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!