02-20-08

Planning for Summer
By Nancy Carpenter

We all adore spending lots of quality time with our children in the summer, but somehow they seem to need more. Though summer seems far away, the time to plan for the best camps and interesting activities is here now! Fortunately, we have an abundance of options:

The National Zoo has lots to offer kids who are passionate about animals and their habitat…education classes, summer camps and teen travel. It’s all here! http://nationalzoo.si.edu/

Discovery Creek Children’s Museum of Washington is a traditional summer camp for kids who enjoy exploring nature. Located in Glen Echo Park, the setting is phenomenal with a scenic stream running through the forest. http://www.discoverycreek.org/

Washington International School is the local expert in foreign language instruction. Their popular summer camp program is a great way to support your child’s foreign language acquisition! They offer a wide variety of specialty camps as well. www.wis.edu

National Smithsonian - Summer Camp – Smithsonian Resident Associates sponsors full and half-day summer camp programs for DC’s Smithsonian museums, the National Mall, and other regional sites. Now that’s something that looks impressive on any child’s resume! http://residentassociates.org/camp/SummerCamp07.pdf

Imagination Stage in Bethesda, Maryland is a children’s theater company offering year-round productions of modern and classic plays. Classes in drama, acting, dance, musical theatre, and filmmaking are offered to children of all ages. Summer theatre camps give campers the opportunity to take part in a full production of a musical or play! http://www.imaginationstage.org/

DAR Colonial Adventure – The Daughters of the American Revolution have a Colonial Adventure program that will transport your kids back in time as they dress up in colonial style cloths, play games from the past, have a tea party, and more. What a meaningful way to learn about history! www.dar.org

Tiny Chefs – A talented teacher/chef comes to your home to create fun, educational and hands-on culinary classes for children ages 3 to 14 years old. Share the joys of cooking with children and one day they may actually fill the role of Sous Chef. We recently had a Tiny Chef class to spice up our play date schedule and it was a huge hit with the kids! A mom is always looking for interesting activities in between camps that can be scheduled on the spur of the moment. Search no more! tinychefs.com

02-06-08

Feed Them Art
By Nancy Carpenter

One way to brighten the gray skies of February is to take advantage of the arts available to us in DC. And one way to satisfy a child’s hunger for creativity and color during these short days is to feed them art. Here are some of the most popular places where you can find it:

The Smithsonian’s Discovery Theater – This is a wonderful live theater geared towards children. Classic stories and folktales are told through puppet shows, storytellers, dancers, actors, musicians, and mimes. www.discoverytheater.org

Philips Collection – Located in the Dupont Circle area, this amazing museum has an impressive and courageous collection that began in 1921. The Young Artists Exhibition Program displays children’s art resulting from the museum’s educational initiatives. You have to love that! www.phillipscollection.org

Corcoran Gallery of Art/College of Art & Design – The 19th century American art in the gallery unfolds like a beautiful history lesson. Parents have driven many miles from outside the city for their children to attend the prestigious art classes offered by the Corcoran. www.corcoran.org

American Ballet Theater – Children are simply wide-eyed when they first witness the wonder and beauty of dance. ABT Kids is a one hour narrated performance designed for kids age 4-12. www.abt.org

Strathmore – To find out more about the wide range of artistic options for the family, simply attend the lively and diverse “Discover Strathmore” free festival in Bethesda on Feb. 17th. www.strathmore.org

Glen Echo Park – Both the Adventure Theater Workshop and the Puppet Company Playhouse are located at Glen Echo Park and provide young children with possibly their first opportunity to be a member of an audience during a show. (This is one way to begin the journey to eventually attend the National Opera.) www.glenechopark.org

When I reviewed my recommended art venues for families with my six-year-old son, he recommended that I add Six Flags to the list. Perception is reality I suppose.

Living in Washington DC as a mom is quite an experience. One must have a sense of humor in order to survive. We view the world from a fresh perspective with many child-centered priorities. We want to know which local parks the kids prefer and why. And, what are their favorite cafes? More importantly, how do we get them into these exclusive private preschools?

We often see the local businesses as a way to escape the daily routines of a homemaker. Which spa is most likely to have an opening for a spur-of-the-moment mid-afternoon massage? We know. Where are some of the best spots to enjoy a cup of coffee while reading or people watching? Oh, and who can turn our laundry around in 24 hours if necessary? These are important issues.

We are seen pushing strollers around town and taking in the warm sun on the bench at the park. We are a growing population and we need a voice. Three cheers for free speech! We are MOMS in the CITY!

In pure “capital of the country” form, let’s establish ourselves properly:

We, the mothers, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Mom Blog for effective communication in the community.

Why invent new words when we can borrow perfectly good ones from our forefathers?

Not to brag, but mothers are powerful people as you know. We make many decisions for ourselves and our families that impact the global economy, the success or failure of a political candidate, the crime rate and world peace, just to name a few.

The purpose of this website will be to inform, humor, discuss, communicate, share, recommend, advise, support, plan, vent, complain, bitch, gossip, and slander….no wait, we’ll save those last three items for our underground newspaper.