Library Events: Lafayette and Baton Rouge

Here are just a few events scheduled at the Lafayette and Baton Rouge public libraries:

Lafayette (click for more events)
May 1
Genealogy 101 9:30 am (Main Branch)

May 12

Give Teens a Break! 6:30 pm (A session for parents; South Regional)

May 19

Movie 4:00 pm: Ponyo (Main Branch)

May 21

Movie 4:00 pm: The Spy Next Door (South Regional)

May 28

Make a Splash: READ! Summer Reading Program Kickoff (South Regional)

Baton Rouge (click for more events)

May 1

Tea for Two 3:00 pm (Pride-Chaneyville Branch)

Priscilla Sharrock will share her knowledge of tea and tea traditions while you enjoy a relaxing cup of tea and light desserts. You will also learn the art of tea bag folding and make wonderful cards and gifts for Mother's Day. Great fun for ages 5 to 105. Registration by calling 658-1540.

May 8

A Cup of Tea for Mom 1-4 pm (Jones Creek Regional Branch)

Stop by anytime between 1:00 and 4:00 pm and make a "teatime" Mother's Day card for Mom. All ages through 11 years.

May 25

Summer Reading Program Kick-Off With Raising Cane! 10:00 am (Main Library)

Reminder: Kids Bowl Free This Summer!

Tie a ribbon on your finger to remind yourself to register your kids for free bowling. All summer long, kids can bowl 2 free games per day at participating bowling alleys. Here's a list of who is participating in Louisiana:

Baton Rouge: Circle Bowl, Metro Bowl
Kenner: AMF All Star Lanes
Lafayette: Acadiana Lanes, Lafayette Lanes
Monroe: Bayou Bowl
Natchitoches: Country Lanes

To register, go here and find a participating location near you. Register your children and the free bowling passes will arrive weekly by email. How much fun!

Thanks, Couponing to Disney!

Louisiana Children's Museum: Free Admission

Target is sponsoring FREE admission to the Louisiana Children's Museum in New Orleans this Sunday, April 18th. According to the museum's website, it's 30,000 square feet of engaging activities for kiddos and adults. What a great way to pass a Sunday afternoon! Go here to locate other free and reduced-price events sponsored by Target.

Louisiana Boardwalk: Calvary's Eggfest

Hop on over to Louisiana Boardwalk in Bossier City this Saturday, April 3rd! From 10:00 am- 1 pm, they are having face painting, live music, egg hunts, inflatables, and an appearance by the Easter Bunny. If you plan on doing a little shopping too, check out the special offers. Carter's is having a 40% off Easter Sale and you can grab free tots at Sonic with the purchase of a cheeseburger.

Disney Store: In-Store Event

The Disney Store will be hosting Thumper and Miss. Bunny's Egg-cellent Adventure Saturday, March 27th from 11 am- 3 pm. Minimum age for participation is 3 years old. Call your local store to confirm participation. Hop here to find locations and phone numbers.

Library Events: Lafayette, Alexandria, Baton Rouge

I heart the library! They offer so much and most of it is FREE! Often times, public libraries have various events scheduled from storytime to learning gardening skills. I browsed the calendar of events for a few public libraries in Louisiana and found some really fun kid activities. I did not include storytime, but click on the library location to get more information.

Lafayette (click for more events)

March 24, 2010

3:30 pm Bunny Craft (Ages 5-12)

4 pm Movie: The Princess and The Frog

March 30, 2010

4 pm Movie: Planet 51

March 31, 2010

4:15 pm Tea for You and Me-- Kids 6-12 years and older are invited to dress up and come to a tea and cookie party. Activities include tissue flower making, napkin folding, and table etiquette. A parent must accompany the child. Call (337) 261-5779 to preregister.

Alexandria (click for more events)

March 31, 2010

9 am and 11 am Eggstravaganza Easter Hat Parade and Egg Hunt-- Visit the Easter Bunny at the Main Branch. Don't forget to wear your Easter Hat (you can make your own if you like) and bring your Easter Basket. They will also have children's musician Judy Caplan Ginsburgh. Reservations are required for each show. Call 318-442-2483 x 204 to reserve your spot.

Baton Rouge (click for more events)

Every Thursday

5 pm- 6 pm Tight Knit Group For Kids-- Kids are invited to knit with other kids. Beginners are welcome.

March 27, 2010

2:30 pm- 3:30 pm Washcloth Bunny Craft-- For ages 6-11. Registration is required. Call 756-1160 to register.

March 29, 2010

2:00 pm- 3:30 pm Disney Dance Dance Revolution-- Ages 5-11

March 31, 2010

5:30 pm- Learn the art of balloon twisting

Bass Pro Shops: Free Easter Activities

Bass Pro Shops has eggs-tra fun Easter events for the kids! Click here to find a location near you. Check out the schedule:

March 27-28

2-3 pm Easter Egg Hunt (Ages 8 and under)

12 pm Sun Catcher Craft

11 am- 3 pm Photos with the Easter Bunny

March 29- April 2

6 pm- 8 pm Photos with the Easter Bunny

April 1

6 pm Easter Decorations

April 3-4

2-3 pm Easter Egg Hunt (Ages 8 and under)

12 pm Easter Decorations

11 am- 3 pm Photos with the Easter Bunny

Alexandria Mall: Upcoming Events

Spring is hopping around the corner and Alexandria Mall has fun events scheduled.

Pictures with the Easter Bunny (click for times)

Through 4/3/2010

JcPenney Court

'Let's Rock' presented by Calvary Children's Choir

3/20/2010 1 pm

Center Court

Mad Hatter's Tea Party!

Don't be late for this very important date! It's a Very Merry Unbirthday Party and YOU are invited! Come dressed in your Wonderland best for tea, games and special character greetings

3/27/2010 2 pm

Center Court

Acadiana Lanes: Kids Bowl Free

Get ready for bowling at Acadiana Lanes! Kids ages 3-12 bowl FREE with each paid adult game. Shoe rental is included. This offer is valid Monday through Friday 8 AM- 5 PM until May 31, 2010.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

The fourth book in our Dr. Seuss week was One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. There are many unique characters in this book, but we focused on something recognizable--the fish.

We started off with a matching game. I found magazine ads with distinct colors and/or patterns, cut out one basic fish shape per ad, and cut the fish in half seperating the head from the tail. We mixed up all the tails and heads then my daughter matched the two.

On the menu for lunch was a ham fishwich followed by fish Jigglers after nap. (Jiggler recipe) We ended the day with a trip to the lake for a little...........fishing. Any other ideas for Dr. Seuss activities?

Dr. Seuss's ABC

My daughter had a playdate this morning, so we moved our Dr. Seuss theme to the afternoon. Today was Dr. Seuss's ABC. We enjoyed ABC Bingo until lil' sis wanted to put the bingo markers in her mouth. We will definately play the game again, but on the table. I made my own bingo cards, but there are several to choose here.

Kart Ranch: Coupons

Kart Ranch in Lafayette offers a variety of fun for the whole family. They are currently offering 3 great coupons on their website. Choose from $10 off Birthday Parties, $2 off Rides, and $2 off Inside Playground. Customers can use only one per visit.

Green Eggs Day

To celebrate Dr. Seuss, we are devoting each day of this week to one of his fun books. Yesterday was Cat In The Hat. Today centered on Green Eggs and Ham. We played Musical Squares using rhyming words from the book. For lunch, we ate green eggs, a must for Green Eggs Day. My daugther loves wraps so I rolled the green eggs and ham in a tortilla. It doesn't look appetizing, but "I like them, Sam-I-am!" Seussville also has several online games to tie into the theme. Tomorrow's feature will be Dr. Seuss's ABC.

"The Cat In The Hat" Activities

Tomorrow, March 2nd, is Dr. Seuss' birthday. To celebrate, I have a week full of tricks based on his fun books. Today was centered around The Cat in the Hat. This book was fitting for today because we felt like the two kids stuck inside "all [this] cold, cold wet day." Our tricks were:

1. Making a hat out of a cardboard oatmeal container and a paper plate.

2. Balancing the hat on our heads.

3. Playing "cat, cat, hat." (a.ka. duck, duck, goose)

4. Checking out the games at Seussville.

5. Working on "at" words. (Hat printable here.)

6. Turning a jelly sandwich into a hat.

Thanks Cat in the Hat for all the great fun! Get your stomach ready for tomorrow, Green Eggs and Ham!

Target Celebrates Dr. Seuss

In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, Target is hosting a storytime tomorrow, Februrary 27th from 9-11 a.m. They will have Dr. Seuss-inspired games and activities, a special reading of Oh, The Places You'll Go!, and giveaways. Go here for more information.

Thanks, Couponing to Disney!

Disney Digital Books: 7 Day Free Trial

Disney Digital Books is currently offering a free 7 day trial. We started yesterday and my daughter loves it! The books are grouped in three levels--picture books/early readers, readers, and chapter books. Once you select a book, you are able to read it just like it was in your hands. There is a section of books under "Look and Listen" that are narrated. Another feature of Disney Digital Books is called Story-Builder. We haven't tried this part yet, but you can create your own story and print it out. How much fun! Go here to start your 7 day free trial. If you already have a Disney account, just log in. If you are new to Disney, you will need to create an account. For the trial, they do not ask for credit card information.

Musical Squares

Thanks to No Time For Flash Cards, my daugther and I found a fun game we call "Musical Squares." We used square pieces of card stock, but any shape can be used. Write funny and/or educational tasks on the card then put the cards in a big circle. The DJ starts the music while the player goes around the circle stepping on each card. When the music stops, the player completes the task on the card. No Time For Flash Cards has great step-by-step instructions, including a video. I was the player one round, and my daughter loved seeing me complete a front roll. Boy, I'm not as young as I used to be.

Puppet Theater Presents

We have a puppet theater, but it has gone untouched for a while. (Check out this post on how to set up your own puppet theater.) Part of the problem is that I like to have a story or script in mind before starting the show. Well, my daugther asked for a puppet show this week, and I didn't have an original story in mind. I improvised with a story that turned out ok. Most of our puppets are farm animals so that's what I used, but any puppet will work.

(Horse is grazing in a field and Cow approaches.)

Cow (in sad tone): Hi Henry Horse.

Horse: Hey Bessie Cow. How's it goin'?

Cow: Well, Henry Horse, I'm hungry. Could I have some of this grass?

Horse: Sorry Bessie Cow, but this grass is for me. I haven't eaten all night!

(Cow moves on to the barn and finds Pig.)

Cow (in sad tone): Hey Patricia Pig. I'm hungry. Could I have some of your corn?

Pig: Sorry Bessie Cow, but this corn is for me. The farmer feeds me only once a day!

(Cow moves on and finds Cat.)

Cow: Cissy Cat, I'm hungry. Would you share your food with me?

Cat: Bessie Cow, I ate all my food this morning. I'm sorry.

Cow (to audience): I'm sad and hungry. Will you share your food with me?

If the audience says "yes":

Cow: Thank you for sharing with me. I am very happy. (Sing all together "If You're Happy and You Know It")

If the audience says "no":

-ask them for suggestions on how to find food

Cow: Maybe the farmer will share his food with me.

(Cow approaches farmer)

Cow: Fred Farmer, I'm hungry. Will you share your food with me?

Farmer: Bessie Cow, I'd love to share with you!

Cow: Thank you for sharing with me. I am very happy. (Sing all together "If You're Happy and You Know It")

Need puppets?

Click here to find templates for paper bag puppets.

Valentine Decoration

For me, the Saints and Mardi Gras have overshadowed Valentine's Day. But, it's a fun holiday so I thought of this craft for my daughter and I. This Valentine Door Decoration works on several fine motor skills and the concept of big to little. For this project, you need construction paper, scissors, stickers, yarn/string, and a hole punch.

Fold the construction paper in half and free-hand 1/2 of a heart. I made graduated sizes so we could work on biggest to smallest. But random sizes or all the same size would work too.

My daughter loves cutting so I let her cut out the hearts.

Once the hearts were complete, she arranged them in size from biggest to smallest. (Now that I've had time to process the activity, decorating the hearts first then arranging them helps the project flow better.)

She decorated the hearts with stickers while I cut 4 pieces of yarn (approx. 5 inches long). Holes were punched into the top and bottom of each heart, except the bottom heart which only needs one hole (at the top).

My daugther took each piece of yarn and threaded it through the holes on the hearts. We knotted the loose ends. For the top piece of yarn, we made a loop to hang the decoration.

She is proud to hang it on our front door!

Free Circus Ticket for Babies under 12 Months

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus has a special offer for babies under 12 months. Parents can sign up for a voucher that can be exchanged for a free ticket to any Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. How much fun! Thanks to Couponing to Disney for the information.