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PBS Kids in the Park Review, 2015

June 21, 2015 by Mama Carmody 15 Comments

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PBS Kids in the Park Review, 2015


 

PBS Kids in the Park
PBS Kids in the Park

Saturday, June 13th was, once again, PBS Kids in the Park. The event was at Military Park in downtown Indianapolis. I had attended two years ago but this year was extra special. My grandson and daughter were able to attend with me.

Keagan won’t be two years old until the end of July so I wasn’t sure how much he would enjoy this. My daughter said that he watches most of the characters so we thought there would be some interest. I believe my daughter was more excited than anyone. Well, that is until the characters started to appear. Once he starting seeing the characters, this was the expression we received:

He can hardly contain his excitement once he sees the characters.
He can hardly contain his excitement once he sees the characters.

Needless to say, he was ecstatic. He must have yelled, “Super Why!” 50 times over the course of the day.

My favorite part of the day is the character parade. It is the first thing to kick off the event. My suggestion is to get there early and find a place to the left of the stage. (That is left as you are facing the stage.) This is the best advantage for the children to see the characters. The characters march up from the left side of the stage and across it, then down the other side. One of the reasons I like to get to the left of the stage rather than right in front of it is because the kids can stand or sit in their strollers and easily see the characters. We weren’t having to lift him up so he could see up on stage.

Here were some of the pictures of the parade. I believe I have the names of all the characters this time; thanks to my daughter and a couple of Facebook friends. Check out my post from two years ago: PBS Kids in the Park Review. It was pathetic. I only knew a couple of the characters and I didn’t get much help from anyone so they went nameless.

PBS Kids in the Park: Daniel Tiger
PBS Kids in the Park: Daniel Tiger

 

This is Daniel Tiger. His show is a spin-off of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.

PBS Kids in the Park: Character Parade
PBS Kids in the Park: Character Parade

Starting at the front of the parade (the right side of the picture), that is Buddy from Dinosaur Train, next is Word Girl. Most of you are probably familiar with the next character, Curious George and the last character is Chirp, from Peep and the Big Wide World.

PBS Kids Day in the Park: Character Parade
PBS Kids Day in the Park: Character Parade

Again, starting from the front of the parade (the right side of the picture), the first two are Migel and Mia. They are brother and sister. I’ve loved the next character since I was a little girl. That’s Clifford the Big Red Dog. He doesn’t seem to be quite as big as he was in the storybooks. Behind Clifford is Wonder Red.

PBS Kids in the Park: Sid the Science Kid
PBS Kids in the Park: Sid the Science Kid

 

 

This is Sid the Science Kid. I’m not familiar with him but I loved science so maybe I should check him out.

PBS Kids in the Park: Super Why and Princess Pea
PBS Kids in the Park: Super Why and Princess Pea

These two characters are on the same show. It’s one that my grandson simply loves. This is Super Why and Princess Pea. The dog in the picture below is Woofster. He is also from the same show.

PBS Kids Day: Woofster
PBS Kids Day: Woofster

Digit, resized 640x1040

This purple bird is Digit. He is one of the characters on Cyberchase. It is a fun children’s show that incorporates math in their adventures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PBS Kids Day: Peg & Cat
PBS Kids Day: Peg & Cat

The above characters are Peg and Cat, which come from the show by the same name. Cat stopped to show us a few of his dance moves. He is definitely a groovin’ cat.

PBS Kids Day: Alpha Pig
PBS Kids Day: Alpha Pig

 

 

And last, but definitely not least, is Alpha Pig. He is also a character on Super Why!

 

Meeting the Characters

If you miss the parade you do have opportunities to meet the characters throughout the day. They each have their own tent and schedule. The only problem with this is that the wait can be very long. We were lucky enough to get in the beginning of the line for Super Why and only had a 20 minute wait. Daniel the Tiger was in the other half of the same tent but it was going to be an hour and a half wait from the time we finished with Super Why. We were going to come back and get in line later until we realized that people were already lining up. We made the decision to go ahead and get in line. My daughter and I took turns taking Keagan to enjoy other activities while one of us stayed in line. As I talked with other people I found out that most of them came with a strategy. One of the people I talked to had several adults in their group. They would split up and sit in the different lines while someone else shuffled the children from spot to spot. Since it was just my daughter and me, we only waited in the two lines. Here are the pictures of Keagan meeting Super Why and Daniel Tiger.

PBS Kids Day: Meeting Super Why and Daniel Tiger
PBS Kids Day: Meeting Super Why and Daniel Tiger

Please don’t misinterpret the pictures. Keagan was thrilled to meet the characters. He ran up to them, gave them high fives and hugs but he was NOT thrilled with us for making him turn around to get his picture taken.

Other Activities

There were several other activities besides meeting the characters. Keagan made a colorful butterfly and was able to climb and jump at the Gymboree tent.

Fun at the Gymboree Tent
Fun at the Gymboree Tent

He raced Hot Wheels and played in a sand table at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis tent.

Children's Museum Booth
Children’s Museum Booth

There were bubbles to blow at the Child Care Answers booth.

Blowing Bubbles at Child Care Answers Booth
Blowing Bubbles at Child Care Answers Booth

We stopped by the main stage a couple of times to enjoy the shows that were taking place there. Keagan loves music so this was especially fun.

PBS Kids Day, Main Stage
PBS Kids Day, Main Stage

There was so much more to enjoy but it was getting really hot and Brittany and I were worn out. Some of the other activities we saw were a bounce house, a fire engine that the kids could go through and so much more.

My suggestions for a great day:

*** Get there early and station yourself to the left of the stage.
*** Take extra adults with you to hold places in the lines of the characters you really want to see.
*** Bring extra snacks and small toys to entertain your child if you do have to sit in a long line with them.
*** Most of all have a magically fun day.

Related Posts

PBS Kids in the Park Review, 2011

Filed Under: Attractions and Events, Reviews Tagged With: family friendly, family friendly activities, family friendly events, PBS, PBS characters, PBS Kids, PBS Kids in the Park, review

LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis 2014 and a LEGO® Linky

October 19, 2014 by Mama Carmody Leave a Comment

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LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis 2014 and a LEGO® Linky

LEGO® KidsFest
LEGO® KidsFest

LEGO® KidsFest is coming to Indianapolis, November 7 – 9, 2014. I am so excited to be able to attend this year. The event is being held at the Indianapolis Convention Center. The Convention Center will be packed with tons of fun building opportunities and exhibits. There will be three acres of space providing lots of construction zones, dozens of life-sized LEGO® models and displays and much more. Check out some of the awesome activities here.

Sometimes these events sell out so you might want to get your tickets early. Currently, there is limited availability for the Friday session as well as both Sunday sessions. The Saturday sessions are sold out. To avoid long lines and sell outs, click this link to purchase your tickets now: http://www.legokidsfest.com/indianapolis/tickets.html
There will be no tickets to sell at the door once a session is listed as “sold out”.

LEGO® Linky

LEGO® KidsFest learning fun.

Since my blog is all about fun learning activities, I thought this would be the perfect time to host my first Linky. LEGO® building blocks can be used for so many learning activities. They are great for developing fine motor skills. They can be used for sorting. I have seen them used for teaching and reinforcing math skills such as graphing or addition and subtraction. And let’s not forget they are great for learning to follow instructions and constructing things. You might have a budding architect on your hands.

For this link up I want to see all things LEGO®. Whether you are doing arts and crafts with LEGO® building blocks or doing math, please link your post here. Whatever type of learning activity you do with LEGO® building blocks, please share it. I can’t wait to see all of the wonderful ideas you guys have.

By linking up you are giving me permission to use a picture from your post to feature you on my site or through social media sites such as Pinterest. Pictures will only be used to feature the post that you shared and will always contain a link directly to your blog.



Filed Under: Attractions and Events, Learning Activities Tagged With: Lego, Lego KidsFest, Legos

LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis 2014

October 9, 2014 by Mama Carmody Leave a Comment

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LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis 2014

 

***Update 10/17/14 Congratulations to Tania. She is the winner of the 2 tickets to the opening night of LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis, Friday, November 7, 2014, 4-8:30pm. For anyone still wanting to attend the event, tickets are selling out quickly. Get yours today. http://www.legokidsfest.com/indianapolis/
Indianapolis Convention Center
Halls I, J & K
100 S Capitol Ave
Indianapolis, IN 46225

Disclaimer: I was given 4 tickets to attend the opening night of LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis as well as 2 tickets to use in a give-away. However, I was not influenced by the promotional materials. All opinions and insights are my own.

Please excuse my formality as I will be calling our beloved building toy by their formal name: LEGO® building bricks. This is a sponsored post and I have been informed that these wonderful little pieces are not called Legos or LEGOs but LEGO® bricks. Of course, those of us that grew up playing with them and watching our children and now our grandchildren play with them; we know what they are REALLY called. As stated above: “All opinions and insights are my own.” 🙂

I am very excited to have the opportunity to attend the LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis. Have you ever been to one of their events? It is packed with tons of fun building opportunities and exhibits. There will be three acres of space providing lots of construction zones, dozens of life-sized LEGO models and displays and much more. I am amazed at the creations that people build out of these little bricks.

LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis
LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis

Sometimes these events sell out so you might want to get your tickets early. Click this link to purchase your tickets now: http://www.legokidsfest.com/indianapolis/tickets.html

I hope to see you there!

Fun Trivia

More than 400 billion LEGO bricks have been produced since 1949. (These little building bricks are just 11 years older than I am. How’s your math?)

The LEGO minifigure represents the world’s largest population of people! More than four billion minifigures have been produced in the last 30 years. This is almost 12 times the population of the United States!

Laid end to end, the number of LEGO bricks sold in a year would reach more than five times around the world.

With a production of about 306 million tires produced a year, the LEGO group is the largest producer of tires in the world.

LEGO is the contraction of two Danish words, “leg godt” which means “play well”. (Sounds like the LEGO® Corporation has the same feeling about learning that I do. It should be fun!)

“Leg Godt!”

LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis
LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis 2014

 

Filed Under: Attractions and Events Tagged With: blocks, bricks, building blocks, building bricks, family friendly, family friendly activities, family friendly events, fun learning, Indianapolis, Indy, KidsFest, Lego, Lego KidsFest, Legos, toys

Smithsonian Magazine’s, Museum Day Live!

September 24, 2014 by Mama Carmody 1 Comment

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Smithsonian Magazine’s, Museum Day Live!

In 2012, my niece made me aware of the Smithsonian Magazine’s, Museum Day Live. This is an awesome, nationwide event. It occurs annually and is hosted by the Smithsonian Magazine. In their tradition of offering free admission, other museums have joined them, for this special day. All you have to do is go to the Smithsonian Magazine’s website and print your pass. Each pass gets two people into a participating museum, for free. To see the list of museums included in this event, click here.

Smithsonian Magazine's Museum Day Live: Conner Prairie
Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day Live: Conner Prairie

Two years ago, my niece and I took three very young children to Conner Prairie Interactive History Park. I was actually amazed at how many things there were to entertain young children. You can read about our experience at Conner Prairie, in this post: “Review: Conner Prairie with Young Children”.

 

Smithsonian Magazine's Museum Day Live: Rhythm! Discovery Center
Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day Live: Rhythm! Discovery Center

Last year, my husband and I took our great-nephew to Rhythm! Discovery Center. We really enjoyed playing with the different percussion instruments. Check out the size of the drum that greeted us at the entrance. You can read about the fun we had at Rhythm! Discovery Center, in this post: “Review: Rhythm! Discovery Center”

There are several museums in our area that participate in Museum Day Live. Be sure to find out which museums participate in your area. We haven’t made our decision, as to where we are going to go this year, but we are definitely going someplace.

Have you participated in the Smithsonian Magazine’s, Museum Day Live, in the past? We would love to hear about your past adventures and please let us know where you’re going this year.

Filed Under: Articles, Attractions and Events, Reviews Tagged With: Conner Priaire, discovery center, free admission, museum day, Museum Day Live, museums, percussion, percussion instruments, rhythm, Rhythm! Discovery Center, Smithsonian, Smithsonian museums

Bongo Boy Music School Review

March 14, 2014 by Mama Carmody 5 Comments

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Bongo Boy Music School Review

Bongo Boy Music School
Bongo Boy Music School

I have been including activities from Bongo Boy Music School, in my Family Friendly Events, since April of 2013; but I had never been able to attend an event. I love children and finding fun learning activities for them, but the children in my life are under the age of three and Bongo Boy Music School didn’t have any activities for them. Well, that has changed! Recently, they added a class for birth to 36 months old. Perfect! My great-nephew is 32 months old and my grandson is 7 months old! I have really wanted to visit and, this past Saturday, I finally got my chance.

We were the first ones to arrive. We received a warm welcome and they turned on some cartoons to entertain the little ones until we got ready to go back to the drum room. There was also a little table and a bookshelf filled with books. We didn’t wait long at all and it was time to go have some fun.

The instructor/facilitator mentioned that she also teaches preschool…no wonder she was so wonderful with the children. She explained to us that there was no right or wrong way to participate. This is mainly an opportunity for little ones to experience music through instruments and movement.

The children were led through a series of fun activities accompanied by lively music. They got to use balls, bells and maracas, scarves, and….oh, yes…drums!

Drumming at Bongo Boy Music School

Some of the music was simply fun and encouraged movement, like the song about the animals. One song encouraged listening and reacting. This song had the children freeze in place when the music stopped.

Never to young for Bongo Boy Music School

Everyone was having fun, whether they were very young; sitting in their mother’s laps or a little older; up moving and participating. The children also get the opportunity to experience following directions, sharing and putting things away.

The cost of the event is just $5 per child and the parents attend (and participate) for free.
There is also an event for 3 to 12 year olds, on Saturdays. Bongo Boy also has activities for the family during the week. There is a free Community Drum Circle for special needs on Mondays and a free Community Drum Circle for the whole family on Thursdays. You can find their activities listed in my Family Friendly Event post, each month, or go straight to the Bongo Boy Music School calendar.

Related Posts:

Fun with Music: Percussion Instruments
Rhythm! Discovery Center: Review

Filed Under: Attractions and Events, Reviews Tagged With: Bongo Boy, Bongo Boy Music School, children and music, drumming, drums, family friendly, family friendly activities, family friendly events, fun with music, learning fun, music, music fun, percussion, percussion instruments

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