Save the Date
Sat, Feb 8: 2020 Cupid's Chase at Sugar House Park
Tue, Feb 18: Matilda at Hale Center Theater Orem - Utah
Tue, Feb 25: Shen Yun at The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater
Thu, Mar 5: Disney On Ice presents Mickey's Search Party at Vivint Smart Home Arena
Fri, Mar 27: Nickelodeon's JoJo Siwa DREAM The Tour at Vivint Smart Home Arena
Sat, Mar 28: Festival of Colors at Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple - Spanish Fork, UT
Wed, Apr 15: How to Train Your Dragon in Concert at Abravanel Hall
Sat, May 2: Supercross at Rice-Eccles Stadium
Fri, May 15: 2020 Living Traditions Festival at Liberty Square
Sat, May 30: PAW Patrol Live!: Race to the Rescue at Vivint Smart Home Arena
*Some events may have additional dates. Click through to see more information.
Dear KidsOutAndAbout readers:
I take an early-morning karate fitness class for grownups at my daughters' dojo. It's a combination of karate-based calisthenics, light sparring with each other and with the bags, and self-defense training. The best part, at least to me because I crave information more than exercise, is that Sensei Matt always keeps up a running commentary about the health, anatomy, physics, and psychology of it all. One morning, he showed us how to use an opponent's stance and momentum to our advantage. "Borrow my balance," he told Pete when they were demonstrating the move and Sensei Matt was playing the bad guy.
Borrow my balance.
In self defense, "borrowing balance" means literally seizing an aggressor's body so you don't fall while being attacked. But, turned around a little, it's a perfect shorthand way to think about how you can help others coping with something destabilizing that life has tossed in their direction.
Exhausted from a long day at work, honey? Borrow my balance.
Worried about an upcoming math test? Borrow my balance.
Waiting for the Advil to kick in? Borrow my balance.
Having a tantrum, Princess? Borrow my balance. (Please.)
With kids, of course, it's the grownup who must always be the rock, the one who offers the balance no matter what those small people throw at you. (Fake it 'til you make it, parents.) With friends, spouses, and adult family, it can be more like a trade-off, with each person lending or borrowing, as needed. Over the long haul, if you deposit more in the balance bank than you need to borrow, you'll have plenty to withdraw if you need it, so you'll find your feet more often on the ground than in the air.
I'm told that eventually, this works for karate, too. Let's hope so.
—Debra Ross, publisher
Tony®-winning director Bartlett Sher and the team behind South Pacific, The King and I and 2017 Tony-winning Best Play Oslo, bring a fresh and authentic vision to this beloved theatrical masterpiece from Tony winner Joseph Stein and Pulitzer Prize winners Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. Featuring the Broadway classics “Tradition,” “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” and “To Life,” FIDDLER ON THE ROOF will introduce a new generation to this uplifting celebration that raises its cup to joy! To love! To life!
Click here for more information.
Animal Meet & Greet at Loveland Living Planet Aquarium
Join one of our educators in the main lobby to come face-to-face and interact with one of our amazing animals. You can get up close with a variety of serpents, insects, birds, and more.
Click here for more information.
Hairy Horse Show at the Golden Spike Event Center
The Hairy Horse Show is just that. A horse show that requires no fancy grooming, trimming, or slicked off horses. It's for everyone to enjoy in the cold winter months. From trail classes to freestyle reining. Pre-registration is the day of the show from 7:30 to 9: am. Please message us for contact information January 25 - May 2, 2020!
Click here for more information.
Lunar New Year Cultural Celebration
Happy Lunar New Year! Celebrate the year of the Rat at Discovery Gateway! Happy Lunar New Year! Celebrate the year of the Rat at Discovery Gateway! Discover your own zodiac animal, and what it means to be in the year of the rat. Create a rat paper lantern, clothespin dragons, and learn calligraphy!
Click here for more information.
Storytime: How to Catch a Dragon at Barnes & Noble University Crossings Plaza - Orem, UT
Do you have what it takes to catch a dragon? The How to Catch kids are off again, this time trying to catch a dragon as they chase him through Chinese New Year celebrations! Set in China during the Spring Festival, otherwise known as Chinese New Year, the wily dragon will have to avoid trap after trap as the kids run through paper lanterns, red envelopes, fireworks, and more! Bonus Mandarin translation included in the back January 25, 2020!
Click here for more information.
Choose Great Taste and Good Health and Join a CSA This Year
It's CSA sign-up season! If you haven't ever participated in a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture), you're missing out on a terrific opportunity to support your local community, connect with your neighbors, get great deals on fresh produce, and expand your culinary horizons.
Families purchase shares of produce that they receive each week during the growing season. Depending on the CSA, fruits, dairy, meat, or other natural products may be available. Some farms encourage pick-your-own activities or offer events when everyone can help out on the farm. What a great field-to-table lesson for the whole family!
Here's our local list of CSAs - Locally Community-Supported Agriculture.
Do The Kids Have Energy To Burn?
Some days you'd just rather be inside, and that's okay! But if you don't want your little monkeys jumping on the bed (or your sofa, or the ottoman), you might want to head to a local indoor play center. Indoor play centers offer a chance to meet up with friends without anyone having to worry about tidying up or the opportunity to make some new friends while exploring a whole new playscape.
Looking for someplace to play? Check out KidsOutAndAbout's list of local indoor play centers.
Have you resolved to make better choices for your family's health this year? Want to eat out less and cook more, or get your picky kids to expand their culinary repertoire?
Strategic Content Editor Katie Beltramo offers practical strategies that she's used on her own kids, friends' kids, and relatives' kids in 10 Ways to Get Your Kids to Eat Vegetables.
She also offers up an alphabetical list of vegetables jam-packed with serving suggestions, recipe links, and fun facts (like which vegetables will transform your pee!), in her big list of Vegetables A to Z.
Whether you're trying to nudge your child beyond fries and ketchup or ready to explore purslane, daikon, and tomatillos as a family, you'll get tips to expand your vegetable horizons.
Trying to tidy up for the new year? We've put together Deb's tips on how to help kids keep a tidy room tidy, in our article How to Help Your Kids Clean Their Rooms.
Need a bit of coaching for yourself? Would you believe that we have a KidsOutAndAbout resident organization expert? Robin Harisis has whipped our office into shape, and she can help anyone--kid or adult--get more organized. Find her Top Ten Tips for Organizing Families here.
When it's cold outside, your instincts might tell you to burrow under a blanket on a sofa by a fire. But let's face it: small children have way too much energy for a full day of burrowing under blankets, and older kids are liable to spend the entire time staring at a screen, which just leads to parent guilt.
So what should you do instead? Learn to love the winter! Help your family fall in love with winter sports, and you'll have active, outdoor fun together all season long. Our article, Embrace the Winter, will help you get started.
