I would like to thank our readers for letting me know it was Kids Week at Print and Pattern. This hip blog, based in the UK, is run by a designer and trend forecaster with a passion for pattern in all its forms.

Many of the great things highlighted for kids are not available products to buy direct, but are meant to inspire you and some products are only available overseas.

I want to highlight some cool things that are available here in the United States. Print and Pattern found a great selection of bedding (Dwell, Boodalee and Pixel Pieces) for baby, toddler and beyond. I wish some of these patterns were around when I was doing my kids’ room.

Boodalee – Tree, City and Circus Collection

Cool modern prints for kids bed linen can be found at Pixel Pieces. Organic bedding is now available.

Amy Schimler has her whimsical and fun illustrations on clothing products for infants and young children.

The Lost Chord is celebrating “Music In Our Schools Month” with their 3rd Annual “Importance of Music” Poster Contest. The Lost Chord is a collaborative effort to nurture young talent from underprivileged communities and to foster a commitment to music and arts education accessibility in Rhode Island. Students can create a poster showing how music touches their lives and first prize wins an ACOUSTIC GUITAR!

Contest details
• Open to RI students, age 6-12.
• Postmarked by April 30.
• Mail to: The Lost Chord Poster Contest, p.o. box 41194, Providence, RI 02940.

RISD Museum Free-For-All Saturday.
March 31, 11 am – 4 pm
Journey to Japan through the exhibition Feathers, Flowers, Talons, and Fangs: Power and Serenity in Japanese Nature Prints. Quest for beautiful images of birds and flowers in art throughout the galleries.

Create in workshops at the Museum and the RISD Nature Lab. Enjoy a program of kamishibai (literally “paper dramas”) about birds and flowers presented by storyteller Midori Oka.

3pm Show: Odaiko New England closes the day’s activities with a vibrant performance of taiko drumming.

This is a FREE event for the entire family! Get directions and read the insider’s view of Free-For-All Saturday.

more Read this lovely book about a man who changed the lives of many children with his storytelling. Kamishibai Man, written and illustrated by Allen Say (Caldecott Medal Winner).

ROCHAMBOTICS

Robotics encourages science, technology, engineering and mathematics literacy while enhancing creativity, problem solving and collaboration skills.

Using the FIRST LEGO League model, participants will design strategies to enable autonomous robots to complete missions on an obstacle course. Beginning design, building and programming skills are introduced in this 90-minute workshop by Mary Johnson, coach of Engineers of Tomorrow, the First Lego League State Champions. This program is funded by the Friends of Rochambeau.

info
Wednesday, April 18, 2 – 3:30 pm (ages 10 – 13)
Rochambeau Branch Library, 708 Hope Street, Providence.
Call Tom at (401) 455-8198 to register.

Bubbles as big as bathtubs, chains of bubbles, foamy towers, freely-floating hot air filled bubbles, bouncing bubbles, bare-handed bubbles, bubble cubes, long lived bubbles…

See Keith Michael Johnson’s, “The Secret World of Bubbles” Show.
This event will benefit the Engineers of Tomorrow, who won the Champion’s Award at Rhode Island’s FIRST LEGO League competition.

info
Friday, March 30, 7 pm, $10.00.
The Blackstone River Theatre, (401) 725-9272.
549 BroadStreet, Cumberland, Rhode Island 02864.
Limited seating – please call to make advance reservations!

Lions have been living in our house for years now. Many of the characters from books, theater and movies come to life in our living room, where our boys put on shows almost daily. I am not sure which lion book first got the boys’ attention, but seeing the Lion King on stage at PPAC last year was mesmerizing.

We made these simple masks at home from paper plates so the boys could put on their own production of The Lion King. My son E shared his mask with his nursery class – it inspired almost all the kids to make their own.

DIY | Lion Masks
supplies
• paper plate
• hole punch
• pipe cleaners
• scissors
• paint or markers
• string or elastic
• optional: felt, paper

Use a pencil to mark the eyes, nose and mouth on paper plate and then cut them out. Let the kids paint, draw or glue paper onto plate. Hole punch around the edge and twist pipe cleaners to create mane. Use elastic string to tie one side to the other, so the mask will slip on and off your child’s head.

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• The The Lion King soundtrack.

• African mask making at PBSkids.

• If you want to go beyond the lions in the jungle, Making Masks by Renee Schwarz is full of more great ideas.

The Superhero plays are ten great new plays written by the kids of the Manton Avenue Project.

The Manton Avenue Project works with children living in Providence’s Olneyville neighborhood. Kids work together with professional adult artists and create original theater. Their mission is to increase the kids’ self esteem and unleash the kids’ creative voices. The Manton Avenue Project is modelled after New York City’s 52nd Street Project, which has been working with kids in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood since 1981.

info
March 30 – April 1
Fri & Sat at 7 pm, Sun at 3 pm,
The Met School (The Media and Arts Center).
325 Public Street, Providence, RI
FREE but reservations required.
(401) 331-7007.

Visit Books on the Square for their Lazy Sunday Winter Program. Kids can hear Curious George Visits the Library by Margaret and H.A. Reys, and other old-fashioned stories. Storytime at this bookstore makes the A-List. Kids and parents always feel at home here. Stories, pillows and popcorn – what could be better?

Lazy Sunday Schedule:
2 pm. Location: Providence | Wayland Square

After the storytime, parents can grab a coffee or beverage of choice across the street at Starbucks or around the corner at The Edge.

For more local happenings: check Weekend Picks and Things to Do.

The Toe Jam Puppet Band will be performing this Sunday, March 25th at 4 pm at the East Side Nursery School. Tickets – $5. Maximum of $20 per family.

Bring your kids and enjoy this show of singing, storytelling, jokes and lots of audience participation. I admit my boys and I have been following them around for years. I guess we are groupies…

East Side Nursery School
372 Wayland Avenue, Providence, RI
(401) 272-2228

First Day of Spring is March 21.

• Depending on the weather, go fly a kite or go sledding.
• Create instant works of art with a Sunprint Kit.
• Make Sun Prints from leaves and construction paper.
• Check what is coming up in your garden.
• Start an indoor garden with your kids.
• Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.
• Learn how Eric Carle makes his collages, then make your own.
• Read It’s Spring by Jimmy Pickering.
• Download Spring Coloring Pictures.
• Visit Roger Williams Park Zoo. Admission is half price.
• Take a walk at the Audobon Society.
• Have ice cream with your kids.

Click comments below this article, and tell us your ideas.