The contest is already done. If you did not win tickets to attend Bright Night you can still buy tickets for today’s events.

The artist-run, family-friendly New Year’s Eve festival Bright Night promises to be a most magical evening. It’s not that Harry Potter will be running around town or that that a unicorn will appear, complete with magical horn. (Although both of those would be kind of cool.) This year the main act for Bright Night is the magic/illusion spectacular IllusionQuest. A featured act at Six Flags New England for five years, master illusionist David Garrity and his team will magically appear, disappear, pass through solid objects and even float people from the audience. Read comeplete article here.

Read about how Kidoinfo readers spend their New Year’s Day. I love all the tradtions shared in the comments.

Kidoinfo wishes you all a lovely holiday. Play, sing, be silly, eat yummy food, make things, be kind to your neighbors and remember to share!

I am taking some time off to be with my family. See you in the New Year!

Preparing for the holidays is always hard, but when the holidays include travel it gets harder, and when that travel includes kids, well… Luckily, there are a few ideas out there that make travel easier for parents.

If you are flying with a toddler this holiday, save your back and check your car seat. CARES (Child Aviation Restraint System) is an FAA-approved harness that enables children to use the standard airplane seat belt. The child must be over the age of one year old, weigh 22-44 pounds, and be under 40 inches tall. We are traveling with two now and taking two car seats was out of the question. The CARES system includes a small storage bag and slips easily into a carry on. Once on board, the CARES belt is quickly installed over the back of your child’s seat (behind the tray of the (hopefully understanding) neighbor behind you) and through the straps of the plane seat belt. Bring a neck pillow if your child might doze since there is no padded car seat cushioning to stop lolling heads! The CARES belt includes only the straps (made of the same strong webbing that you would find in any car seat belt)– you might want to snag the padding from your child’s car seat to make the straps a little more comfortable– and a little more familiar too! One downside is the lack of a strap between the child’s leg which led to some sliding– especially when sleeping or wriggling. The ability to travel with dragging the extra car seat through the airport is worth every penny.

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Looking for something to do with your kids during vacation? Here’s my Top Ten List of things to do – many are Free and Cheap. Check the Kidoinfo calendar, Winter Guide and blog for more ideas.

1. Host a crafternoon. Have kids (and parent) bring a shoebox filled with stickers, magazines, ribbons, rubber stamps, glue sticks and scissors. (Crafty ideas: Make books, paper bead necklaces, collage bookmarks, puppets, treasure box…) (Free / Cheap)

2. Go ice skating outdoors at the River Island Ice Skating Rink in Woonsocket. (Free / Cheap)

3. Book a Rhode Trip. Visit a new library with your children. (Free / Cheap)

4. Animal Power. See what the animals are doing this time of year at Roger Williams Park Zoo. (half-price admission)*

5. Read the Biggest, Best Snowman than build the biggest, best snowman ever. Find more winter book ideas here. (Free / Cheap)

6. Set up a playdate swap with a friend. (Free / Cheap)

7. All aboard. Take the commuter train to Boston. Plan a trip to the Museum of Science in Boston to see the Harry Potter exhibit.

6. Check out classic movies from your local library; Red Balloon, Yellow Submarine, Singing in the Rain, Charlie Chaplin. (Free / Cheap)

9. Building Blocks. Build a castle, city or rocketship using all of your Legos. (Free / Cheap)

10. Bundle up and head out on a winter hike. Explore a wildlife refuge. Try it with snowshoes. (Free / Cheap)

* Get passes from the library.

Can you afford an Independent School Education?  This is the question for many families as they consider educational options for their children.  Area independent schools recognize that tuitions are high and families struggle with, what can I really afford?  To assist with answering this and other financial assistance questions the Schools have joined together to host an evening on Thursday, January 7th at The Rochambeau Public Library on the East Side of Providence.

Parents can come and learn about the new financial aid guidelines and see if their family might qualify for financial aid at an independent school.

Keynote Speaker: Kristen Power, Regional Director for the National Association of Independent Schools. This event is a collaborative effort by Gordon School, Lincoln School,  Brown, Providence Country Day, Rocky Hill, Sage School, and Wheeler School.

The Details:
Thursday, January 7, 2010
The Rochambeau Public Library – 708 Hope Street on the East Side of Providence
6:00 -8:00 pm
The event is free of charge and all are welcome!

Wow, what a great to day to play in the snow. Make snow angels in the driveway, have a snowball fight and go sledding.

Here’s our list of Rhode Island spots
(Click here for complete list):

In Providence
• Moses Brown School – 250 Lloyd Avenue, East Side. There is a steep hill on the school’s campus near the corner of Lloyd Avenue and Arlington Street, plus some smaller hills for novice sledders.
• Roger Williams Park (home of Roger Williams Zoo) – 1000 Elmwood Avenue. There are several hills to choose from, including a popular spot near the Temple to Music.
• Neutaconkanut Hill – off Killingly Street near the Johnston town line.

In Lincoln
• Lincoln Woods has big and small hills – enough to please sledders of varying skill levels.
• Chase Farm – 100 Great Road.

By Kristen Swanberg, Senior Director of Education

This winter create a backyard bistro for the birds!  Just by hanging a few feeders you can attract cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers and more. Watch your backyard transform into a wildlife sanctuary.

Bird feeding is fun – but it also helps our feathered friends survive harsh winter conditions when food may be hard to find or buried under the deep snow.

Make Your Own Feeder
Use your imagination and create bird feeders with just a few household items.  Here are two ideas to start with:

Milk Carton Bird Feeder
Materials:  scissors, milk or juice carton, string, birdseed, chopsticks (or 10”-12” twigs), hole-punch, nail.
- Wash the carton and let it dry completely.
- Using the hole-punch, create a hole in the top edge of the carton.  Then tie a string through this hole.
- With scissors, cut feeding holes two inches up from the bottom.  Make the feeding holes two to three inches in diameter.
-  Add perches by making a hole with the nail that chopsticks or twigs can fit through.
- Add the seed and hang it outside.

Pinecone Bird Feeder
Materials:  Pinecones, string, peanut butter, birdseed, spoon, pie plate, scissors.
- Tie a long string to the top of your pine cone.
- Use a spoon to spread peanut butter all over your pinecone.
- Sprinkle birdseed of your choice in shallow pan and roll the cone covered in peanut butter in the seed so that the seeds stick to the peanut butter.
- Head outside and tie your pinecone feeder to a tree branch.

See Elyse Major’s how-to instructions: Make a simple pine cone bird feeder

Feeding Tips:
There are many types of birdseed to choose from and you will find that each bird species has a preference to the type of seed they eat.  Black-oil sunflower seed is probably the most popular to attract cardinals, black-capped chickadees, white-breasted nuthatches, juncos and others.  Other seed options include millet, cracked corn, and safflower seed.  Try mixing different seeds together and see which mixture is preferred by the birds in your area.

Some birds like Juncos are “ground feeders” – so be sure to spread seed on the ground.
Once you put your feeder up make sure you keep it full all winter long as many birds will rely on it as a regular place to eat.  You also want to keep it clean.
Other ways to attract a variety of birds is to put up a suet feeder, platform or tube feeders, and a bowl of ice-free water.

Bird Watching Tips:
Birds come in all shapes, sizes and colors. They have different calls and can be picky about what they eat. A field guide and binoculars will help you identify them. Why not keep a list of the birds you see and count them at the end of the winter?
Here is a list of things to look for when identifying birds:
• Size – Ask yourself, is the bird bigger or smaller than a robin?
• Markings – Look at the coloration of the feathers, what is unique? Does the bird have markings like a cap, a scarf or bib, eye streaks?
• Beak – What shape is the beak? Is it short and wide to crack seeds, is it long and narrow to eat suet, is it sharply curved as if to eat meat?
• Bird Legs – Are they short and narrow, long with webbed feet, or long with strong talons?

Sources:
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/nature/winterbird.htm
Discover Nature in Winter by Elizabeth P. Lawlor

Today Beth Curtin shares this fabulous craft project to do with kids. This is a great use for old magazines and the pile of catalogs that seem to come daily this time of year. Find more cool crafty ideas on her blog, Acorn Pies.

Here are Beth’s easy-to-follow intructions:

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Kidoinfo is giving away 4 family fourpacks to attend this year’s Bright Night celebration. See details below to enter.

The artist-run, family-friendly New Year’s Eve festival Bright Night promises to be a most magical evening. It’s not that Harry Potter will be running around town or that that a unicorn will appear, complete with magical horn. (Although both of those would be kind of cool.) This year the main act for Bright Night is the magic/illusion spectacular IllusionQuest. A featured act at Six Flags New England for five years, master illusionist David Garrity and his team will magically appear, disappear, pass through solid objects and even float people from the audience.

Highlights from the performance include a comical illusion where David’s assistant ends up all twisted up; David also teaches a volunteer from the audience how to cut his assistant in half; and the finale features a breathtaking feat where David is chained to a table with 32 steel spikes suspended above him and he must escape before the spikes fall.

In addition to the illusion spectacular, your Bright Night ticket gets you access to over 50 other performances involving nearly 160 performers, including choirs, dance companies, comedians, clowns, puppeteers, jazz bands, a poetry slam, and a whole lot more. The schedule (which is being continually enhanced) runs from 12 noon- 12 midnight on December 31, 2009. There’s free on-street parking or pay $9 in the Rhode Island Convention Center.

Tickets (a Tyvek wristband) are $10 if purchased before December 24. Starting December 25, tickets are $15 each, or buy a family fourpack for $50. Tickets are available online, http://www.brightnight.org, in person at the East Side Marketplace, OOP!, and all Bank RI locations, or by phone via Art-Tix at 401-621-6123.

BRIGHT NIGHT NEEDS OUR HELP!

Some would say that the magical part of Bright Night is that it will happen at all. The largest sponsor, the city of Providence, announced in mid-November that due to budget cuts, they couldn’t afford to sponsor the event. That works out to nearly 30 percent of the festival budget. The artists of Bright Night were determined not to let that deter them. The show must go on–New Year’s Eve must be saved. They’ve started a grassroots campaign called GIVE $20, TELL 10. Their goal is to get you (and 2009 of your closest friends) to give $20 and tell 10 people.

In addition, every performer of Bright Night has agreed to take a pay cut if the festival doesn’t get enough money. Talk about community spirit. So do your part, give a little and buy some tickets! To give, visit http://www.donate.brightnight.org

Want to win a family fourpack to attend the 2009 Bright Night Providence?
Tell us in the comments below: “What is your favorite tradition on New Year’s Day?”
We will randomly select 4 people to win a family fourpack (each valued at $50). Deadline is Wednesday at noon, December 23, 2009.

Vegetables from A to Z

By Hannah Marcotti

I was inspired by my amazing farmer’s market finds to write this recipe using a lovely jalapeno and other fresh, beautiful vegetables. We are lucky to have access to multiple winter markets in Rhode Island.

I brought $100 to the market and I bought ground lamb, stew meat, a roasting chicken, five dozen eggs, grapefruit, apples, Italian cauliflower, carrots, fingerling potatoes, mixed greens, cilantro, bok choy, ginger, a chocolate chip cookie, a gingerbread cake (kids in tow), dark green jalapenos and “breakfast” radishes with the freshest greens on top. I already have a mantel full of squash of different colors so I didn’t need those, but they were there for the taking. If my pantry was lacking oats or tortillas, cheese or tea, chocolate or fresh pasta…they were all to be found as well.

Shopping locally means meal planning after the shop. Fill in the gaps at the grocery store once you inventory your market finds. You have to be willing to experiment and substitute. Prioritizing also becomes important. Use the fresh delicate greens first and then work your way to the dark greens and root vegetables. Let the kids help you unpack your market finds and talk about how each vegetable grows. Explain that if the green peppers are left on the vine they turn red and how you dig up potatoes from deep within the dirt almost like a treasure hunt. Make the connection for them early as the groundwork for a lifetime of healthy eating.

Jalapenos are such a nice way to add a little heat or quite a kick, depending on how much of the ribs and seeds you leave in. In this recipe there is a lovely background note of spice without making you chug a glass of milk to tame the heat. The story behind the name “breakfast” radish gave me the idea for the recipe. In France, when the radishes are in season, they are sliced and dipped in warm butter for breakfast, served with some crusty French bread of course! I ate my sauté over eggs and put the rest over pasta for the kids who aren’t afraid of greens.

Spicy Breakfast Radish Sauté with Toasted Nuts

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