I ♥ Faces

 I ♥ wide eyed-front tooth missing-doll lovin'- Faces

Think Globally--Learn Locally At Multilingual Chicago (Comment to win $180 value kids language session)

ChiIL Mama is excited to team up with Multilingual Chicago to bring you a great contest this week.   Enter from Sunday 1/10 through Friday, 1/15.


Win a free kid's class session (9 weeks, value $180) at Multilingual Chicago, in your choice of Spanish, French or Mandarin.   Comment about why it is important for kids to learn languages.   Winner will be drawn at random, on Friday, 1/15.

Multilingual Chicago is now open in Logan Square.   They offer classes in Spanish, French and Mandarin for kids 1-3, 3-5, & 6-8.    Classes in the above languages, as well as Italian, are available for adults, too.   Their new session begins January 18th. 

They also have a drop-in option for the 1-3 and 3-5 classes if you don’t want to commit to an entire session.

ChiIL Mama loves to support local businesses that are enriching the community, and we are huge supporters of children learning second languages.   Chicago is such a vibrant, multicultural microcosm.   We can't wait to see what all our readers have to say in the comments section.

 Even if you don't win the free class session, ChiIL Mama readers are still winners.   Multilingual Chicago is offering a special 10% off discount.  Use code CHILMOM110 at checkout.

  

 Good luck!

Happy 1st Birthday I ♥ Faces

I ♥ Worm Faces

 

 I ♥ Upside down Faces

I ♥ Eel Faces

I ♥ Muddy Friend Faces 
 

I ♥ Skully Faces

My how you've grown.   In just one year, 

I ♥ Faces has become a big, fun, creative, vibrant community.   To celebrate, the contest this week is a bit different.   5 photos can be entered instead of just 1, and the contest is open till 9pm Friday instead of just Monday-Tuesday.   It's a timely I ♥ Faces theme, where their logo needs to be incorporated into each contest photo.

Now's a good time to check out their web site for all the great talent showcased there, or to try your hand.   This birthday week will be full of fun contests and challenges starting Sunday.   Just click on the cupcake or the button below it and enjoy!

 

ChiIL Winter Fun For The Weather Wimps--Lifeline Dragons, Derby Girls, Free Museums, Fishy Faces and a Tropical Oasis

Theatre outings are a great way to beat the brrrrrr.  We'd highly recommend Lifeline Theatre.    They've been a favorite of ours for years and consistently present high quality children's theatre productions.   You can make a day of it with lunch at Heartland Cafe a few blocks to the North.  Presently playing:

The Last of the Dragons

Jan 2 – Feb 21, 2010 

Saturday 1pm, Sunday 11am & 1pm

Recommended for kids 5 and up. Children under 2 are not permitted.

Check their web site for more details and to book your tickets.

There's nothing in frozen Chi Town, quite so tropical, as a conservatory in the dead of winter.   It smells like rich, green, growing things and the warm, moist heat will rejuvenate the coldest souls.   Come on out to Garfield Conservatory on the weekends for family "make and take" crafts.  No registration is necessary.   Come any Saturday or Sunday from 1-2:45.   Activities are free or involve a minimal fee.   Here's the January schedule:

January 9-10
Grow a Miniature Money Tree
Bring some good luck into your new year with a Money Tree! This fast-growing tree makes a great houseplant and brings wealth and good luck to a home. Before you leave, be sure to find the big Money Tree growing inside the Conservatory.

January 16-17
Prehistoric Plants: Fossil Fun
What kind of plants lived when the dinosaurs roamed the earth? Get an up close look at real fossils, then make your own model specimen to take home.

January 23-24
Sugar and Spice Necklaces
Discover the more fragrant plants in the Conservatory’s collection, including cinnamon and orange trees. Then, make a necklace using parts of these plants to take home. Participants will also learn about the function of each plant part.

January 30-January 31
Herbal Tea Bags
Feeling the winter blues? Make your own herbal tea bags to take home; brew this homemade tea, sip it up, and feel better in no time! Participants will learn to identify both the herbs used in this activity, and their corresponding plant parts. 

Follow this link, for warm fun on Wednesday afternoons, with REI wilderness Wednesdays, the 3rd Wednesday of every month and up close fun with critters on the 4th Wednesday of every month.

The Art Institute has daily drop in programs and an excellent free series of classes for tots to teens.   Access to the education wing of their gorgeous new building is always free.   We thoroughly enjoyed the Mini Masters and Drawing in the Galleries programs.  They do fill fast, but are well worth checking out.  

Get outta the cold and check out hot modern art for free, every 2nd Saturday through May, 11-3pm.   All you need is an under 13 kid with you, and you're in.  Follow the MCA Family Day link for details.   This weekend's theme is Shelter from the Storm (AKA:  Shelter from the "store" according to Chicagokids.com).   

I have a new appreciation for that sentiment after hiding out from the sub zero wind chill, in the gift shop at zoo lights.   We managed to escape without buying anything, but our little warm up led to some unnecessary begging and disappointment among the kidlets.   So, if you want to avoid relying on retail establishments as warming centers, remember all our wonderful museums instead.

Shedd Aquarium is free Jan 16-21st.   FREE general admission to the original galleries and discounts on admission passes, including entry to the Shedd's re-imagined Oceanarium and mesmerizing aquatic show, Fantasea, Powered by ComEd.  We had a great time on our last visit, snapping turtles and makes faces with the fishes.

Finally, Roller Derby rocks the UIC Pavilion with some fast skating action that will melt the snow off your boots.

 

 The Windy City Rollers new season starts January 30th.

We had a great time in October, when Windy City trampled The Rose City Rollers from Portland 113-73 in their final championship bout.

 

It was a sweet victory, made extra sweet by running into a number of our school friends like Sasha, Sam, Ruby and Esme.

and one of Sagezilla's teachers, whose alter ego is Derby Referee, Sheik Yerbouti.

 

Don't miss 'em again in 2010.   Grrrl power family fun.   Check their web site for bout dates, tickets and group discounts.

Equestrian Thespians

My parents came to Chicago for the first time, over the holidays, after I spent the last 20 years driving to them.   However, they postponed coming until December 29, due to snow, and when I started to search out the plethora of nutcrackers, Christmas carols, snow queens, and holiday productions that had been playing since November, I found that just about everything had ended!

Then I spotted The Nutcracker on Horseback at Noble Horse Theatre running through January 9th.   I'd gotten mailings about their productions for years, but we'd never checked them out.   When we first opened the castle like wooden doors to the historic riding hall, built in 1872 and renovated in 2001, I felt like we were transported to turn of the century England.   They had two wood burning stoves stoked with roaring fires, and costumed characters to show us to our seats.   Inside, the English Tudor architecture, painted shields and European flags lining the performance space added to the illusion.

The grandparents declared the show "unique" and were impressed by the equestrian antics.   They were not crazy about the mix of song choices which blended familiar Tchaikovsky numbers with assorted Christmas carols and other miscellaneous, upbeat instrumentals, but enjoyed the show nonetheless.

If you're expecting ballet, the show doesn't feature any.   But Noble Horse takes pride in its historical production of The Nutcracker in the original version. This is an exciting rendition of the classical holiday tale as it was performed over 175 years ago.  It was not until 1892 that the more common ballet version came to be.

Originally titled "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King," this short story was written in 1816.  The Nutcracker was performed throughout Europe on horseback in the 18th century.  The Noble Horse is the only theatre in North America to perform the historic version of "The Nutcracker" on horseback.   If you want to see acrobatics on horseback, a dancing Lipizzaner, and a horse and rider jumping through a burning ring of fire, you're in the right place.
The kids recognized one of the acts from our summer fun at Bristol Renaissance Faire, in spite of the trainer's more demure, holiday attire, this time around. 

Her gorgeous, white Lipizzaner was unmistakable.   They performed a similar routine for the Noble Horse Nutcracker (the lighting was just much better outside in August, so I'll include those shots instead).

The wind chill Saturday was 4 below zero, so the indoor performance space was a bit nippy, but not coat wearing cold.   Once the show started, we forgot all about the frigid temps.   Nutcracker on Horseback was enjoyed by all 3 generations of our family.   The kids emphatically stated they'd both like to come back for the spring production of Quadrille and for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in the fall.

After the performance, everyone was invited down to meet and pet the horses while they munched apples and healthy horse snacks.   Free carriage rides and $5 horseback rides were available.  Check out their website for more info and upcoming shows.

We made a whole day of it, with dinner at nearby R.J. Grunts, the first Lettuce Entertain You restaurant.   My Dad was excited to order the temperature soup, which they sell you for the daily temp.   He got it for 10 cents!

Then we headed across the street to Lincoln Park's Zoo Lights and had a great time in the light crowds.   Everything looked magical through the stylin' Zoo Lights shades, that make you see Santa in every light.  Everyone was too cold to stay long, but we made fridge magnets and antlers in the small primate house,

enjoyed the multicultural themes and a live orchestra in the cat house,

and power walked past the ice carvers

and millions of colorful lights.  

The kids made a few runs through the climbing rain forest canopy and rescued a reluctant toddler, whose pregnant Mama couldn't climb in to get her down.

 Even the cold blooded reptiles were active on this chill, winter night.

Finally, everyone was happy to call it a night and head home for hot cocoa with whipped cream by our hearth fire.   It was a great way to start off a new year and a new decade.