KidsOutAndAbout Weekly Newsletter |
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Mon, Apr 6: April Sensory Friendly Monday at the Johnson County Museum
Wed, Apr 8: Preschool Animal Tales Storytime: Who's Been in my Garden? | Ernie Miller Nature Center
Wed, Apr 8: Retro Storytime: "Baby Farm
Animals" - Johnson County Museum
Wed, Apr 8: Story Time with Lenexa City Center Library at Family Night
Thu, Apr 9: 'The Ugly Duckling' at Midwest Trust Center at Johnson County Community College
Thu, Apr 9: 75th Annual Greater KC Science & Engineering
Fair at Science City
Sat, Apr 11: Hare & Tortoise at Starlight
Sat, Apr 11: 50 Year Celebration! | Southern Platte Fire Protection District
Sat, Apr 11: 2nd Annual Spring Craft & Vendor Fair Benefitting FOMPAC at Smithville American Legion Auxiliary Unit #58
Sat, Apr 11: Rock the Parkway Half Marathon and 5K at KC Running Company
Sat, Apr 11: Spring Craft Show at High Blue |
Dear KidsOutAndAbout readers: Before I had kids, one of my colleagues told me that fundamentally, a parent’s job is to point. At first, you point physically: You point at the waterfall and say “waterfall,” at the moon and say “moon,” at the flower and say “flower.” You’re helping a child connect sounds to objects, words to concepts, language to reality. But later, and really all the way through, the
pointing becomes more metaphorical. Parenting is the ongoing work of connecting your child’s growing capacity to understand with a world that is, to them, forever expanding. As I had Madison and Ella, I came to think of this as being a tour guide to the world. A good tour guide needs to know the landscape, of course. But even more important, a good tour guide needs to know the traveler. What can this particular child see right now? What are they ready for? What do they care
about? What frightens them? What delights them? It's useful to remember that kids haven’t actually been here before: The world is brand-new to them over and over again, so what feels ordinary to us is often astonishing to a child. Tour guides who are doing their job well pay close attention to who their audience is and what they know, and that makes the pointing easier and more fun. Spring is the perfect season to practice pointing. In spring, the world changes fast enough for
kids to notice. Buds swell and burst. Birds return. Tiny green things push up through the dirt as if by magic. Day to day, the world becomes visibly more alive. If we point it out, kids can catch it happening in real time. And spring does not arrive quietly. It comes as an avalanche of the senses: color, smell, birdsong, mud, wind, sunlight, thunder, petals, pollen, rushing water. So maybe that’s part of the job, too: not just to point, but to lean into it. To stand beside our
kids in the rush of it all and say, Look! Here it comes.
—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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Announcing "Native Arts in Miniature," The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures’ upcoming exhibition in the East Gallery! This exhibition explores diverse tribal traditions, family heritage, and creative innovations expressed by Native American artists working in miniature. Video interviews and written interpretation will highlight artists’ voices discussing their artworks, techniques, and inspirations.
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Support local growers and makers at Lenexa's annual Winter Farmers Market. Get your favorite goodies and keep in touch with vendors on the last Saturday of the month from January through March. Expect cool season vegetables (like onions, garlic and greens), eggs, cheese, butter, honey and beeswax body products, BBQ sauces and rubs, wine, various meats and bakery items.
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Roll on into the Fit Excavating Big Dig at the Kansas Children's Discovery Center on March 28, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.! Families will dig the chance to see real construction equipment up close, meet the professionals who operate big diggers, and explore the power, size, and science behind these incredible machines!
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Hop into the Easter season with our FREE kid Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 28, in Memorial Park! This hoppin' good time is for ages 0-10!
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The all-new 2026 Camp Invention® program, Spark, is coming to curious kids in your community this summer! Rising K-6 campers will collaborate with friends to tackle hands-on, open-ended challenges. They’ll team up with robotic capybaras, ride the waves of entrepreneurship, uncover the power of protecting their ideas and build a DIY space rocket! Each experience is designed to spark confidence, build persistence and create unforgettable summer memories. Visit invent.org/save/camp to secure your spot! Register using CIFUN25 by 3/31 to save $25 or CIFUN20 by 4/28 to save $20 when you register. Interest-free payment plans are available, making camp affordable for all families.
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- Kids & Crafts Storytime | Lawrence Public Library - Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St, Lawrence, KS 66044, 03/27/2026, See website
- Storytime for Babies - Mid-Continent Public Library - Grain Valley Branch, South Buckner Tarsney Road, Grain Valley, MO, 03/27/2026, 9:30 AM
- Free Arts & Crafts
Day on the Farm | Hometown Olathe Family Farm - Hometown Olathe Family Farm, 11000 S Woodland St, Olathe, KS 66061, 03/27/2026, 2 pm - 4:30 pm
- Tween Gaming at Indian Creek Library - Olathe Indian Creek Library, 16100 W 135th St, Olathe, KS 66062, 03/27/2026, 4:00pm - 5:30pm
- Easter Egg Hunt - Belton Parks & Recreation, 16400 N Mullen Rd, Belton, MO 64012, 03/28/2026, Easter Bunny at 10am and the Hunt starts promptly at 11am
- Free Community Egg Hunt - Cross Points Church, Lackman Road, Shawnee, KS, 03/28/2026, 4:00 PM - 6:00PM
- Free Easter Egg Hunt & Games - Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, 11100 College Blvd, Overland Park, KS 66210, 03/28/2026, 10:00am
- Lenexa Winter Farmers Market - Lenexa Farmers Market, W 87th St Pkwy, Lenexa, KS 66219, 03/28/2026, 10am - 1pm
- Free spring mini photo
session with Shoott! - KC - Shoott, Broadway, New York, NY, USA, 03/28/2026 - 03/29/2026, See link for times
- Westside Family Church Easter Egg Hunt – March 29 - Westside Family Church, Woodsonia Drive, Lenexa, KS, USA & Westside Family Church Speedway, 115th
Street, Kansas City, KS, USA, 03/29/2026, 2:00-4:00PM
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The KidsOutAndAbout annual guide to summer camps in the Kansas City area is back! You can search by date, age, or categories like day/overnight, sports, drama, music, theatre, arts & crafts, technology, robotics, horseback riding, preschool, & more.
Our guide puts summer fun right at your fingertips!
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Parents have an abundance of choices when it comes to PreK and day care options in the KC 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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Click here to discover Birthday party locations in the Kansas City 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 Top 20 Places to Take Kids in the Kansas City Area, as voted by thousands of parents! Our Top 20 results page includes a list of your top picks, including winners in special categories like Top Arts Educator, Top Sports Educator, and Top STEM
Educator!
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Have a great weekend!
Debra Ross
Publisher, KidsOutAndAbout.com
Mom of Madison and Ella |
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