Save the date for Fall Farm Day at Hard Bargain Farm on Saturday, October 26! Explore this Prince George’s County 330-acre riverfront working farm and environmental education center. You and your family can participate in the educational activities just like students who visit for hands-on learning field trips. Activities include wetland exploration, hayrides, meeting the farm animals, strolling through the children’s garden, arts and crafts, and more. Pack your own trash-free lunch and enjoy a picnic on the farm. Additional food and refreshment options will be available for purchase. Tickets ..read more

Getting custom printed items for our kids’ activities, sports and schools does not have to be hard. But it feels that way sometimes. Thankfully, we now have a local solution that makes designing and obtaining made-to-order items easy and enjoyable: Custom Ink Bethesda Row! Custom Ink is the online leader in high quality, custom apparel, and now they have a Bethesda Row storefront location. This is Custom Ink’s first showroom in Maryland. I recently tried out the service to order tees for my daughter Alice’s Brownie Troop, and I was so impressed by the ease of the process and amazingly helpful ..read more

If Your Teen or Tween Loves the Stage, Consider ATMTC Academy! ATMTC Academy provides comprehensive musical theatre training for students’ grades 5–12. These leveled programs meet students where they are, help to take them where they want to go in the performing arts. Whether working for a role in a musical, advanced training, or just building their experiences in the performing arts, ATMTC has the program that fits your child’s interest and schedule. Classes begin the week of September 15th. Pre-Conservatory (Grades 5-8) The Pre-Conservatory Program’s introductory technique-based training and ..read more

Our family getaway to Baltimore was relaxing and affordably luxe, thanks to the kid-friendly and convenient Kimpton Hotel Monaco Baltimore Inner Harbor and B&O American Brasserie. This summer we realized Alice, our eight year old, had not been to the National Aquarium Baltimore since she was nine months old. As a parent who has had a blog focused on outings for families near Washington, DC since 2008, this is totally a case of the shoemaker’s child going barefoot. And Charlie, 15, and Eve, 13, also could barely remember their last visit there and were eager to go back. When we decided it w ..read more

Bella Ballerina‘s dance classes and celebrations for young dancers are full of magic and wonder, and Alice and I had a chance to experience that magic firsthand. We visited the Bella Ballerina Leesburg studio for a special mother-daughter Alice in Wonderland dance class and tea party. I was extremely impressed by the beautiful studio, the quality of the ballet mini-dance class Alice received as part of the celebration and the loving, kind teachers. The decorations and treats offered at the party were also top-notch! There was story time, a craft — painting her own tea party mug — and a stocked ..read more