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Recipe: Leprechaun Food

Posted on by Angie

St. Patty’s Day is coming up, here’s a fun and SUPER easy recipe you can make with the kids or for surprise lunchbox or after school treat!

What You’ll Need:

Lucky Charms (original, right? Give us a break, we said it was easy)
Vanilla Chex Mix
Green M & M’s

What you’ll do:

Mix it up and feed it to your hungry Leprechauns.

Leprechauns aren’t terribly picky when it comes to snack food. Feel free to take creative license and add some things from your pantry. Peanuts, pretzels, ect..

Happy St Patty’s Day!

If you’re looking for some other ways to go green on St Patrick’s Day, check out these ideas for sneaking some green into mealtimes!

Partners in KidsHealth: Antibiotic Resistance

Posted on by Angie

Your child has a cold and feels miserable. You take him or her to the pediatrician expecting an antibiotic as treatment. Unfortunately, this mindset has lead to more and more children becoming dangerously resistant to antibiotics.

Dr. Shannon Ross is with Infectious Diseases at Children’s of Alabama. She says antibiotic overuse is leading to children becoming very sick and harder to treat. “We see children every day who five to 10 years ago, we could have treated with an oral antibiotic. But because there are not many options, we are having to admit them and give them an IV antibiotic,” she says.

Most illnesses are caused by a virus. However, antibiotics don’t treat viruses. They treat bacterial infections. “A bacterial infection would be something like pneumonia or an ear infection,” Dr. Ross says. “And antibiotics are necessary to treat those infections.” Antibiotics can even be life-saving when used to treat a bacterial infection. But if a child receives antibiotics when it’s not needed, this overuse can lead to the child being resistant over time. “We are seeing, over the past decade or so, increasing resistance,” Dr. Ross says. “Common infections, pneumonias, bladder infections we used to treat easily are now resistant to common antibiotics.”

Antibiotic resistance is a widespread problem. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls it “one of the world’s most pressing public health problems.” Dr. Ross says parents can play an essential role in preventing antibiotic resistance. “When taking your child to the pediatrician, talk to your pediatrician about the diagnosis.If he or she prescribes an antibiotic, it’s OK to ask what the antibiotic is for and if it’s necessary.” She also advises that parents don’t pressure pediatricians to prescribe medicine their child doesn’t need.

If the pediatrician does prescribe an antibiotic. Remember these safety tips:

Take antibiotic exactly as prescribed
Don’t skip a dose
Finish the course of treatment
Never share antibiotics with anyone else

Parents can also help fight antibiotic resistance by encouraging their children to take simple steps to prevent the spread of infections. Encourage hand-washing and make sure your child is up to date on their immunizations. Also, remember if your child has a cold the best thing to do is “ride it out.” Help keep them hydrated and make sure they get plenty of rest. This will help their immune system to fight off the virus on its own.

Friday Five: Top Picks for Weekend Fun March 8th – March 10th

Posted on by Angie

  • Holi Festival at the Birmingham Museum of Art

Join us for our ninth annual Holi festival, the Indian celebration of color. Enjoy classical Indian and Bollywood-style dancing, food from local Indian restaurants, henna artists, art making, and more! The day ends with a huge celebration where everyone heads outside to play Holi, which involves the traditional throwing of powdered colors.

This event is free of charge.

Saturday, 11am – 3pm

  • You are my Happy Storytime – Barnes and Noble Summit

In this charming book from Today Show anchor Hoda Kotb, a mama bear and her cub cuddle together for a good night’s sleep and reflect on the everyday wonders of life that make them happy. Join us for Storytime, and get a coupon from our Café for a grilled cheese sandwich with milk or juice for $4.

Saturday, 11am

  • LEGO Architecture Event – Barnes and Noble Summit

Join fellow builders to construct the newest in the LEGO Architecture series, San Francisco.

Saturday, 6pm

  • Me… Jane: The Dreams and adventures of young Jane Goodall at Alys Stephens Center

The Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences on Tour Presents Me…Jane: The Dreams and Adventures of Young Jane Goodall

In this brand-new musical adaptation, join young Jane and her special friend as they learn about the world around them and the importance of protecting all living species. With anecdotes taken directly from Jane Goodall’s autobiography, this adaptation makes this very true story accessible for the very young – and young at heart.

Join us for a fun, family-friendly pre-performance lunch at 12:30 p.m. before the show at 2 PM!

Saturday, 2pm

  • Girls Rock Fest at Cahaba Brewing Company

This is the inaugural Girls Rock Fest 2019 presented by Birmingham Mountain Radio and Cahaba Brewing Co. with all proceeds benefiting Girls Rock Bham!

Music will kickoff at noon

This event is all ages!
Kids 10 and under are free
Girls Rock Bham campers get in free!

Early bird tickets start at $15.00

Sunday, 12pm – 9pm

 

Chinese Lantern Festival: The Wild at Huntsville Botanical Gardens

Posted on by Angie

Add this to your Spring Break Bucket List! It looks AH-Mazing!!

It’s the Huntsville Botanical Garden’s biggest exhibit to date! Boasting more than 1,000 illuminated lantern displays of wildlife from around the world (and dinosaurs!), this festival offers a stunning visual exhibition of Chinese art and culture.

Other Festival activities will include:

Live Kung Fu performances at 6:00 pm and 7:45 pm
Chinese shadow puppetry performances at 7:00 pm and 8:45 pm
A marketplace featuring authentic Chinese folk arts and crafts

The Lantern Festival features:

800+ illuminated Lanterns
112 Acres of Huntsville Botanical Garden Utilized
17 Magical Vignettes scattered throughout the Garden
5 Nights a Week from Wednesday – Sunday starting  March 20 – May 19
4 Shows a night featuring live Kung Fu and Chinese shadow puppetry
1 Magical Experience you won’t forget!

Daytime Hours:
Monday – Saturday: 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
Sunday: 11:00 am – 4:30 pm

Evening Hours (Wednesday – Sunday Only):
Gates open at 5:30 pm with last admission taken at 9:00 pm

The festival begins March 20, 2019 and will be there through May 19, 2019. It will feature over 1000 vividly radiant lanterns, live Kung Fu performances, Shadow Play puppet shows and a Chinese Folk Art Marketplace.  Tickets are on sale now!

Summer Camp Spotlight: Afilm Camp

Posted on by Angie

Afilm Camp offers Ten weeks of summer day camps that gives students the opportunity to participate in making a short film every week.  Our curriculum is designed so that any experience level can participate and have a great week learning about film and culminates each week with an actual film that they were a part of creating.

“We wanted to provide a specialty camp experience at a price that most parents can afford.  We also wanted Afilm Camp to be a legitimate option for your entire summer. We believe that this experience of working on and completing a short film will give students practical knowledge about something that they are very interested in; while also allowing them to have a lot of FUN,” says Afilm Camp co-founder Scott Ross.

“We are pleased to be working with Daniel Wallace, (author of national best selling book Big Fish) this summer to create the short film experience.  Daniel has opened up his volumes of short films to our team to collaborate and create some very imaginative stories! We think that it is amazing that our students this summer will get to be a part of content created by such an amazing and experienced author,” says Matt Bayley, Afilm Camp co- founder.

Afilm Camp will be located at Alabama’s premiere venue for Film Production, Workplay.  Located in beautiful downtown Birmingham, workplay has a 10,000 square foot soundstage that was built with Afilm Camps mission in mind.  “We are excited about this space getting used for what it was designed to do,” says Tom Williams owner of Workplay. A normal day at camp begins with a high-spirited, welcoming staff with a background in children & film.  Your first break out session could be anything from composing your own original monologue to creating from scratch a stop-motion animation to share with your friends & family. Then after lunch it may be time for stunt play to burn off a few calories before going in our 10,000 sq ft indoor sound stage so you can work as a team to construct your very own short film by the end of the week.

AFilm Camp 2019 Schedule

May 27th – June 1st
June 3rd – June 7th
June 10th – June 14th
June 17th – June 21st
June 24th – June 28th
July 1st – July 5th
July 8th – July 12th
July 15th – July 19th
July 22nd – July 26th
July 29th – August 2nd

For Registration and more information please visit www.afilmcamp.com TODAY!  Signups have already started and some weeks are starting to fill up.

Adjusting to the Time Change

Posted on by Angie

It’s almost time to Spring Forward (AKA lose an hour, ) (AKA manage some pretty fussy kids whose schedule always gets messed up with the time change.) But on the bright side, we get more hours of daylight which will be a welcomed change considering all the rainy, dreary days we’ve had.

Losing (and even gaining) an hour can really mess with your schedules, here are a few tips to help make the transition:

Stick to your Routine: When daylight savings time begins or ends, it’s especially important to stick with a bedtime routine, as your child is now dealing with a change in schedule that might throw him off. Your routine can be a powerful signal for sleep. Warm bath, snuggles, reading together, whatever your sleep signals are, make sure to stick to them.

Get Ready for the Change Early... Like now! Ease into the time change by moving bedtime up 15 minutes each night leading up to the time change

Control the Lighting: Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate your body’s internal circadian clock. It increases in the evening as it becomes dark, which helps induce sleep, and shuts down when it’s light out, which can then increase wakefulness and alertness. Daylight savings time can throw this natural cycle off as we’re expecting the kiddos to go to bed while it’s still light out. Start dimming lights and restricting screen time at least 30 minutes prior to bed time. In the mornings, let the sunshine in! Open up those blinds and curtains or turn on the lights to get them expose to as much light as possible.

Be Patient: Keep in mind the extra moodiness and irritability is short lived, being patient and understanding with them (even if you’re irritable too) will help everyone adjust a little better.

Building with Bricks

Posted on by Angie

Join the Alabama Center of Architecture in March as they celebrate architecture through Building with Bricks, a design build hand’s on experience  for kids and adults too!

Design/Build Room for Kids – It’s time to show off your brick creations. Use your imagination to create your best architectural designs using LEGO bricks with an architect to help create the coolest building.

Architecture Exhibit – Featuring projects and architectural models from local architects and designers. Gather inspiration for your next renovation, office, new construction, investment properties or dream home.

Learn how to read drawings with architects on site.

Magic City LEGO user group exhibition – featuring incredible replicas of local architecture.

This event is not affiliated with the LEGO group.

Architects will be on site for lunch sessions during Spring Break as well as on Saturdays! We hope to see you soon!

Alabama Center for Architecture:

Mar 12th – 14th: 10:00 am – 05:00 pm
Mar 15th: 10:00 am – 03:00 pm
Mar 19th – 21st: 10:00 am – 05:00 pm
Mar 22nd & 23rd: 10:00 am – 03:00 pm
Mar 26th: 10:00 am – 05:00 pm

Friday Five: Top Picks for Weekend Fun, March 1st – March 3rd

Posted on by Angie

Happy Birthday Dr Seuss! That’s the theme for the events happening around the Magic city this weekend! Along with a tasty Chili Cook Off, one of our most favorite events each spring!

  • 15th Annual Chili Cook Off at Brookwood Mall

The Chili Cook-Off is The Exceptional Foundation’s largest fundraiser of the year. Proceeds from this event are a significant source of funding for our programs at The Exceptional Foundation where we strive to meet the social and recreational needs of individuals of all ages with special needs

Saturday, 10:30am – 3pm

  • Birmingham Bulls Hockey – Pelham Civic Complex

Vs. Evansville Thunderbolts

As You Walk Through the Door, Your Hearts Starts Pumping! The irresistible lure of HOCKEY and the buzz of a packed house causes your ADRENALIN to surge. The music is PUMPING, the lights fade and the smoke swirls – and that’s just the beginning. Monster hits, UNBELIEVABLE GOALS and in-your-face hockey keeps you on the edge of your seat. The action is NON-STOP! With heart pounding music, and contests, what are you waiting for? It’s an EXPERIENCE to remember.

Saturday, 7pm

  • Dr. Seuss Birthday at Barnes and Noble Summit

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! Join us for Storytime, games, and activities in celebration of the beloved author’s birthday. Get a coupon from our Café for a grilled cheese sandwich with milk or juice for $4!

Saturday, 11am

  • Dr Seuss Day at McWane Science Center

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish! Join us for some Seuss science!

Saturday, 10am – 6pm

  • Dr Seuss Day at CHOM

Let’s Rhyme Storytime!

Stack the Cat’s Hat!

Inspect Oobleck!

Make a “Thing” Painting!

Saturday, 9am – 4:30pm

Summer Camp Spotlight: Alabama School of Fine Arts

Posted on by Angie

It’s Alabama and we’re all looking forward to a steamy summer. There’s a way to make that summer S.T.E.A.M. count with camps in Science-Technology-Engineering-Arts-Math at Alabama School of Fine Arts. ASFA is a public magnet school that is a unique intersection of arts and sciences. During the summer, ASFA opens its doors to the wider community and to younger students with its summer programs.

ASFA Summer Camps meet the needs of the young sketch artist to the young scientist. Programs are designed to educate, inspire and enrich the student in a fun and collaborative environment. Campers may choose to build their dance technique, their confidence on the stage or even an app.

Campers at ASFA S.T.E.A.M. summer program will learn specific skills like how to pirouette, how to hit a D flat, what a+b equals, how to draw perspective, what the rules of improv are, and how to write an answer to a generative prompt. Beyond technical skills though, students will also work on collaboration, creative problem-solving, discipline, and self-responsibility. Instructors and faculty are experienced professionals, both as teachers and as artists and experts in their fields. They provide a caring and safe environment where students are challenged to reach their full potential.

The expert faculty teaches these specialized camps on a pre-professional level. Campers can chose to attend a camp focused on creative writing, dance, video game design, app programming, mathematics, music, theatre arts or visual arts. Most camps are a half day (except theater) so you can mix and match an arts camp with a STEM camp to have a full day of right and left brained learning.

The camps will have you grand jete-ing across a studio, writing poetry and prose, running lines, designing your own video game, earning school credit for Algebra, being inspired at the Museum of Art and learning how to better play an instrument and working on ear-training.

These camps are also a perfect opportunity to see what ASFA is all about and get a taste of ASFA’s excellent specialized education. Many students come to camps to see if applying to ASFA would be something they would like to pursue.

Campers are guaranteed to connect with other campers, laugh, learn and have fun in an environment of exploration and excellence.

Camps run throughout June with easy drop off and pick up at ASFA’s conveniently located downtown campus.

For more information or to register for any of the camps offered by ASFA, visit their website

Homeschool Mommy: Homeschooling and Socialization

Posted on by Abby Hengeveld

Let’s start with the first thing everyone ask about when you tell them you’ve decided to homeschool…socialization!

I’ll admit I used this idea as an excuse in the early days of my husband and I deciding to homeschool. As someone who attended public school, I couldn’t fathom how my children could make lasting friendships without going to school and having classmates. How were my
kids going to know how to act around others and their peers if they’re not in a classroom setting?

Luckily, my daughter is my oldest child and she is quite the social butterfly. She makes friends wherever she goes. She loves to talk and ask questions. Small talk is her jam. And I have a feeling this would be who she is, homeschooled or not.

My middle child, my oldest son, is shy. he gets a little overwhelmed in crowds of new people and isn’t much of a talker when he is out of his comfort zone. I also have a feeling that’s who he would be, homeschooled or not.

So, if you’re worried about homeschooling making your child a certain type of person, I don’t think you have anything to worry about there. People are who they are. We’re all unique. And that’s good!

Now, that we have that squared away, let’s talk about all of the opportunities there are for homeschool kids in the Birmingham Area to socialize!

Cover Schools, like mine Faith Community Christian School offers parties, play dates, and field trips. Even Moms Night out so the moms get some socializing in too! There are many good cover schools in our area. They all do not offer the same things, so be sure to pick one that offers what you need.

Co-ops are different than cover schools. A Co-Op can offer classes for your child that would give them the experience of a classroom setting and help fill in any gaps that you think they may have in classes you’ve taught at home. For instance, when my children get older and need more complex Science and Math, a co-op is going to be a life saver! And it will have the added bonus of socialization. Some co-ops offer class parties, and even field trips. There are also many available in our area. For instance, SCOPE is one that I have heard good things about.

There are some curriculums that require at least one day of the week to be group classes. I have used Classical Conversations in the past and the group/class day was always my daughter’s favorite day. There are multiple CC groups in the Birmingham Area.

Some area activities offer special days and rates just for homeschoolers, such as High Point Climbing. Those days are always fun and a good opportunity to meet other homeschoolers in the area. High Point Climbing’s next Home School day is March 7th, from 8AM until 3PM.

The Birmingham Homeschoolers Community is a great resource for park days, play dates, field trips and Moms nights out. They offer events just for teens, enrichment classes and camps as well. The moms who run this community have really made a wonderful resource for homeschoolers in Birmingham.

Along with all of these exclusively homeschooler opportunities, there are still others ways to make sure your children are socializing. Recreational Sports have been a great resource for our family. My sons have found a love of soccer and it was wonderful seeing them work with their team and coaches. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, still offer valuable life skills and lessons. Along with The American Heritage Girls.

And lets not forget just scheduling a good old fashion play date at the park! It seems the simplest of activities are still my children’s favorite way to socialize.

About Abby:

Abby is a Writer, Wife and Homeschooling Mama to 3. She lives in Springville, AL with her Family.

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