this season of America’s Got Talent and I must say, the talent does not disappoint.
There is one talent act that has bothered me though, especially lately. It is that of 4-year-old singer Kaitlyn Maher.
The premise of this show is to find a talent that can sustain an audience in Las Vegas as a headline act, along with a considerable cash prize. I understand the novelty of having a 4-year-old sing for a national audience, but I really do think America (who keeps voting her back) doesn’t quite get this premise and I think if she wins, it will be a hard lesson to learn.
Realistically, having a 4-year-old sing for a 90-minute show for a Las Vegas audience is asking for failure. It may sound harsh, but I don’t see droves of people lining up, paying to see her sing. Not only do I think she can’t keep up a show that long, but Piers Morgan, the only judge who has given a reality check about this act, is pleading to America not to put her through, and not to put her through that.
As novel as it is, we must remember this girl is only 4 years old. She doesn’t belong on a Vegas stage, she belongs in pre-school, singing children songs with her friends and family, watching PBS Kids, eating graham crackers and goldfish, and learning to read.
And I don’t believe the judges are blameless, either. After all, they did know the winning act gets a show in Vegas and they could have cut her before the live shows.
So now it’s in America hands. We’ll see tonight if they did the right thing and sent this little girl home.
~Erica Smith
Nick Jonas, my daughter loves you …. and other important life lessons
I’m taking my daughter to the upcoming Jonas Brothers concert. I know, I know. It’s a splurge.
My husband’s already mentioned the cost to me several times. (He calls them the “Donut Brothers.” He just doesn’t understand.) But I want to indulge Katie, 13, a little in what has teetered between a youthful crush and a small-time obsession. (Afterall, we missed the Hannah Montana concert. Yes, I’m still a little miffed at the whole experience of trying to buy those elusive seats.)
So, pricey, yes. But this is something she will remember when she gets older.
She’s excited. Her friends are excited.
But not everyone has tickets to this exciting summer concert. So, Katie’s friends enlisted her help recently when a local radio station was having a call-in to win Jonas Brothers tickets. You just had to be the 100-and-something caller to win.
Easy enough.
She checked with me first. That was sweet. …. I said it was OK.
So she and her little sister, Kaci, pitched in to start calling, and I went on about my business.
A little later Katie came back and asked, “Is it costing money if I stay on the phone?” No, it’s a local call.
She was relieved, explaining that Kaci had been waiting on the phone for 15 minutes, but the line was busy. …
… It took a few seconds, and then I began to chuckle and explained to her that if the line is busy, you have to hang up and call again.
“oh, man,” she said.
Needless to say, she didn’t win more tickets. …
– Linda Lynn
