KidsOutAndAbout Weekly Newsletter |
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Tue, Feb 24: Sensory Space Play Time at The William K. Sanford Town
Library/Colonie Town Library
Thu, Feb 26: Karaoke FUN-draiser at Home Made Theater Sat, Feb 28: Shaker Day: Celebrating 250 Years of Ann Lee in the Capital Region - New York State Museum
Sat, Feb 28: Needle Felted Fungi Workshop at Shaker Heritage Society
Sat, Feb 28: Wizard of Oz- Saturday Morning Family Show at The Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck Tue, Mar 3: Open House at Niskayuna Co-op Nursery School
Sun, Mar 8: Ultimate Frisbee Free Girls Clinic at Albany Ultimate Disc Association
Sat, Mar 14: Celtic Heels- Saturday Morning Family Show at The Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck
Sat, Mar 14: Maple Fest at Indian Ladder Farms - Altamont, NY
Sun, Mar 22: Maple Weekend at Bittersweet Maple
Sat, Mar 28: IceBreaker Challenge 5K at Albany Rowing Center |
Dear KidsOutAndAbout readers: February is Children’s Dental Health Month, which means it's the perfect time to talk about LYING. The first lie my daughter Madison ever attempted was when she was about 3. "Did you brush your teeth?” I asked as she was getting ready for bed. She nodded earnestly, but I had my doubts; a check of the toothbrush revealed it was dry as the Sahara.
"Looks like we need a do-over," I said. "Try again." In a 2025 Delta Dental study of 1000 parents of kids age 12 and under, 67% of respondents reported difficulty in getting their kids to brush their teeth. And in a related but thoroughly unscientific
survey, 100% of the friends I asked told me that their own kids have lied about tooth brushing at least once. See, young children don’t experience truth as adults do; their developing minds blur the line between reality and hope, between what happened and what they would prefer had happened. Brushing is tedious, being done is better. Add a desire to please Mom, and those wires can cross. In those early years, our job is to help kids gradually separate fact from wishful
thinking. You might think that prosecuting dishonesty harshly might scare kids into telling the truth, but that often just scares them into hiding more cleverly. Our goal as parents isn't just to have kids who brush their teeth and do their own homework and someday file tax returns without creative interpretations of “business mileage,” although we do want all those things. But overall, we want kids who are brave enough to be, rather than seem to be. If
they see early that mistakes can be brought into the light and fixed with a do-over, they’re far less likely to build a life around pretending they didn't happen. So my best recommendation for Children's Dental Health Month is to model both scrupulous honesty and scrupulous teeth-brushing yourself. In case you need an immediate solution, though, I hunted down a list of kids' best tooth-brushing songs thoughtfully supplied by the American Dental Association. Grit your teeth and hum along.
—Debra Ross, publisher of KidsOutAndAbout.com, co-author of The Eclipse Effect: How to Seize Extraordinary Moments to Build Strong
Communities
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KidsOutAndAbout.com: Discover more. Do more. Connect more. If you like my publisher's column, you can easily scroll through past columns in the "Notes from Deb" section of our site. |
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Explore 250 years of Shaker history in the Capital Region on February 28th from 10am - 2pm! Discover how Ann Lee and her followers began building a home in the woods north of Albany that grew into a movement that spread across the country and has endured
centuries. Experience live demonstrations, get hands-on with activities, and view rare historic Shaker footage. Special collections will also be on display, offering a closer look at the art, craft, and daily life of the Shakers. Celebrate this remarkable legacy and see how their influence still resonates today!
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Blippi is coming to your hometown in the all-new Be Like Blippi Tour! Join Blippi and Meekah live on stage at the Palace Theatre on Sunday, MARCH 8 at 3pm, in a high-energy live show packed with music, laughter, and surprises. This brand-new interactive
adventure invites families to put on your orange glasses and unlock the spark of curiosity inside us all—showing that everyone can Be Like Blippi! Tickets Starts At Just $19.50.
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All aboard the Dinosaur Train for a frosty adventure! Join us for a fun-filled day with WMHT and the New York State Museum as we dive into the Ice Age, following Mr. Conductor’s journey to find a Mastodon in the Cenozoic. Explore our real Mastodon fossil,
discover Ice Age animals, and get creative with a cool Mastodon craft!
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Over the course of three centuries, hundreds of people worked at Clermont to keep the Livingston family comfortable. For nearly 100 years, the mansion was run by a mostly enslaved staff. By the 1830s, this staff was completely replaced by paid labor. Though
many of their stories were lost, recent research has revealed new details about those who worked for the Livingston family. Join us as we uncover some of the stories of those who served.
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February Sunday Snowshoe with George
Date: Feb 22, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM
Location: Meet at the Barn
Registration: Arboretum members: $5/person, $15/family; non-members: $15/person, $25/family
Join George (Steele) at George (Landis Arboretum) from 2:00 - 4:00 for a couple of hours of snowshoeing fun. If there isn’t enough snow, then George will take participants on a winter hike.
Sunday Snowshoe dates this year are January 11, and February 22, and March 8.
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- Break Week Fun: Music & Motion - Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library, 475 Moe Road, Clifton Park, NY 12065, Friday, February 20, 2026, 10:00AM-10:30AM
- Break Week Fun: Olympic Family
Bingo - Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library, 475 Moe Road, Clifton Park, NY 12065, Friday, February 20, 2026, 4:00PM-5:00PM
- Barbie™: A Cultural Icon Exhibition at the New York State Museum - New York State Museum, 222 Madison Ave,
Albany, NY 12230, Friday, February 20 to Sunday, February 22, 2026, 10 am - 2 pm
- Reading with Greta at Troy Public Library - Troy Public Library, 100 2nd Street, Troy, NY 12180, Saturday, February 21, 2026, 11 am to 12 pm
- Rock and Fossil Fun Fair - New York State
Museum - New York State Museum, 222 Madison Ave, Albany, NY 12230, Saturday, February 21 to Sunday, February 22, 2026, 10 am - 1 pm
- PAWS for Reading - 99 Clinton St, Schenectady, NY 12305, Sunday, February 22, 2026, 2-3 pm
- Sunday School - Bethlehem Lutheran Church - Delmar, NY, 85 Elm Ave, Delmar, NY 12054, Sunday, February 22, 2026, 9:45 am
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Parents have an abundance of choices when it comes to PreK and day care options in the Charlotte area! Use our Big List to help find the best one for your kiddos and check our events calendar to find Open Houses where you can meet teachers and tour the
schools.
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Looking for a thrilling family-friendly adventure in the Capital Region? Escape rooms are interactive, puzzle-packed experiences where you and your team work together to solve clues, unlock secrets, and complete your mission-all before time runs out!
Whether you're escaping a spooky cabin, cracking a high-stakes heist, or breaking a magical curse, escape rooms offer exciting, screen-free fun for kids, teens, and adults.
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Winter is here and fun options for families just keep getting better! Whether you stick with what you love or decide to try something new, KidsOutAndAbout has plenty of ideas. From Ice skating, kid-friendly museums, indoor play centers, and outdoor
activities to thinking ahead to next year's school options - we've got you covered.
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Click here to discover Birthday party locations in the Albany area. From Arcades to Ziplines our Big List will help you think outside the box and plan the party of your kids' dreams! KidsOutAndAbout has dozens of ideas!
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2025's best places to take kids in the Capital District as voted by New York parents! Parents vote, we do the math, and the result is the Top 20 Places to Take Kids! But there is LOTS more to do in Albany than even just this wonderful list: visit
KidsOutAndAbout.com to see our events calendar, find seasonal activities, get ideas for the perfect day trip and MORE.
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Have a wonderful weekend!
Debra Ross
Publisher, KidsOutAndAbout.com
Mom of Madison and Ella |
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