Mom to Mom: Go and Enjoy the Show!

We're so lucky here in Chicago's far western suburbs to have many options for children's theater. I try to include them all on the Go West Calendar, and I'm always happy to partner with theaters who want to give away tickets to readers. Today, guest contributor Tamara Hickman writes about why she likes taking her daughter to theatrical performances. 

A year ago, I took my oldest daughter to her first musical. She had just turned 3, and when I think about her experience, it warms my heart. 

I had taken her to see "Sleeping Beauty" performed by the Children’s Theatre of Elgin. It was my first experience as well in a children's theater and we had a spectacular time! The singing, dancing, costumes and the humor were incredible.  

But the best part was watching my little girl sit at the edge of her seat in her beautiful dress, with perfect posture, eyes wide open and the biggest smile on her face! She was clapping as hard as she could, and she kept asking me when they were going to start singing again. This really brought tears to my eyes knowing that she's having this theatrical experience and most especially because we were there together. Oh and did I mention sitting at the edge of her seat because if she didn’t the seat would flip up on her? Too cute!

The Children's Theatre of Elgin will be performing 'Seussical Jr.' on April 12-14 at the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin. (Photo courtesy of CTE.)

Since then we've been to see shows at the Steel Beam Theatre and the Marquee Youth Stage, both in Saint Charles. I'm looking forward to going back to the Children’s Theatre of Elgin this weekend to see "Seussical Junior" at the Hemmens Cultural Center in downtown Elgin. I’d have to say by far this place has overall been the best experience. I will still return to the other theaters and maybe try some others as well.

I think a lot of people don’t realize that these theatrical performances for children are out there, and they don't cost a lot of money. Depending on the places mentioned, tickets range between $7 and $15. So go and enjoy the show!

Tamara Hickman and her husband live in St. Charles with their two girls. The girls keep mommy busy with arts and crafts and daddy busy playing tag. The family loves to "park hop," checking out parks in neighboring communities. 

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Weekend Spotlight: Sheep Herding, Bird Feeders and More

Are you ready for some warm spring weather? Me too! Looks like the forecast right now is calling for a cloudy 63 degrees and windy on Saturday, and a mostly cloudy 56 degrees on Sunday. Hopefully those clouds will go away, but either way, here are some highlights from the Go West Calendar for the first week of April:

Sheep herding is on the agenda for Saturday's "Heritage Day" at Peck Farm Park Interpretative Center in Geneva. Photo by redshoes_nz on Flickr.KIDS WORKSHOP: The monthly Home Depot Kids Workshop is this Saturday at stores in locations including Geneva, Aurora, Bartlett, Naperville and South Elgin. This is a free, hands-on workshop, designed for kids ages 5 through 12, offered from 9 a.m. to noon. In addition to the newly constructed project kid, each child receives an orange apron, a commemorative pin and certificate of achievement. This month, the project is a bird feeder.

FREE MOVIES: The Goodrich Quality Theatres' Free Spring Movies series continues through the end of the month. This weekend, the animated film "Hotel Transylvania" will be shown at both 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday at the Randall 15 IMAX in Batavia and the Kendall 10 in Oswego. The free tickets are first-come, first-served. 

HERITAGE DAY: Peck Farm Park Interpretative Center in Geneva is hosting a free, new event called "Heritage Day" on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be activities such as candle dipping, butter making, cow milking, lawn games, wool spinning and basket weaving demos. There will be crafts, too, and sheep herding. If the weather permits, there will be free hayrides in the prairie. 

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Early Literacy Activities Calendar for April

Thanks to the great folks in the Youth Department at the West Chicago Public Library for sharing this montly calendar, full of easy and creative ways to promote a love of reading and words in young children.

Photo by catd_mitchell on Flickr.April 1: Make up a silly joke or some silly words together.

April 2: Narrate while you're doing while you make lunch or dinner.

April 3: Point out the first letter of your child's name. See how many you see today.

April 4: Practice counting from 1 to 10. Can you do it backwards too?

April 5: Let your child help you make the grocery list.

April 6: See how many squares you can find today.

Aprill 7: Read a bedtime story together - you don't have to wait til bedtime!

April 8: Take a nature walk together, talking about what you see.

April 9: Have a TV Turnoff Day - play games, read and talk instead.

April 10: Read an alphabet book together.

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Spring Guide 2013: Easter Basket Scavenger Hunt

Thanks to my friend Nicole at Go Valley Kids for sharing this easy twist on Easter baskets. If you have friends or family in the Fox Valley area of Wisconsin, please make sure they know about her wonderful site!

With Easter knocking on the door, I wanted to share a fun alternative to the status quo of hiding the Easter basket in the washing machine. Thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law, I spent all day turning her house upside down trying to find my Easter basket one year. Yes, as an adult. It was funny for a little while for me and whole lot of fun for everyone else watching, the taunting increasing by the hour. **Spoiler Alert** It ended up being hidden in an inconspicuous cabinet in the kitchen.

Anyway, this Easter scavenger hunt is a little different. I know it is not original, and I am SURE many moms are doing this every year. Nonetheless, I thought I would share it if anyone is looking to mix it up.

I started doing a scavenger hunt when my son Cole was around 20 months when I realized that hiding an Easter basket for him didn’t mean much to him. "Find the Easter basket Cole!" (Even though he doesn’t know what it looks like and has no clue how/why/where an Easter bunny would hide a basket.)

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Clutter to Calm: Meal Planning and a Recipe Binder

If there is anything busy parents need, it’s a “go-to” recipe for dinner every night. Ever since we started meal planning, and compiling a binder of our favorite recipes, it has made dinner time enjoyable.

The nice thing about having meals planned for the next seven days is that even if Monday is “Spaghetti Bake with Garlic Bread” and you don’t have a taste for that after a long day at work, you have six other meals to choose from AND you know you have all the ingredients on hand.

So every Sunday, I sit down with our recipe binder and take a look at new recipes, something we haven’t had in a while. I then take a very unofficial poll of the family members and ask “What do you have a taste for?”

I list out the days and note anything special going on each night and any nights that we might be eating out or going out with friends or having family over. Next step is to write the meals along with any ingredients we need. These are added to the shopping list. 

I’m not a huge coupon clipper, but I know many people are. Planning meals around what’s on sale is one way to save money. I will look at ads (if I remember), and every once in a while if I see something on sale at the store, I will adjust the menu.

Something that makes menu planning SO much easier is that I have a binder of tried and true recipes to refer to. I know many people are digital and keep recipes on their computer/iPad, but I don’t trust myself when it comes to cracking eggs and sifting flour and having expensive technology close by!

The clipboard with this week's recipes hangs on the left. The pink binder is family favorite recipes, next to other cookbooks. Photo by Andrea Lukas.

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