By Jaci Arnone

Recently, a neighborhood mom tipped me off to a great alternative activity that’s just perfect for escaping the dog days of summer that lie ahead. Several cinemas in the area offer free summer movies for kids and their families (see listings below).

During the recent heat-wave, I jumped at the chance to check this out for myself. I took my three younger kids to see Over the Hedge at Cinema World in Lincoln. The kids were admitted free of charge, and my ticket was $2 (although adults are free with a donation of a non-perishable food item). There was a balloon artist in the lobby, which was a huge hit with my kids, and I must admit that the AC was absolute bliss.

I’m usually the last person to suggest watching a movie over outside play, but I’ve been looking for ways to limit our UV exposure and find a balance between fun in and out of the sun. I will definitely be making these summer movies a regular part of our schedule.

Cinema World Free Kids Movie Series (website)
Where: Cinema World, Lincoln Mall 16, 622 George Washington Highway, Lincoln, RI
When: Every day, all summer long at 10 am.
Cost: Children under 12 are admitted free of charge. Adults pay $2 or free with donation of non-perishable food item for local food banks.

• June 20 - 26, Open Season
• June 27 - July 3, Happy Feet
• July 4 - 10, Madagascar
• July 11-17, Shrek 3
• July 18 - 24, Flushed Away
• July 25 - 31, SpongeBob
• August 1 -7, Curious George
• August 8 - 14, The Wizard of Oz
• August 15 - 21, Alvin and the Chipmunks
• August 22 - 29, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium
• August 30 - Sept 4, Surf’s Up

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I am thrilled that this series is back for a second season—so cool to watch a free movie outdoors in downtown Providence. Films are shown every Thursday at dusk from June through September, weather permitting. The movie is projected on the side of a building across from Tazza, on the corner of Westminster Street and Union Street. You can easily grab some drinks and food while you watch your favorite flicks under the stars.

Although some of these movies may be fun for the whole family, this event makes for a great date night or mom’s night out.

Schedule:
June
6/5 - Breakfast at Tiffany’s
6/12- The Princess Bride
6/19 - Indiana Jones: Raiders of the lost Ark
6/26 - Fletch

July
7/3 - Independence Day
7/10 - Soundsession 2008
7/17 - Rocky
7/24 - The Birds
7/31 - One Crazy Summer

August
8/7- Rocky Point Movie
8/14 - American Graffiti
8/21 - Monty Python and the Holy Grail
8/28 - Goldfinger

September
9/4 - Star Wars
9/11 - Forrest Gump
9/18 - Moonstruck
9/25 - Top Gun

We are movie buffs in our house and most Pixar movies top our list for fun, family-friendly films. This summer’s kids movies are full of action, adventure, sequels, and animation, and except for Pixar’s upcoming Wall-e, most new releases are rated PG or PG-13. Whether or not these films are appropriate for your child is your call. As a mom of two six-year-old boys—who are growing up fast—I personally wish there were a few more G-rated films out there.

So here’s our guide to help you decide whether to take the kids, leave them home, wait for the DVD, or skip it altogether! For already released movies, I have included the Kids-in-Mind rating system that ranks the amount of sex, violence, and profanity on a scale of 1 to 10. For films that are still unreleased but have already received ratings, I have included the Motion Picture of Association (MPA) rating system. I will update this movie list as the films are released and rated. Feel free to add your own comments below.

A word of caution for parents of young kids who have yet to take their children to see their first movie on the big screen: previews are long and may show sneak peaks of other less appropriate films, the theater’s sound system tends to be very loud, and the theater is very dark. I advise choosing aisle seats in case a quick exit becomes necessary. Read the Movie Theater Rookie Report to hear one dad’s movie experience with his little kido.

MAY:

Iron Man
May 2
RATING: PG-13 (Sex-4, Violence-7, Profanity-5)
STARRING: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow
Genre: Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Based on the comic book superhero.

Son of Rambow
May 2
RATING: PG-13 (Sex - 3, Violence-5, Profanity-5)
STARRING: Bill Milner and Will Poulter
Genre: Comedy | Drama
British indie flick about a pre-teen who is filming his own action movie.

Speed Racer
May 9
RATING: PG (Sex-2, Violence-5, Profanity-3)
STARRING: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman
Genre: Action | Family | Sport
Remake of the ’60s anime cartoon with real actors and computer-generated cars.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
May 16
RATING: PG (Sex-1, Violence-6, Profanity-1)
STARRING: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Ben Barnes
Genre: Adventure | Family | Fantasy
The second in the series based on C. S. Lewis’s seven Narnia books. The Pevensie siblings return to Narnia to restore order.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
May 22
RATING: PG-13 (Sex-1, Violence & Gore-7, Profanity-4)
STARRING: Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett
Genre: Action | Adventure
Famed archaeologist and adventurer Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones is called back into action in the fourth installment in the series.

JUNE:

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Common Sense Media: Non-profit, non-partisan website. Includes critical reviews, lists potentially objectionable content, and age appropriateness. I also like that they recommend older movies and classics, too, not only what’s playing now. Also has reviews of other media like TV, music, websites, and books. The only thing that’s odd are the “on,” “off,” and “pause” symbols for ratings.

Kids in Mind: Lists of movie and DVD releases. Reviews of movies are based on comprehensive details about content, not the quality of a movie.

FamilyStyle Movie Reviews: Find out about movies available on video and showing in theaters. There’s also a Kids’ First area with suggestions for favorite videos for young kids.

Kids First!: Search the site database for info on videos and CD-ROMs. Be sure to check out the “Hot picks of the week,” and the video clips for Quicktime and RealPlayer.

Movie Review Query Engine: When you want to find every review available, use the Movie Review Query Engine (MRQE).

NY Times Family Movie Guide: Find reviews for family films before watching.

IMDB: Use the Internet Movie Database when you need to know movie trivia, like who wrote the film score or what other movies the star appeared in.

Find Local Movie Showtimes:
Google.com/movies: Enter your zip code and find what’s playing near you.

FirstWorks is back this season with creative arts programming for kids and adults. They kicked off the 2008 season with Handmade Puppet Dreams — a zany puppet film festival in two parts curated by Heather Henson, daughter of Muppets creator Jim Henson. These puppet films have been created by independent artists specifically for the camera. The first part for adults was shown a few weeks ago at RISD’s Memorial Hall. Tomorrow bring the kids (big and small) to see part two at the Providence Children’s Museum.

Some of you may remember the fabulous, fun, and free FirstWorksKids festival that’s been held in downtown Providence every June for the last fours years. It’s an entire day filled with music, dance, and theater from around the world, along with hands-on activities for kids. Last year Dan Zanes really rocked the house with his bandmates and then led the parade of families, performers, and Big Nazo puppets from RISD to Waterplace Park.

This year the FirstWorks team has decided to shake things up even more. Starting in 2008, instead of a day-long festival, FirstWorks will plan creative family events throughout the year. Although my family will miss the annual festival, we look forward to unusual and engaging performances like tomorrow’s event at a variety of venues at different times of the year. I applaud the FirstWorks’ mission to connect arts to audiences (both children and adults) with amazing experiences with performance. And I believe that by restructuring the kids’ programming, FirstWorks may broaden their reach — influencing the lives of many more children in our community. In June I will have details about the upcoming fall FirstWorksProv festival which will include more family events this year.

Details for Handmade Puppet Dreams:
FirstWorks presents Handmade Puppet Dreams for Kids: A series of 9 shorts, ranging in length from 5 seconds to 14 minutes. Total program will run 45 minutes.
When: Friday, May 16, at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. (Two 45-minute showings.)
Where: Providence Children’s Museum - 100 Water Street, Providence, RI (map)
Cost: Admission to the museum is free from 5-8 p.m.
(MetLife Family Fridays - sponsored by the MetLife Foundation.)

A sample of some of the films:

Hold Me Now By Damien Eckhardt-Jacobi and Vincent Bova
The debut single off The Polyphonic Spree’s album is an inspirational song for troubled times. Glove and Boots won a challenge for independent filmmakers to create a video that would ultimately represent the song.

Graveyard Jamboree with Mysterious Mose By Seamus Walsh & Mark Caballero
Inspired by an old record by Harry Reser and his Radio All-Star Novelty Orchestra. Three techniques were used in this film including, live action puppetry, silhouette animation and stop motion animation.

Trixie and The Tree Trunks By Quintron & Miss Pussycat
After receiving a secret message from a talking “Happy Tree,” Trixie and Marsha, two woodland animals, embark on a quest to start a band. Adventure unfolds in this puppet mini-series as Trixie and Marsha adopt glow-in-the-dark stray cats and search for a drummer.

Photo Courtesy of FirstWorks

By Katy Killilea

We all know it is not good for them, but ah…the pleasures of being able to hypnotize children into silence with television! This morning, both of us parents having overslept, I came upon my children sitting goggle-eyed before the screen, watching ladies on a chat show discuss a brassiere that, as one boy summarized it, “makes your chests look bigger because you can fill it with wine, and then you can also drink the wine through a hidden straw when you want to get drunken.” These are not the sorts of wholesome good times I had planned. But, despite warnings from public health authorities, there are some shows I am happy to have my kids watch.

Just like their parents, our kids are cable TV deprived, and so they binge on multiple episodes courtesy of the DVD-rich statewide Ocean State Library (OSLRI) system. We use the library’s internet reservation system to order the DVDs (and books too, in case you were worried) we are interested in. Sometimes there is a long wait, and other times our selections arrive faster through the library than through Netfilx.

These are our favorites, and all are readily available through the OSLRI system (anyone with a Rhode Island Public Library card is eligible to partake).

Charlie & Lola: An English import. Charlie and his little sister, Lola, live in a world that is a pleasure to look at (beautiful colors and patterns). They confront real-life obstacles like bedtime, eating vegetables, going to school, and taking care of a dog.

Avatar: The Last Airbender: Stylized battles, beautiful animation, and the triumph of good over evil. This is a good one for school-age kids who think they’re tough, like fighting bad guys and have parents who don’t like even slightly realistic violence.

Jacob Two Two: A funny, animated show about a Jewish family in Canada whose youngest son, Jacob, is tired of being the youngest. He takes adventures such as going to get sesame seed bagels on his own.

Swallows and Amazons: You’ll have to fire up your VCR to watch these films. Released in the 1970s, the stories take place in the 1930s. English children sail from their vacation home to a seemingly deserted island. The adventures take off from there.

Please share your kid’s favorites and your recommendations with Kidoinfo.

It comes with the territory of having more than one child in the house that there will be times they will not agree on something. My husband and I have learned ways to resolve these conflicts—on many occasions we exercise our right to make most house laws and use our veto power when we see fit. However once the boys were old enough to understand consequences (around three years old), we started introducing methods like a coin toss or voting with a show of hands to decide on things like who gets cuddle time, which book is read at bedtime, who picks the video, and who sits in the “special spot” on the couch.

With all the political campaigning going on around the country, now is a great opportunity to teach your kids about voting, or if nothing else, how to say the word vote if they are just learning to speak. Although my boys are now six, they are old enough to understand how some of the basic party issues like education and environment affect whom my husband and I will vote for in the primary on Tuesday, March 4, 2008.

You can help your toddler or preschooler understand how the process works by picking simple things to vote on at home, such as choosing whether to play outside or to read a book, by a simple show of hands (it’s helpful to have an odd number but not necessary). I remember when I was volunteering at my sons’ preschool one day, the teacher asked the class who wanted to hear another story and who wanted to play outside by having the children raise their hands to vote. Although some kids were disappointed by the outcomes, it was a valuable lesson in teaching the children how voting works in a large group, and learning how to behave appropriately when you don’t always get to do what you want.

I believe kids getting involved with voting at a young age will help minimize conflicts at home among siblings and teach them greater responsibility for their actions later on. I know it’s a cliché, but our children are the future—so by showing them how what we do now matters may be good for all of us. If possible, take your kids to vote on primary day—they’ll get a kick out of the machines, seeing your neighbors, watching you vote, and chances are they will get a sticker that says “I voted today.”

More about voting:

Read Duck for President by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin

Watch You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown, a 24-minute episode about Linus running for school president and what happens when he starts making outlandish promises.

Find out where to vote in Rhode Island by visiting the RI.gov website.

At Blue State Coffee, customers (even kids) can vote every day to support one of five causes. Read more about this unusual coffee shop.

Although we spend a lot of time in our house doing craft projects, building with Legos, reading books, putting on puppet shows, and playing soccer, I confess we have not banned Disney from entering our home…yet.

My son D has been a fan of Disney’s Lion King since he first saw the movie when he was 3. I would fast forward some scenes that in my opinion seemed a bit scary in typical Disney fashion—including the evil character (in this movie it was Simba’s evil Uncle Scar) who kills a parent (here it was Mufasa, Simba’s dad and Scar’s brother) early on in the movie, leaving the child to deal with grief and figure out what to do next. The message of good versus evil, being true to yourself and taking responsibility for your actions probably went over my 3-year-old son’s head. But he loved Simba, his friends, his parents, the songs and the humor. As he has gotten older these concepts have made for interesting dinner conversation.

My boys often acted out the movie and made their own costumes. After seeing the Broadway version of the Lion King on stage at PPAC in 2005, my son (and I) was even more mesmerized by this show, the music, and the costumes by Julie Taymor. Now that my son is six, he is a little less obsessed but still a fan of the story. And lions have become one of his favorite animals. Although we love our local Roger Williams Park Zoo, it doesn’t have lions. My son has recently expressed his desire to see a real male lion just like Simba and Mufasa.

After searching around, we finally found one. Christopher is a 405-pound male lion who lives at the Franklin Park Zoo. Until we get a chance to visit him in person, here he is.

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Franklin Park Zoo (located less than an hour from Providence)
One Franklin Park Road, Dorchester, MA
617-541-LION (5466)

I welcome Adam Darowksi as a new contributer to Kidoinfo. When not hanging out with his three-year old daughter and six-month old son, Adam Darowski works for BatchBlue Software and blogs at Darowski.com.

A couple of months ago, we brought my daughter (who had just turned three years old) to her very first movie. She had only watched one or two feature length movies on DVD before, but we were confident a full-length film on the big screen would keep her attention.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have many options for what movie to see once we decided she was ready for her first theater experience. Our choice at the local cinema was Bee Movie or . . . Bee Movie. So, Bee Movie it was.

We were a bit nervous because it was rated PG, but another parent told us that it wasn’t violent, and that the little bit of adult humor would fly over the a child’s head. Fair enough.

Our daughter thought she was the coolest girl in the world sitting in a “big comfy chair” munching on pretzels and watching previews. When it was time for the feature, the lights dimmed.

Whoops. She got nervous.

“I can’t see my pretzel,” she said timidly, holding her pretzel six inches in front of her eyes.

Soon, the opening credits brightened the room, and she felt okay again. However, we soon realized that some scenes that were likely harmless when sitting on the couch watching a 27-inch TV in broad daylight went over differently on a gynormous widescreen with booming surround sound in complete darkness. Nervousness turned to quiet tears during certain scenes before she announced, “I have to go pee-pee.” (Code for “get me out of here!”)

She returned from the bathroom and gave it a go for a few more minutes, but an hour into the movie, she decided she had had enough. So, off we went to eat dinner at Gramma’s and Grandpa’s. She told them she liked the movie, but “It was scary.”

What seemed to get to her were some particularly loud, noisy, and dramatic scenes (such as the lead character getting stuck in a car engine and desperately trying to save himself). I have the feeling even some G-rated Pixar flicks would have had the same effect on her at this stage.

The experience had me wishing there was a full-length Little Einsteins or Clifford feature, but it seems like that dream went straight to DVD. While I know my daughter is the sensitive type (I was shocked when she cried at an old Mickey Mouse cartoon when Pluto was frozen in a block of ice), I wanted to throw the question out to the readers…

When was your child’s first movie theater experience and how did it go?

This classic story about Christmas, toys, magic, adventure, and candy is great for both boys and girls of many ages. Children can experience it in several ways – read the story, hear the music, see a live performance, turn it into a craft project, or as we do at our house – dress the part.

Read a book:
• Nutcracker by E. T. A. Hoffmann, illustrated by Maurice Sendak
• Nutcracker Ballet by Vladimir Vagin
• The Nutcracker: Classic Collectible Pop-Up by David A. Carter, illustrated by Noelle Carter.
• The Nutcracker by Michael Hague and Sarah L. Thomson

Hear the music:
• Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker CD, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Mackerras

Listen to the music while reading along with the book: The Nutcracker hardcover with CD adapted by Janet Schulman and E. T. A. Hoffmann, illustrated by Renee Graef

See the show:
• The Nutcracker by Festival Ballet, December 14-16, 2007
The Providence Performing Arts Center - 220 Weybosset Street, Providence. Ticket prices from $18 to $60. For tickets call 401-421-ARTS or visit www.ppacri.com

Watch the movie:
• George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker - New York City Ballet (1993)
Starring Darci Kistler, Damian Woetzel, Macaulay Culkin and directed by Emile Ardolino.
Running Time: 92 minutes
• The Nutcracker (1977)
Starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland and directed by Tony Charmoli.
Running Time: 78 min

Make a craft:
• Nutcracker Stickers by Dover Little Activity Books
• Cut & Assemble a Nutcracker Ballet Toy Theater: A Complete Production in Full Color
by Tom Tierney
• Paint your own wooden Nutcracker

Dress the part:
We put together this Nutcracker costume with black poster board rolled and stapled together to form the hat, makeup for kids, a corduroy jacket, red shirt and black pants from home. Black boots from the local thrift shop. Sword, optional.