KidsOutAndAbout Weekly Newsletter |
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Dear KidsOutAndAbout readers: When my kids were little, one of our favorite nature activities was also one of the simplest: We’d head out onto a trail, stop among the trees, and play the Listening Game. The rules were easy: Close your eyes. The first time you hear a sound, any sound at all, put up one finger. Then add another for each new sound you notice. After a minute or two, someone says, “Open your
eyes,” and everyone compares fingers and talks about what they heard. It’s a small exercise in attention, but it changes how kids experience the world. The invisible becomes visible... not to the eyes, exactly, but to the mind. Things that were just out of range suddenly move onto our radar. Nature is full of motion and music, and this game helps us tune ourselves to it. The free Merlin Bird ID app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology takes that magic one step further: Tap Sound ID, and suddenly the songs around you appear on your screen as a voiceprint and a bird name and an image that shows you what to look for. And what a moment ago was only background atmosphere becomes a Carolina Wren, or an Eastern Whip-poor-will, or the Common Yellowthroat pictured above,
singing his heart out for a girl with a camera. That’s one of the great tasks of childhood, and of the adults who love children: to help hidden things come into view. Before we know something, it is almost as if it isn’t there. But once it is named, we have a new way to see. There are suddenly new dimensions to our universe, helping us transform even more mysteries into things that are ours. And we never really experience the woods—or the field, or the river, or
the ocean, or the city, or our backyard—the same way again.
—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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Create fun, sometimes messy, art with your little one and guide their imagination by making a project together, or let them steal the show with their own personal artistic style!
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Spend an hour relaxing your mind, body, and spirit! This light-hearted yoga class is designed for all levels and will be led by Sarah Brown and her four-legged baby goat assistants! The baby goats are provided and cared for by our Barnyard and volunteers from the Togg N Tails herd. This class is a fundraiser for our Helping Farms Feed Families (501c3) and 100% of the proceeds go directly to HFFF. This class is limited to those participants 9 years and older. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. You must bring your own yoga mat that you won't mind getting dirty. It is a farm, after all!
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Saturday, April 18, 9am-1pm : A FREE family-friendly event at Pretend City Children's Museum: Enjoy a variety of activities, resources, and services designed to support your child’s development and overall well-being. This FREE event is perfect for families with children ages 0-5.
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The team plays their home games at the Orange County Great Park’s Championship Soccer Stadium located in Irvine, CA. Nestled right in the heart of the Great Park, the Championship Soccer Stadium has a capacity of over 5,000 for Orange County SC matches.!
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Earth Day 2026 is April 22, and this year marks the 56th anniversary of this celebration. This year's theme is Our Power, Our Planet. This Earth Day 2026, let us commit to harnessing renewable energy to build a healthy, sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future for us all, let us commit to Renewable Energy Now. The City of Irvine is hosting a variety of community events all month long in honor of Earth Day.
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A brand-new Rudie-DeCarlo Family Theatre Musical in which not one, not two, but three Dorothys come face to face with the Wizard, the Queen of Hearts, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, the White Rabbit, Fairygodmother, and – well, but we don’t want to give away all the surprises. “You won’t find more professional theatre – for children or adults – anywhere in Los Angeles!” LA PARENT
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Join Museum Educators for an interactive storytime in the Nature Gardens! Designed for caregivers and children (ages 3–5), each session features a playful story reading followed by guided exploration that connects the story to the natural world around you.
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Step into the world of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: The Exhibit and discover how team work, creativity, and empathy can make every challenge an adventure!
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Come & Create Art in a beautiful space with caring & creative teachers. Kids and their grown ups are invited to explore art through water color, acrylic and multi-media art. Taught by a credentialed Waldorf school teacher and professional artist, this class will let you and your kids not only create but learn about and art principals and history. Thursdays at 4:30. The class will be about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
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- FREE spring mini photo session at Shoott! - Irvine & Orange County - Shoott, Broadway, New York, NY, USA, 04/17/2026 to 04/19/2026, See link for times
- Little Artists - Newton T. Bass Apple Valley Branch Library - Apple Valley Newton T. Bass Branch Library, 14901 Dale Evans Pkwy, Apple Valley, CA 92307, United States, 04/17/2026, 11:00am - 12:00pm PST
- Little Seedlings Story Time - Sherman Library and Gardens - Sherman Library & Gardens, East Coast Highway, Corona Del Mar, CA, USA, 04/17/2026, 10 am - 10:30 am
- Good to Go Fair - Pretend City Children's Museum, 29 Hubble, Irvine, CA 92618, United States, 04/18/2026, 9am-1pm
- Storytime in the Nature Garden - Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County - Natural History Museum of Los
Angeles County, Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 04/18/2026 to 04/19/2026, 10:30 am
- Craft Corner - Newton T. Bass Apple Valley Branch Library - Apple Valley Newton T. Bass Branch Library, 14901 Dale Evans Pkwy, Apple Valley, CA 92307, United States, 04/19/2026,
11:00am - 12:00pm PST
- 2026 Fallbrook Avocado Festival - Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce, 111 S Main Ave, Fallbrook, CA 92028, United States, 04/19/2026, 9 am - 5 pm
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The KidsOutAndAbout annual guide to summer camps in The OC 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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Looking for a thrilling family-friendly adventure in the Orange County? Escape rooms are interactive, puzzle-packed experiences where you and your team work together to solve clues 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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Have a great weekend!
Debra Ross
Publisher, KidsOutAndAbout.com
Mom of Madison and Ella |
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