Do you have a POUT POUT face or a KISS KISS face?  Get to a library and find out!  We visited the Kentwood KDL branch last week for a special storytime... a reading of the Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen.  This is the Michigan Reads! One State, One Children's Book Program (a statewide program highlighting the importance of early childhood literacy by focusing on a picture book by a Michigan author.)

After reading the book and a few other sea/fish related books, the librarian led children to a few different activities.  Included with this were (4) stations, all related to the book.  Kids had a chance to make their own fish with scales, go fishing, make their own memory game, and create a fish using triangles. 

This program is running at KDL branches all over the city.  Definitely plan a rendition of the POUT POUT fish into your fall...a great book with great activities, and it's all free at your library!

Here's where you can find the POUT POUT Fish on the GO!
Saturday, October 3, 11:00 AM at Wyoming branch
Sunday, October 18, 1:30 PM at Cascade Branch (author will be in attendance as well!)
Tuesday, October 27, 6:30 PM at Rockford Branch
Tuesday, November 3, 6:30 PM at Lowell Branch
Wednesday, November 4, 10:00 AM at Culterville Branch
Thursday, November 5, 10:30 AM at Caledonia Branch
Monday, November 9, 10:30 AM at Alto Branch
Saturday, November 14, 10:00 AM at Plainfield Branch
Monday, November 16, 10:30 AM at Comstock Park Branch

So you all know by now that the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is opening Thurs and running through Sunday at the Van Andel Arena... but here are some circus related events you may not be aware of:

Tonight at 4 pm, John Ball Park, the Circus has teamed up with the Grand Rapids Kids Marathon.  Kids will workout with clowns, run 1/2 a mile, and get a free pass to the circus.  Now that's sweat equity!

Tomorrow at noon, in front of the Van Andel Arena, you can watch Ringling Bros. Elephants paint a city bus.  Don't ask me for details on how that works, you'll just have to show up to find out. 

Enjoy! 

And don't forget to get your tickets while you're downtown...Thursday night is discount night, if you're interested.

Join me on October 8th at Wealthy Theatre!

MomsBloom will present Motherhood, the Journey on Thursday, October 8, 7:30pm, at Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids.

Local actors, dancers and musicians will perform this theatrical fundraiser that explores mothering - from wanting a baby to having a baby and all the juicy details in between. One mother's honest anecdotes on pregnancy, labor, delivery, grandparents, fathers, husbands and child rearing will weave their way through topical songs, dances and scenes from some of Grand Rapids' most well-known performers. Poignancy and humor will be coupled to make for an enjoyable, thought provoking and entertaining evening at the theatre to raise money for the work of local nonprofit, MomsBloom. 

Show starts at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6:30pm.  $40 per person. Includes light appetizers prior to the show and dessert reception. Learn more or buy tickets at: http://www.momsbloom.org/motherhood-the-journey. Thank you!

Leonardo da Vinci in Grand Rapids??

You and your family have to opportunity to visit a new hands-on, interactiveexhibit in Grand Rapids!
 Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion brings a huge exhibition of full-size machine replicas constructed according to da Vinci’s famous codices.  There are 40 machines on display – 30 of them fully operational – including a revolving crane, an armored car, a robot, a bicycle, a printing press and a machine gun!  Visitors are encouraged to play with the machines, too!


Win a family (4) pack of general admission  + special exhibit tickets, as well as carousel rides!  Simply leave a comment in the blog (include your email address) in response to this question:
What machine would you like Leonardo to invent if he were alive today?

The Public Museum is a collector of treasures, a motivator and resource for life-long learning, and a community partner in the pursuit of insight and understanding.  The Museum is normally open Tues 9 – 8; Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri and Sat 9 – 5; and Sunday Noon – 5.  Members are free. 

Regular admission to the special exhibit for Non-members is $4 in addition to general Museum admission which is Adults $8, Seniors $7, and Children and Students $3. Kids under 3 are free.  For more information call 616.456.3977 or visit www.grmuseum.org.

That title is not referring to slumber party.  Nope.  It's in reference to how we went to D&W this morning.  Followed by a very long stop at Meijer, the bank, and the gas station.  If you saw pink, 2-year old Elmo-girl buckled into a bench cart, or had a 5 year-old tell you that he was going to turn into a super-fast Cheetah-dog, then you saw us trying to get our week's errands out of the way.

We went to (2) grocery stores because I clipped coupons and got an amazing deal on Dannon Yogurt and Eckrich Sausage at D&W.  The rest of our fare came from Meijer, where I think any mom bold enough to drive around a bench cart with kids in tow deserves an extra award or discount or something. Where else can you get a real kick out of the kidless people that look at you and ask you to move your cart when you're juggling (7) cans of Spaghettios (also on sale this week!)  Through the course of the morning, my kids ate a bagel, a sugar cookie from the bakery, and lunchables in the van on the way home.  Yup, I'm Supermom to go along with the kids Superman and Supergirl Halloween costumes!

I did come up with an on-the-spot game for the checkout line.  I would say something like, "I'm thinking of an animal that is black and white," and then the kids would guess what it was.  If they didn't get it after two guesses, I'd add another clue, like "It waddles when it walks."  Amazing, this game kept us out of the candy and helped us make it through checkout with minimum grief.

My friends that use Grocery Express at Knapp's Corners Meijer are probably laughing at me right now!  It's just a little too far for me to drive, (so until Grocery Express comes to Cascade Meijer, you are going to find me in a ponytail, my kids in their PJ's and a loaded down benchcart tooling through Meijer.  Stop and say hi!

Where do you get your food?  How do you manage to do it with kids?  Share you tips, secrets & stories!

I spent a good deal of my childhood watching TV.  Probably many of you can relate.  From that I've had a life-long battle with finding a healthy weight and all of the self-esteem issues that go along with it.  When I was in my early 20's, friends & colleagues challenged me to run the Riverbank Run...something I never thought I would or could do.  But with the encouragement and accountability of these friends, I managed to complete the race!  Now I know the value of support and friendship and exercise, especially for kids, and that is why I am proud to help sponsor the Grand Rapids Kids Marathon.

The basic premise is that kids will run/walk during the weeks preceeding the Grand Rapids Marathon.  Then, on race day, all of the kids will converge on downtown Grand Rapids and complete their last 1.2 miles on an official race course.  All kids will get a medal.  Click here for the details.  It is NOT too late to start.

We did this last year as a family and I'm glad to say you'll see us there again this year.  Would you please consider joining us?  If you and your family will be participating,leave a comment.  It would be awesome to get a grkids.com crowd down there on 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 17, 2009!

Celebration on the Grand is always a good bet, but this year it is going to be even better for families.  Why?  Because of the amazing free activities happening on Saturday (9-12) in the afternoon!
The music and activities start at 3 pm. Children are really going to enjoy this event!!

There are going to be 4 different performances on the lawn of Ah-Nab-Awen Park in downtown Grand Rapids:

•  Live performance from Come On Over with Kevin Kammeraad,
•  Scribble Monster
•  Father Goose
• The movie Madagascar 2.
  

There will be other FREE activities for families as well, like face painting and temporary tattoos, among other things.


Finally, the is the culmination of the Great Start Parent Coalition Diaper Drive.   Your donation of unopened packages of diapers at the event will help needy families all around Kent County.  Thanks for your help, and enjoy the festivities!

What an amazing great Great GiveAway!  The Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus is coming to the Van Andel Arena at the end of the month (Sept 24-27) and they have donated (3) family packages of circus passes just for grkids.com users!  That means three lucky families will be getting a 4-pack of passes to the circus worth approximately $80!

TO ENTER: Leave a comment in the blog telling how you are going to share grkids.com with others this fall.  Will you announce it at a PTO meeting?  Will you send a note to your preschooler's teacher?  Will you post grkids.com as your Facebook status, or do you have an idea that is more creative than that?   Be sure to leave your email with your entry so I can contact you if you are a winner!

CONTEST ENDS: Sept 18 (Friday)  Winners will be notified by email and will need to provide a mailing address for delivery of tickets.  Winners that have not responded to email notification within 36 hours will forfeit their tickets.

Contest Winners: Phyllis, Peggy, and Molly

Thank you all for entering and your great ideas on promoting grkids.com.

Hope you all get a chance to make it to the circus...there are reduced price tickets for Thursday's show.

Check back for new Great GiveAways!

Melody

How are your car rides lately?  Do they need a little spicing up?  Picklehead and other Dilly Songs is the latest addition to our CD collection.  My 5-year old can't get enough of the songs about pickles, pizzas, and other crazy things, like pink bug juice.

One of the best things about this music is that it is fun, original, and educational.  Kids ask things like, "What is oregano?" after hearing "I am a pizza."  Mr. Picklehead himself, Aaron Vande Wege,  (from right here in Rockford)  plays the guitar and sings the silly lyrics.

This is one of those CD's that gets better each time you listen to it because you learn the words and you catch more meaning.  Perfect for preschoolers to early elementary-aged kids.

Check it out for yourself right here.  You can by his CD, download it in MP3 format, or check him out for a school concert or birthday party.  You can also find him on the grkids.com calendar (certain Tuesdays, giving concerts at Frenz coffee house in Rockford).

By the way, Aaron had no part in this review...I wrote it because we really love his music and concerts!