Tomorrow is the last day of January.  We’re off to Charleston for the day for a change of scenery.  If you are hanging around in Columbia, you might want to check out Beauty and the Beast at the Marionette Theatre.  Performances are at 11am and 3pm.  Admission is very reasonable at $4 per person, with children under 2 free!  I have seen other performances there, and they have all been very good.  Columbia is very lucky to have the Marionette Theatre, so please show your support!

Also tomorrow, the 2009 Camp & Education Fair will be taking place at the S.C. State Museum.  I’ve never been, so I can’t give you my personal recommendation, but you can check it out between 11 and 3.

Speaking of education… just a reminder that preschool registrations are happening now.  If you were thinking of signing you little one up for preschool this Fall and you haven’t already contacted the schools in which you are interested, you’re late!!!  So get on it!  From personal experience or through my friends’ experiences, I can recommend Harmony School, Kilbourne Park Baptist Church Preschool, Shandon Presbyterian Preschool, Incarnation Lutheran Child Development Center, Montessori Children’s House, Jewish Day School, and Brockman.  If you have experience with other programs that you would like to recommend, please leave a comment to this post!

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This weekend, there are three equally cool, free events taking place.

Starting at 11am on Saturday, the Columbia Museum of Art is hosting a Family Fun Day with a Chinese New Year celebration.  I don’t know about you, but I love Chinese Art and Chinese New Year.  So interesting!  So come celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Ox by creating art, exploring the galleries, and enjoying exciting, interactive entertainment! 11am - 2pm Saturday only.

Also at 11am, on the other side of town, the Southeast Regional Library (on Garners Ferry Road) will host a Pancake Crazy story time.  You and your little ones can munch on some yummy pancakes while the librarians read pancake stories. Mmmmm, pancakes….

Then, on Sunday, you can check out a special performance of Pinocchio the Opera in the Bostick Auditorium at the Main Library at 3pm.

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Thanks to everyone who came out yesterday to support the Columbi-Yeah Cares service project at Richland Mall!  We had a great time, and I hope you did, too!  We collected 67 Valentines, 53 food items, and approximately $35 in cash.  I didn’t count the toys and art supplies, but we have plenty of those things, too!  Thanks for all your support!!!   The Nurturing Center will be very excited to receive your donations.  Stay tuned for future Columbi-Yeah Cares service projects!  Happy Inauguration Day!

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Monday, January 19, Columbi-Yeah! is hosting a family-friendly service project as a part of President-elect Obama’s call for a National Day of Service.  I hope to see you near the food court at Midtown @ Forest Acres between 10am and noon tomorrow, where your children can make Valentines and donate supplies for The Nurturing Center.  All the details can be found in this previous entry.

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Don’t forget that Lunch Money will be throwing a CD release party this Saturday morning at the Richland County Public Library, Main Library Children’s Room.  The fun begins at 10:30am.  The show is free and open to the public. The new CD, called Dizzy, will be available for sale at the event! 

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I am pleased to announce a new Columbi-Yeah Cares program.  As part of the Columbi-Yeah mission, we will now be organizing community service projects that allow you and your children to work together to make a real difference in our community.  As you may know, January 19th has been designated as a National Day of Service.  Groups all over the nation are organizing service events, and now, Columbia has an event specifically designed to include even the youngest members of our community!

Our first Columbi-Yeah Cares service project will take place on Monday, January 19 between 10:00am and noon.  We will meet at Midtown at Forest Acres (a.k.a. Richland Fashion Mall) near the food court to make Valentines for the children serviced by The Nurturing Center*.  Aside from making Valentines, we will also be collecting non-perishable food items and supplies for the Center.  Options include dropping off items listed on the Center’s wish list (see below) or making a monetary donation.  Please review the items listed below, and encourage your children to help choose what they want to donate.  The idea is to involve our children in the process as much as possible.  If you choose to donate money, please know that we will have donation boxes designated for art supplies, snacks, and toys so your children will also have the opportunity to make a choice about how their money will be used.  As for the art project, we want to be sure each child at The Nurturing Center receives a Valentine, and we need your child’s help to make this happen.

Nurturing Center Wish List: Apple juice or white grape juice (100% juice), goldfish, graham crackers, animal crackers, applesauce cups, pudding cups, breakfast bars, pretzels, cheezits, wheat thins, other child-friendly snacks, washable paint and magic markers, Play-Doh, glue and glue sticks, room spray, sippy cups (non-drip), dress up clothes and costumes (sizes 18 months - 5 years), toys (ages infant - 5 years), disposible bibs, diapers, wipes, Diaper Genie refills, Zoo passes, and Edventure passes.

Please encourage your children to take part in this event. If we all work together, we make our community stronger.

*The Nurturing Center is a family-focused, therapeutic treatment center for child abuse and neglect. The Center’s mission is to nurture trusting, caring relationships between adults and children. Services include individual and group therapy, art and play therapy, parenting curriculum, children’s curriculum and therapeutic classrooms, parent-child interaction time, on-site substance abuse counseling, job training, literacy workshops, lunch and transportation.

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K.D.’s Treehouse is having a sale.

-All long sleeve tops are buy one get one half off (equal or lesser value)
-All Green Dot merchandise is 20% off original price
-All Red line merchandise is 25% off markdown price

The sale event runs from January 10 - January 24, so be sure to stop by!

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Don’t miss the Skate and Create Community Gallery Opening Reception tonight from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.  In partnership with Pour It Now and Bluetile Skateboards, this community gallery installation brings awareness to Columbia about skateboarding and the need for a local skate park. Skate and Create displays artwork and skateboards altered with unique and original art created by local artists and skaters, as well as works from internationally acclaimed artists, Kevin Taylor and Jason Filipow, who attribute their success to growing up within the skateboarding scene in South Carolina.  Check The State for more information.

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Here are the songs on the compilation we made for our last family road trip:

• Yes, We Have No Bananas by Louis Prima

• Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da by the Beatles

• The Donkey Song by Sugar Chile Robinson

• If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d've Baked A Cake by Eileen Barton

• Coconut by The Muppets

• Be Like You by Asylum Street Spankers  (yes, a band with a name like that DID make a children’s CD)

• Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland

• Electric Feel by MGMT

• I Never Go To Work by They Might Be Giants

• Rag Mop by Lionel Hampton & His Orhcestra

• Jackson by Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash

• Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens by Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five

• Wonderful by Circle Jerks

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Don’t miss the new art available for purchase at K.D.’s Treehouse .  South Carolina artist Kris Neely’s guardian angels would make the perfect addition to your art collection…and would look adorable in a nursery!  Get yours now, and while you are there, check out the sale rack!

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