Just a reminder that now is the time to start planning for summer. If you are looking for camps for your children (ages 4+), you won’t be disappointed. There aren’t as many opportunities for 2 & 3 year olds, so you may have to stick to Music Together, Gymboree, The Little Gym, EdVenture, and library activities. As for the older ones, there are lots of opportunities. The first I will call out is the Columbia Museum of Art’s Art School Summer Camps. We haven’t personally tried any of the classes, but they sound great, and if they are associated with the Museum, I am sure they are fabulous!  They have week-long sessions for ages 4-6, ages 7-10, and ages 11-14, and a few three-day workshops for ages 8-12.

No Comments »

We are trying our hand at gardening.  First time ever, so really, it is a very experimental family project.  We have planted cantaloupes, broccoli, beets, tomatoes, squash, onions, carrots, and potatoes.  Wish us luck!

Garden space

1 Comment »

Wednesday, March 25th: Afternoon of Puppets at Richland County Public Library, Main Branch, Children’s Room.  4:00pm

On Thursday, March 26th: Read Across the Carolinas at Capstone House (a part of the USC Campus - located at Barnwell St. and Gibbes Ct.).  5:00pm - 7:00pm for children K - 3rd Grade.  Free event.  Please register to attend by Tuesday, March 24 by emailing SOSCEA@mailbox.sc.edu.  All children grades K-3 will receive a free book!  There will also be free pizza, prizes, crafts, stories, face painting, and pictures with the Cat in the Hat.

On Saturday, March 28th: Town’s Youth Theatre presents Treasure Island.  Shows at 3:00pm and 7:30pm.  $10 general admission.

On Saturday, March 28th: Family Festival at Colonial Life Arena.  Sponsored by the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands.  The festival, which will include entertainment, crafts, music and food for the whole family, will take the place of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands annual black-tie fundraising gala.  Entry to the event is $5 per person (includes all activities and food).  3:00pm - 7:00pm

No Comments »

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands will host a Family Festival on Saturday, March 28, 2009, from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. at the Colonial Life Arena.  The event is open to the community, as well as to club members and their families.  Tickets are $5 per person, which covers admission and all activities, including entertainment, crafts, music and food for the whole family.  This fundraiser will take the place of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands’ annual black-tie fundraising gala.  Door prizes will be given, and there will also be a silent auction of sports memorabilia.

No Comments »

Please mark your calendars for what is sure to be a fun Earth Day event!  On Saturday, April 18, K.D.’s Treehouse is hosting “A Little Earth Day Party” in the store and on the patio behind the store.  From 10am - 3pm, children can participate in a fun, educational, and environmentally-focused Earth Day celebration. Columbi-Yeah! will be there giving out sunflower seeds (thanks to Keep the Midlands Beautiful!), and K.D.’s Treehouse will be taking donations for the Riverbanks Zoo Conservation Fund and food donations for Harvest Hope Food Bank.  Please mark your calendars and come out to celebrate Earth Day with us!  I’ll post more details in April, but just wanted to give you a heads-up. I’m very excited!!

No Comments »

Harmony School still has a few openings for the coming school year. There are 2 openings for Kindergarten and 4 openings for Elementary School (1st-3rd grades). If you are looking for a unique learning environment for your child, incorporating Montessori, Waldorf, and Inquiry-based learning principles, you should definitely take a look at Harmony. Contact Shannon McDonald in the office at 787-1899.

No Comments »

It seems there is always some reason that I don’t get the opportunity to post on Columbi-Yeah as much as I want. This month, it has been March Birthday Madness.  Aside from celebrating my birthday and my MIL’s birthday, my son just turned two last week!  While my birthday didn’t require a big party (darn it), I did throw three separate parties for my 2-year old. Now, three parties may sound a bit extreme. And it is! But I really didn’t see any other way around it! First, I wanted to host our weekly playgroup at my house so we could have a very casual, low-key, no-presents-please party. I made some pumpkin muffins with cream cheese icing and bought some fruit. Nothing elaborate, but still a mini-party. The floor had to be mopped, the house cleaned, the piles of papers cleaned off the kitchen counter, etc…so still effort! Then, his actual birthday was on the following Thursday. I couldn’t ignore the actual birthday just because we had an official family party planned for the following weekend. Thus, we had a little breakfast birthday party, complete with singing, a candle in his muffin, and one present to open.  Later that morning, we headed out to Congaree National Park for a picnic lunch and short walk on the boardwalk with our birthday boy. On Saturday morning, we had the official family birthday party, complete with presents, cake, singing, balloons, streamers, noise makers, etc. The party was a bright spot on an otherwise dreary (rainy) day. The point of telling you all this is that I have been so busy with birthday preparations and activities, that I haven’t had time to do much else. There are a few exciting events coming up in Columbia, so stay tuned.  I will have more posts this week!

No Comments »

My 2-year old has been traumatized by his inability to see the new baby giraffe at the zoo. After multiple trips to the zoo at varying times of day, we finally asked someone what was up with the baby giraffe. So, for all you parents who have been listening to the sad little voices pleading to see the baby giraffe, here is the secret… They are concerned about the significant fluctuations in temperature. They will be keeping the baby giraffe inside (and therefore, out of sight) until it gets warmer for a more consistent period of time. At least, that is what they told us. Now you know.

1 Comment »

The Nickelodeon Theatre has been hosting a Family Film Series since August 2008.  Films shown have included The Muppet Movie, The Red Balloon, The Snowy Day, My Neighbor Totoro, Homeward Bound, E.T., and the 1973-version of Charlotte’s Web.  Many of the events have been sell-outs (or very near sell-outs).  Unfortunately, the Nickelodeon is losing money on these events, despite the wonderful attendance.

The Nickelodeon will be forced to suspend the Second Saturdays program until it can secure the funding required to support the program.  Any willing donors are asked to contact Larry Hembree at the Nickelodeon at 254-8234 to make a tax deductible donation to the Nick’s Family Film Series.  The theatre needs $1500 to ensure the program continues for the remainder of the fiscal year.  Please help if you can.  No other theatre in Columbia is offering an ongoing Family Film Series that presents our children with an opportunity to see classic and independent family films on the big screen.  To have to terminate the program would be loss to the Nickelodeon and to the community.

March 14th is the last Second Saturday for which the Nick has funds.  Mary Poppins will be shown at 10am.  Please come out to the theatre to show your support for the Family Film Series, and say a little supercalifragilisticexpialidocious prayer that Mary Poppins can do some magic and save the Second Saturdays programming!

Thanks for your support!

No Comments »