Keep in mind that I’ve already listed some break activities in my Winter Break is Looming post.  Those items were theoretically supposed to be planned for well ahead of time.  But so far, whenever I’ve called about something, there’s still been space available.

Meanwhile, here are  some more ideas around the Capital District.  I’ve tried to keep them in chronological order, although at the end there are a few things that are offered for several days in a row.

Monday 12/28

• At the William K. Sanford library, they’re showing kid-friendly movies: at Pixar shorts at 10 am and Up at 6:30 pm.
• At the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology, there’s a program about Snow from 1-2 pm for $2 plus admission.  It’s designed for kids 5 and over, and pre-registration is required.  Yup, I missed it for my planning ahead post, but I just (late afternoon Saturday) called and there was still plenty of room.

Tuesday 12/29

• At the Saratoga Children’s Museum, there’s a playtime designed for very young children from 10 am-12 pm.  It’s free with museum admission.
• At the William K. Sanford library, there’s a “Music & Motion” program at 10 am.
• At the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology, there’s a crafty experiment at 1 pm for kids 6 and older.  It’s $2 plus admission.
• The downtown Schenectady Public Library will have a Mr. Magicman show at 2:30 pm—no registration required.
• There are funny stories for kids at 3 pm at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library.  It’s free.
• At the New York State Museum, there’s a free Kwanzaa celebration from 4–9 pm. [Read more →]

Just came home from Steamer 10.  Our original plan had been to take Grandma & Grandpa to Snow Queen later this week, but then they changed their plane tickets and that wouldn’t work.  I let the girls choose something else, since everyone still wanted to do some theater.  Let me just say, magic isn’t my cup of tea, anyway.  And my sweet husband had taken the girls to Steamer 10 before, but I’d never been there.

So. . . love Steamer 10.  An interesting building, friendly staff, popcorn for $1, and it’s so small that there’s not a bad seat in the house.

The magic. . .  not so much.  Bless her heart, she was trying, and the children enjoyed it for sure.  She came out with a microphone strapped directly in front of her face and immediately began to weakly warble a song that was about 3 minutes too long.  Have you ever watched tv or a movie, (maybe an afterschool special, or the Little House episode where Laura decides to stuff her shirt with apples so that it will look like she will have large, knobby breasts?) and it’s so awkward and embarrassing to watch that it’s almost physically painful?  It felt like that.  I mean, she was trying, and she wasn’t terrible, but I’m one of those people who can never pay enough attention to “get” the tricks, and even I could get them this time.

Then she was asking for helpers from the audience, and of course that always causes anxiety because my big girl always wants to help and she never gets picked.  That makes me nutty.  And then, one kid who came onstage as a helper was so obnoxious that it was really stressful to watch.  I mean, seriously, the kid was yelling, picking up random props, and tickling the magician when he was supposed to hold her hand.  It was out of control and the magic lady was losing her cool.  Meanwhile, the obnoxious kid’s grandmother–I kid you not–was feebly calling his name from the back of the audience in a vain attempt to remind him to behave.  We went directly to intermission as soon as she managed to push him off the stage.  And, I mean, he didn’t get off the stage when she asked him to, so she almost did have to push him.  So any rhythm that the magic lady might have obtained was utterly lost.

Watching the show just made me tense, but it was even worse because I’d said that I was going on this blog.  So it felt like I’d made a tacit endorsement, like I was recommending the show.  Therefore,  I’m throwing out an official disclaimer, I guess.  Sometimes I’ll be able to tell you:  I’ve done this and we had fun.  Sometimes I’m just listing things and I don’t know how it will be.  In fact, in these cases I would love comments to help me–and us–find out more about activities.  I really do think it will be so much more effective if people contribute.   But the worst part is that when we do something that’s not fun for us, argh. . . I guess that I have to be honest about that, too.  Although it’s painful, and I’m not naming the poor lady in case she likes to Google herself.

Just quickly–

We’re going to see Magic at Steamer 10 — they’re already in the car!  Apparently many of these vacation shows are still available.

Jennifer Silverman, one of the editors of My Baby Rides the Short Bus: The Unabashedly Human Experience of Raising Kids with Disabilities, will be signing books at 2 pm at the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza today.

Okay, every single summer, I say to myself that this is the year that I’m going to catch the New York City ballet at SPAC, and every year the beginning of summer flies by and I realize that I’ve missed it again.  I don’t want that kind of heartache to befall you, gentle reader, so allow me to call your attention to the Albany Institute of History & Art’s Hudson River Panorama exhibition, which is closing on January 3rd.  It feels like it’s been there forever, and I still haven’t made it, but by golly I’m going to try.  I even have a free pass!   I figure that if I hit that one and make it to 1609 at the New York State Museum, I’ll be able to give a symposium on the Dutch exploration of North America, or at least make sure my kid’s learning fair display kicks all the other kids’ butts.  No, actually, I’m a history chick, so I love that stuff, and I’ve even walked through 1609, but I had my girls with me, so I was not able to devote the attention it so richly deserved.  I was being dragged to the subway car, again.