Carols by Candlelight

This might be a really bad idea because it starts at bedtime, but what's that they say about Christmas only happening once per year?

Canberra's 67th Traditional Carols by Candlelight is on this Wednesday, 14 December 2011, in Commonwealth Park. It begins with a band at 7pm followed by the carols at 7.30pm and finishes at 9.30pm.

Don't hold me responsible for the situation you end up in, but I would park at the swimming pool in Civic and wheel my pram across the footbridge over Parkes Way.

Happy carolling and Merry Christmas to littles in Canberra!

Story time at the War Memorial

Once each year a certain duck makes its way to the Pool of Reflection at the Australian War Memorial where it hatches a brood. The baby ducks and the Mummy duck then swim around the Eternal Flame for a day or two before waddling down Anzac Parade to Lake Burley Griffin, which presumably has more food.

This is clearly the most exciting thing a museum could ever offer a little child, but there are also two other fun things that happen all year round at the War Memorial: 

• Storytime, which is held at 10.30am on Fridays. Here's the events listing for next Friday.
• Discovery Zone, where you can fly a helicopter and captain a submarine! 

There is heaps of parking, a great cafe on the lawns outside and it's free, or a gold coin if someone's watching!

"Let's Play" indoors in Nicholls

Today we discovered the fun of indoor playgrounds when we visited the sparkly new Let's Play centre in Nicholls. I can't find anything more than a yellow pages listing for it, but I daresay they are not going to need to advertise.

It's bright, airy, spacious and clean and the play structures are amazing, with separate areas for under fours and over fours. They have a cafe and the bouncy castles, slides, ball pits and enclosed climbing frames are all very visible from the tables, meaning you can sit down... until you decide to pretend that your child needs you so that you can play on the equipment too.

Be warned, the big slide is scary, even if you are a grown up who has given birth one way or another and should thus be afraid of nothing! I screamed the whole way down but my little boy on my lap didn't seem bothered at all by the feeling of falling.

Parking is free and there's lots of it right outside. Take socks for everyone, as you'll need them to go on the equipment, though they do sell socks for only $2.50 and the ones I bought are quite nice! From memory, entry is free for babies, $9.50 for under fours, $12.50 for older children and $3.50 for adults - which buys you a free coffee.

Fountains in the Parliamentary Triangle

I was very excited to read today in the Canberra Times that the High Court's cascade fountain has been switched back on after a four year rest!
 
It's probably not strictly what they had in mind, but little people in Canberra can take their ducks and boats and anything that floats and toss them into the fountain and see what happens. (My husband is planning to play Pooh Sticks there, though strictly speaking Pooh Sticks requires a bridge.)
 
If you want to make a day of it, nearby ponds and fountains and works of art in which to float ducks and sail boats when no one is looking are:

• the fun squirty fountain in the House of Reps Garden (the walled garden to the left of Old Parliament House)
• the big rectangular ponds in the lawns in front of Old Parliament House
• the water feature immediately in front of Parliament House
• the water feature at the entrance of the National Gallery of Australia and the water feature near the Rodin sculptures in the Sculpture Garden.

The best place to park is probably under the National Portrait Gallery.

Paddling in the fun squirty fountain in the middle of Winter.

Splishy splashy fun in Dickson

Last Summer I discovered the water playground at Dickson pool and we'll be heading back there now that it's getting warm. The water playground is a children's play area with fountains squirting out of the ground and water spraying from poles and other colourful structures in unpredictable ways. Try not to stand under the buckets with a baby on your hip - a full bucket of cold water suddenly emptying on their head does not go down well.

If you're not properly wet after the water playground, there's also a toddler pool, a big kids' pool and a 50m pool.

It's all outdoors, there's parking nearby and there are lots of shady, grassy places to sit or to have a picnic. Check out the opening hours and prices here. 

Christmas puppet show at the art gallery

The National Gallery is holding a children's Christmas puppet show Harlequin—Frog Prince on 3 December 2011 at 11am.

Tickets are $20 and you need to book.

Angelina dances into Canberra

Little firefighters may have noticed that ABC Kids is no longer screening Fireman Sam at 5.25pm. Instead you are likely to encounter Angelina Ballerina.

Fans of dancing mice have reason to celebrate because Angelina is coming to Canberra Theatre at the start of February 2012 for a real live ballet! More detail here.

Fans of Fireman Sam should check the ABC2 TV Guide or watch it on iview.

National Museum open day on Sunday

The National Museum is opening its behind the scenes store in Mitchell on Sunday. Among all the treasures on display there will surely be sights and sounds to enchant little guys.

Behind the Scenes runs from 11am until 2pm at 90 Vicars St in Mitchell this Sunday, 6 November 2011. 

Entry is free, parking is possibly more than a hop, step and jump away, and one should wear covered footwear and not carry your baby in a backpack and, well, maybe you should read the conditions of entry before you leave the house!

Baby's Day Out this Saturday

Baby's Day Out is a series of events organised by the Australian Breastfeeding Association to promote awareness of babies' right to breastfeed in public. (Thanks to the Sex Discrimination Act, a mother has the legal right to breastfeed wherever she happens to be.)

The Canberra event will be a picnic at the children's playground in Glebe Park from 11am till 2pm on Saturday 29 October 2011. There'll be entertainment, face painting and a colouring competition. And maybe even some breastfeeding, if the babies get hungry during their day out! BYO picnic food.

Swim free at Kings on Thursday

I was handed a brochure today that says Kings pool in Macgregor is holding a Water Awareness Day for children aged 3 months to 3 years this Thursday. Parents and children can swim free of charge and learn about water safety.

I think this pool is wonderfully warm and the venue is lovely. The only drawbacks are juggling a slippery baby while swimming/changing/blowdrying your hair and wearing swimwear that doesn't quite fit the same way it did before said baby.

Water Awareness Day is on Thursday 27 October from 1.30pm to 2.30pm at Kings Macgregor. Find out more by contacting Kings. A map is available here.

Babies and older nappy wearers will need to wear a swimmer nappy in the water. You can buy a packet of disposables from the supermarket or check with Kings whether they have some waterproof cloth ones for sale.

The Wiggles in Canberra

The Wiggles will be in Canberra at the end of November for their show The Wiggles Big Birthday in The Big Tent. 

There are still tickets available for the 1.30pm performance on Saturday 26 November 2011 at EPIC.

St Johns fair this Saturday

St John's church in Reid is having a community fair this Saturday, 22 October 2011 from 9am to 2pm. Among the activities that little guys might enjoy are a maypole, jumping castle and pipe and drum band.

Petting zoo enthusiasts should note that there will be baby animals to pat!

Art appreciation for babies and toddlers

If your baby is tired of looking at pram toys and the ceiling, take them to see some million dollar views. The National Gallery of Australia runs A Little Look at Art tours for parents and babies each month. The next tours are at 10am on Wednesday 19 October 2011 and Wednesday 16 November 2011. You need to book and it costs $12, which includes coffee and muffins after the tour.

The Gallery also runs Art and Me tours for two and three year olds around once per month. The next one is Friday 11 November 2011 at 10am. You need to book, it costs $12 and the toddlers must be accompanied.

Other unofficial things to do at the art gallery when you are very young include: 

• sailing your bath toys in the raised pond outside the main entrance
• having your photo taken with the pears sculpture out the front
• looking for birds' nests in the outdoor artworks
• riding your scooter on the smooth slate in the sculpture garden (the signs say that cyclists must take care in the sculpture garden, so I am interpreting this creatively).

Have fun at PlayFEST

ACT Playgroups is holding their annual PlayFEST on Tuesday 25 October at their fantastic premises in Cook. We had a wonderful time last year playing on an a YMCA obstacle course, making puppets and trying soccer. Or was it cricket? I think there was also a petting zoo, but my memory is quite a blur as there were so many fun activities to do. There were also lots of community organisations giving out useful info to parents.

There were heaps of parents and little children there, so you'll probably run into some friends . . . and you'll probably have to park way down the street.

PlayFEST goes from 10am to 1pm on Tuesday 25 October 2011 at 41 Templeton St Cook.

Paint and Play

Paint and Play sessions are held on weekday mornings at various parks around Canberra, during school terms. Activities vary from place to place and include painting, stories, puppets, music, puzzles and toys to play with. Fruit, water, coffee and tea are served at some Paint and Plays. Painting smocks are supplied at all the sessions I have user-tested.

 

Paint and Play is suitable for babies to five-year-olds. My son did his first painting at Paint and Play and it is framed in the loungeroom where I admire it every day.

 

Paint and Play sessions are held in Ainslie, Dunlop, Florey, Forde, Harrison, Kambah, Lyons, Narrabundah, Ngunnawal, Richardson and Scullin and are all free. Find times and locations here.

Craft at the National Museum

Next Wednesday, 19 October 2011, the National Museum is holding Creative Craft with Friends, which is a craft morning for under fives. It runs from 10.45am to 12 noon and costs $10. 

Book at friends@nma.gov.au or on 6208 5048.  

Parking is free.

We've never tried the craft mornings at the museum, so feel free to post a comment here if you attend!

Be a rockstar at Screensound

This week Littles in Canberra can make a guitar, mask and groovy glasses at the National Film and Sound Archive. They hook the finished guitars up to an amp so that the kids can play electric guitar (but you might want to stick to acoustic at home).
 
You need to book (call them on 6248 2000) and it costs $5 per child. It runs from 10am till noon every day this week. Take $3 in coins for parking!