How did she find this info? Playdate.

As the founder of the magazine, I think that’s pretty cool. I started this magazine because I knew other moms would really use it. It’s such an honor to know that you do.

This issue marks the beginning of Playdate’s fourth year, and it also will be my last issue as coordinator. Want to know what I’m going to do next? Well, turn to page XX to find the schedule for Outdoor Summer Cinema. I’m planning to share some popcorn with a few friendly monsters and Indiana Jones.

Of course, it would be nice to sleep in, but I’m sure the kids will want to hit the pool for morning swim lessons. Then we’ll pick berries from the garden and books from the library. Later, perhaps, we’ll ride bikes on the Greenway or catch a game with the Bears.

Some days, we’ll eat popsicles for breakfast and watch too much TV.

At summer’s end, when it’s time to head back to school, I suspect we’ll feel conflicted: Excited to see what the future holds, but also longing for a few more sweet summer days. At least, I hope that’s the way it goes.

Hope to see you around —

Sara Bristol

facebook.com/yakima.mama

THANKS so much to all our vendors and parents who brought your kids down to check out the action. This first-ever event was a huge success, with attendance estimated at 2,500. If you’d like to read more about it, click here to read the Yakima Herald-Republic’s article.

The photo that ran in the newspaper reminds me of one of my favorite moments of the day: A woman approached me to ask if there were any hand sanitizing stations for people to use after they’d held the snake. “I didn’t know there was a snake,” I said. Then she said: “Oh, yeah, there’s about an 8-foot python in the center of the room.”  Good to know…

So, in addition to sanitizing stations, we’d love to hear any other thoughts and ideas you have about the Expo. Please take a minute to let us know what you liked, didn’t like, what could be done better and whether you’d come back next year. The 2nd Annual Playdate Family Expo will be March 12, 2011!

The name calls attention to the trees, but this event’s really about kids.

Claire Simmons, Justine Heesemann, Austin Heesemann and Laurel Heesemann, l-r, plant a serviceberry tree during the Yakima Area Arboretum's Arbor Festival in 2008. Photo by Kris Holland.

In fact, I’ve been regretting that I haven’t had the time to give a little more fanfare to the Yakima Area Arboretum’s annual Arbor Festival. It’s certainly one of Yakima’s Top 10 events for children.

This year’s festival, themed “The Giving Tree,” will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 17. Admission is free. I’d recommend bringing a picnic lunch or snacks so you can make a day of it.

The event offers about 30 educational stations, giving children the opportunity to plant a tree, learn about recycling, look at bugs and more.

“This year I encourage all the kids to bring their own goody bags,” says Colleen Adams-Schuppe, the Arboretum’s co-executive director. “I want the kids to start thinking about how they can reduce waste. Bringing their own bags to the Arbor Festival is a great way to start and can help save trees.”

The theme of “The Giving Tree” will focus on the benefits trees provide, including fruit, shelter, shade, beauty, clean air and inspiration.

A special “Giving Tree” station will help raise funds for Haitian earthquake victims. Boxes of apples can be purchased for $20. A house will be built in Haiti for every 385 boxes sold.

— Sara Bristol

Though we don’t know everything, there’s a certain amount of job security that comes from providing people with the information they’re seeking. And, hey, I can Google as well as the next guy, so I typically try to track down answers when I can.

Maybe I learn something, too.

So, today I took a call from someone who was wondering how to make crystals from epsom salts.

I’d never heard of this before, but I found the answer easy enough. If you’re looking for something to do with the kiddos, it’s a pretty simple science project .

But, I have to say that this crystallization project (i.e. how to make rock candy) looks much more delicious:

If you’re looking for other science fair ideas, Michaels (1729 S. First St., Yakima; 452-6484) is hosting a free Science Fair Demonstration from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27. Kids can make a free molecule project with Crayola Model Magic, while supplies last.

]]> http://www.playdateyakima.com/2010/02/19/odd-question-answering-service/feed/ 0 http://www.playdateyakima.com/2010/02/12/last-call-for-baby-photos/ http://www.playdateyakima.com/2010/02/12/last-call-for-baby-photos/#comments Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:27:58 +0000 Sara Bristol http://www.playdateyakima.com/?p=6112 The deadline’s almost here… We’re going to be picking the winner of our Cover Baby Photo Contest next week. Are you as excited as I am???

Our original deadline for submissions was Feb. 15, but now I realize that’s a holiday and I’m going to be out of the office until Wednesday. So I’m giving you an extra day: Both mail and e-mail submissions must be received by 11:59 pm. Tuesday, Feb. 16.

We’ll shoot a new photo of the winning baby for the cover of the magazine, so your photos don’t have to be perfect. We’re looking for babies (up to 18 months) that will show off for the camera.

Here’s a look at our past winners:

This is Joshua Fuentez, whose big smile won the hearts of our judges back in 2008.  We tried a couple different idea for the cover photo shoot:

But this is the one we picked:

Joshua Fuentez

Last year, we fell in love with another boy in a hat, Dante Manglona. I don’t have the photo that was submitted by his parents here at my fingertips, but he was wearing the same adorable had and outfit we ran on the cover:

So, will this year’s winner be wearing a hat? Will the winner be a boy or girl? Depends on what you send us…

Who are the judges, anyway? “Not me,” says Playdate Coordinator Sara Bristol (That’s right, I just quoted myself.)  Because I know too many of the children submitted for our contests, I always recuse myself from judging & round up a panel of Herald-Republic employees to pick the contest winners. Each judge votes for several of their favorites & then I tally up the votes.

Good luck & have a great Valentine’s/Presidents’ Day weekend.

Sara

It’s time for our third annual Cover Baby Photo Contest! We’re looking for a baby (up to 18 months old) with loads of personality to photograph for the cover of our April/May issue. As space permits, we’ll publish photos of more little ones inside the magazine and on our Web site.

• Submissions must be received by Feb. 15, 2010. Include a self-addressed return envelope if you’d like your prints returned.
• All submissions should include the baby’s name and birth date and a parent’s name, phone number and address.
• Babies must be residents of Yakima County.
• Babies must be no older than 18 months on April 1, 2010 (born on or after Dec. 1, 2008).

Email your submissions to contest@playdateyakima.com or mail them to:

Playdate Magazine
PO Box 9668
Yakima, WA 98909

You may also drop them off at the Yakima Herald-Republic, 114 N. Fourth St. in downtown Yakima. Doors are open 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. After hours, there’s a mail slot in the door.

Good luck!

Sometimes it’s fun to kick around a few ideas. In this issue, our “cover story” is called “The Tantrum Zone.” Here are two different concepts the designer (TJ Mullinax) tried on for size:

Which would you choose? Be sure to let us know what you think about our choice when you pick up a copy of the new issue later this week.

With Thanksgiving now behind us, it’s time to pack up the pilgrim plates and flip the calendar to December (yes, already!). In the latest issue of the magazine, I promised to give you a new craft project each week through the end of the year. So, here’s the first project: A homemade advent calendar.

At my house, advent calendars are a big deal. The best part of the season, according to my husband. He’d never even heard of advent calendars until a few years ago — yes, I married a Martian — but now he insists the season wouldn’t be complete without his imported German advent calendar, which I buy online.

A few years back, it was almost impossible to find advent calendars in the stores, but they seem to be gaining popularity now. I’ve seen simple chocolate advent calendars at the grocery store for about $1.99 and the craft stores have all kinds of paint-it-yourself wooden options that you can reuse from year to year.

In case you, like my husband, are also from Mars and don’t know what I’m talking about… An advent calendar is a way to count down the days until Christmas, usually from Dec. 1 to 24. If you’re interested in a little advent history, read more here.

In addition to being fun all month long, I love advent calendars for kids because they help answer the “how many more days” question. So, at the very least, I’d recommend making a paper chain.

You can use anything from recycled newspaper to printer paper to extra pages of scrapbook paper or gift wrap. Just cut 24 strips of paper, approximately 1.5 inches wide by 8 inches long. Tape them together into a chain & hang them on the wall. Each day, through Christmas Eve, you’ll remove one link. (Hint: Before you hang the chain, I’d recommend numbering each link with the date 1-24 so you’ll be able to quickly determine whether a link has already been removed each day. This saves you from counting them over & over again…. learned that one the hard way.)  At my house, we like to make paper chains for counting down other anticipated events as well, such as a birthday or family vacation.

Okay, finally now, I’m going to tell you about the little paper bag advent calendars my family’s been making. I first made this last year for my dad, who said it was the best gift he’d ever received. So, keep it in mind for a grandparent gift as well as for the kids.

Here’s what you need:

* 24 small bags. I got these colorful bags at Michaels craft store. Small lunch bags would work too, and Chinese take-out boxes would be super cute.

* 24 small clothes pins (also from the craft store) or paper clips.

* A 5-foot length of ribbon.

* Stickers. We used number stickers, but you could also hand number the bags with a Sharpie. Also, this is a great use for leftover scrapbooking stickers with a holiday theme.

* 24 items to stuff the sacks (more on this below).

So, the basic idea is that you number each bag 1-24. On Dec. 1, you open bag No. 1 and see what prize is inside, repeat the next day with bag No. 2, etc. I love the little bags (as opposed to the drawers of most reusable calendars) because you’re not so limited in size of items … and the variety of daily surprises is what makes this fun.

I let the kids decorate their own bags, then I secretly stuffed them with the goodies. This year, I also sent each of my parents their own advent calendar. Since I can’t be with them as much as I’d like during the holidays (they live in Oregon), it’s a nice way to be a regular part of their day.

Anyway, here are some ideas for fillers for grandparents: Ornaments, jewelry, pocket-sized tissues, soaps, small office supplies (sticky notes, push pins), seed packets and bulbs, playing cards, fishing lures, fridge magnets, wallet-sized photos of the kids, travel or sample-sized items, coffee/tea bags, hand-written notes or drawings, and — of course — chocolates and other candies.

You’ll want to decide on a budget since the cost for 24 items can get out of control pretty quickly. I’d suggest doing at least five “gifts” and then filling the rest of the days with an inexpensive treat.

For the kids, filler ideas include:

* Candy. Find cute foil-wrapped chocolates at Boehm’s Candy Store in the Chalet Place shopping center, 56th and Summitview avenues, Yakima. Also, Top Foods grocery store at S. First Street and Washington has tons of bulk candies.

* Small toys: Leftover party favors, Silly Putty, toy cars, Bakugan, Polly Pockets. The Clover Leaf at 4110 Main St. in Union Gap has some fun stuff for advent calendars or stocking stuffers. Dollar stores are also a great place to look.

* Holiday ornaments.

* Pencil sharpeners and erasers. We found lots at the school supply store at 302 W Yakima Ave. Other small arts and craft supplies are great, too. A new box of 24 crayons would fit in my bags.

* Items for their treasure box: Shells, colored rocks, marbles, etc.

* Coins.

Now enjoy the Christmas countdown!

Sorry for the delay, folks. I usually try to get the Web site updated on the same day the magazine publishes (latest issue hit the stands last Wednesday), but I just got the latest winners of our Gotcha photo contest posted this morning. You can see them here.

Also, I’m getting lots of Christmastime photo submissions lately… but the next issue will be February/March. So, here’s a little tip: We’re more likely to pick photos that fit the season, or where the season doesn’t matter. Also, we prefer photos that are spontaneous and capture a glimpse of the child’s personality or a special moment, something that makes you think “Gotcha!” It’s not so much about the cuteness of the kid (they’re all cute, right?) as the quality of the photo.

For more about how to enter, click here.

The December/January issue of Playdate will be distributed Wednesday, Nov. 25. Our theme this issue is “Have a Crafty Christmas.” In the magazine, you’ll learn how to assemble a miniature graham cracker house (a gingerbread-esque house, a friend called it) as well as a sugar cube igloo. We’ll also be rolling out a new craft project each week through the end of the year here on the Web site.

Also here on the Web site, we’re keeping a list of who’s naughty and nice… oh, just kidding. We’re keeping a list of all the family-friendly holiday events you may want to enjoy this season. That list is here.

This issue’s cover models are Jacqueline and Nathaniel Thornell, who live in Yakima. To let us know you’d like to see your kids on the cover, enter our ongoing photo contest here. The winner of the Gotcha! contest has their photo published in the magazine. And sometimes we like to pick our cover models from those photographs as well.

Have a great Thanksgiving!