I'm back with another edition of Keep 'Em Busy. I'm sorry I missed last week—the snow wreaked havoc on my productivity (not to mention our ability to keep 'em busy...)

Tomorrow, Saturday, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is hosting a wonderful program for kids 5 and up called Beethoven: A Musical Hero. The performance, which includes portions of some of Ludwig Van's greatest hits (Fur Elise, Symphonies 5 and 9, and Moonlight Sonata) broken up by a narrator tying the music into the composer's life, begins at 11 am. But the lobby opens at 10 am for the BSO Family Fun Zone, with face-painting, the ZOOmobile, and the World Rhythm Drum Circus. We've been to these events before, and they're perfectly put together. Tickets, ranging from $12 to $20, are still available at the link above.

Train people, get ready to be excited because this weekend is the Great Scale Model Railroad Show (pictured) at the Timonium Fairgrounds, with dozens of operating layouts. Admission free for everyone under 15, $9 for adults.

Celebrate the Chinese New Year (the year of the rabbit—a lucky year) at the Walters Art Museum, with performances by the Johns Hopkins University Lion Dance Troupe and the Baltimore Chinese School, and stations for kids to make rabbit-inspired art. 

And of course, there are the perrenially great-for-kids activities, including the Walters, which, besides the great, often kid-friendly exhibits, has a fantastic play area on the lower level with lots of dress up stuff, puppets, puzzles, and an art room where there are facilitators to help you and are kids make great projects and bonus: FREE; Also, the Marlyland Science Center ($3 off admission before noon on Saturdays, plus the weekly egg-drop contest), Port Discovery Children's Museum, The Zoo (still open—check out the pic of zebras in the snow (!) on their website), two Storyville locations (we LOVE Storyville), The American Visionary Art Museum (also with kid-friendly exhibits, and the treehouse/sculpture out back if it's not too cold), the various nature centers and conservancies (Oregon Ridge, Irvine, Howard County), and—of course!— the Aquarium.

Have fun!

Weekends like this can be among the hardest to keep 'em busy. There's no holiday, and none coming up to prepare for, the outdoors aren't especially inviting—and, thanks to the weather, you probably had a bonus day or two of home time this week and have exhausted a lot of the typical indoor games/DVDs/bribes, etc.

Never fear, Learning to Crawl has some suggestions for cool things to do this weekend and, as always, a list of evergreen ideas at the end. Have fun!

Particularly during these winter months, indoor play areas are a great way to let kids run around and get out some energy (outside of your living room). There's a new one opening in Glen Burnie this weekend, called Just 4 Kids Fun & Fitness. It looks pretty great, with lots of climbing areas and a play fire house, market, and doctor's office. To celebrate their opening this Saturday, there is free admission starting at 1pm, along with face painting, refreshments, door prizes, gift bags, and a raffle. Also, I don't know how much word has gotten out but there's a relatively new ginormous play area in Timonium called Kiddie Crusoe, with 12,000 square feet of climbing areas (including "the ultimate kid climb," pictured here), zip lines, bouncy houses, tube slides, crawling tunnels, Wii lounges—wow. And the best thing—and this is, frankly, revolutionary in my eyes—there's a wifi-enabled cafe where adults can hang out, get a snack, and watch their kids on video monitors. It's $12 per kid for unlimited time, and adults and babies under one are free.

I guess one holiday isn't too far off: Valentine's Day. And a couple local businesses are having kid-centered special events to prepare for the sweetest day. At AC Moore Arts and Crafts in Towson (and at other locations), kids can learn how to make chocolate-covered pretzels. And Caroline's Cupcakery in Locust Point is having a build-your-own-cupcake event from 2 to 4pm on Saturday.

The Baltimore Museum of Art has Free Family Sundays from 2 to 5pm every week and this week the activity is Sculpt Pointy People. One of our favorite Sundays involves brunch at the Papermoon Diner (the boys love their pigs in blankets—or anybody's, to be fair), then a walk over to the BMA, stopping at the little public playground on the way, weather permitting. Maybe we'll see you there!

Of course, there are always the perrenially great-for-kids activities, including the Walters Art Museum, which, besides the great, often kid-friendly exhibits, has a fantastic play area on the lower level with lots of dress up stuff, puppets, puzzles, and an art room where there are facilitators to help you and are kids make great projects (we made an "ice king" last weekend) and bonus: FREE; Also, the Marlyland Science Center ($3 off admission before noon on Saturdays, plus the weekly egg-drop contest), Port Discovery Children's Museum, The Zoo (still open—check out the pic of zebras in the snow (!) on their website), two Storyville locations (we LOVE Storyville), The American Visionary Art Museum (also with kid-friendly exhibits, and the treehouse/sculpture out back if it's not too cold), the various nature centers and conservancies (Oregon Ridge, Irvine, Howard County), and—of course!— the Aquarium.

As I discussed at length last week, keeping our kids busy is one of our primary parenting objectives (keeping 'em fed, keeping 'em healthy, and keeping 'em away from Chuck E. Cheese are also fairly important.) The 3-day Martin Luther King Day weekend presents an extended challenge. We're just coming off a 10-day holiday break—that was a lot of busy-keeping—and two weeks later, BAM!, three-day weekend. But we're up to it. Or, rather, my wife is. I have to work on Monday. In service to her and to you, here are some ways to keep 'em busy... 

Probably the best and coolest kid-friendly event this weekend is the Martin Luther King Day celebration at the American Visionary Art Museum on Monday. The Museum will be open and FREE, from 10am to 6pm, with all kinds of cool things going on all day: Kids can make "I Have a Dream" Shrinky Dinks (Shrinky Dinks!), eat cake, and watch some awesome live musicians, including Abu the Flutemaker (watch those linked videos) at 1pm and all-women Brazilian percussion band Batala at 3pm.

Not surprisingly, there's a ton of other great MLK-related happenings around town:

• The 11th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade (pictured) starts at noon at the corner of MLK Jr. Blvd. and Eutaw St. and heads south, with lots of marching bands, floats, dancers, and politicians—parade stuff.
• The Reginald F. Lewis Museum will have special $5 admission all weekend, including "Family Day" Saturday, when the museum celebrates Coretta Scott King's life with a living history performance by actress Denise Nicholas (In the Heat of the Night), and on Monday, when there will be crafts, special exhibits, and musical performances.
• On Saturday, Port Discovery launches its I Have a Dream Celebration Weekend, where kids can meet Negro Baseball League players, see a Black Cherry Puppet Theater show, hear special story times, and participate in drum circles.
• And on Monday, Walters Art Museum has an excellent program for its MLK Jr. Family Festival, including music, dance, and theater performances by Karen's Fun House and Illstyle & Peace Productions, award-winning speeches from students in the Baltimore Urban Debate League, and lots of different crafts projects.

Also, our ballet-deprived town gets a rare infusion this weekend, when the State Ballet Theater of Russia comes to the Hippodrome for two performances of Swan Lake, on Friday and Saturday. Recommended roughly for kids 5 and up.

And, reprising what I posted last week, there are always the perrenially great-for-kids activities, including the Walters Art Museum, which, besides the great, often kid-friendly exhibits, has a fantastic play area on the lower level with lots of dress up stuff, puppets, puzzles, and an art room where there are facilitators to help you and are kids make great projects and bonus: FREE; Also, the Maryland Science Center ($3 off admission before noon on Saturdays, plus the weekly egg-drop contest), Port Discovery Children's Museum, The Zoo (still open—check out the pic of zebras in the snow (!) on their website), two Storyville locations (we LOVE Storyville), The American Visionary Art Museum (also with kid-friendly exhibits, and the treehouse/sculpture out back if it's not too cold), the various nature centers and conservancies (Oregon Ridge, Irvine, Howard County), and—of course!— the Aquarium.

Have fun!

[photo courtesy of the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts]

Yesterday on the Today Show, Meredith Viera interviewed Cheryl Kilodavis and her self-described "princess boy," Dyson, age 5 (left). Dyson likes to dress up like a princess, wearing tutus and lots of pink. His mom used to push back against her son's inclinations, trying to redirect him toward trucks and other boyish things. But then her older son said, "Why can't you just let him be happy, mom?" She realized that her discomfort with her son's interests were more about her than about him. She has since allowed him to dress and play however he wants and wrote a children's book called "My Princess Boy" to help other kids and parents who may face a similar situation.

Personally, I'm behind Dyson and allowing him to play however he wants, wear whatever he wants, go to school in tutus, or whatever. Lord knows my boys have enjoyed the not-so-occasional twirl in a fairy or ballerina outfit (see exhibits A and B below).

I was a little conflicted, though, thinking about Dyson's mom. I guess I can understand writing a children's book: The project grew out of her attempts to explain her situation in writing, and I can see how parents and kids reading it together could increase tolerance and understanding of difference. Of course, it's not as if such books don't already exist—"Oliver Button is a Sissy," about a ballet-dancing little boy who gets teased, is a regular in our reading rotation—but I can understand wanting to add another book to the canon, especially one with an African-American hero. Also, Dyson's name and picture and not included in the book, so he maintains some anonymity.

But then, seeing this vulnerable little boy on national television made me feel uncomfortable. It's one thing to dress and act and play however you want, and even to face your friends and teachers at school and in public and make them accept you for who you are—I support all of that, even posting the pictures on Facebook or, ahem, a little local blog. But taking that little boy on national television, broadcasting his face and name, seemed to push the boundaries. Part of the reason I think it's good for kids to express themselves however they feel is that they're still trying things out, figuring out who they are. In five years, Dyson might still love dressing up like a princess and that would be great. But he might not, and he might not like being known as "Princess Boy" for the rest of his life.

I think Dyson's mom had mostly great intentions, but I couldn't help but feel like a tiny bit of her was using the situation to her financial advantage. To me, I think the line would have been taking my little boy on national TV. When Meredith Viera asked him to twirl around a second time, my heart sank. This felt exploitative. And I really hope that all of his mother's best efforts aren't going t make things even harder for her adorable little Princess Boy.