Beat the Heat at the Science Center

The Science Center has announced that any time St. Louis temperatures reach 95 degrees or warmer, tickets to exhibits and films will drop to $5. The museum currently is hosting the exhibit "Amazing Nano Worlds" & Omnimax films "Rocky Mountain Express," "Space Junk" and "To the Arctic." The Science Center is open at 9:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at 11:30 a.m. Sunday. General admission is free.This promotion stays in effect through Sept. 3.

Free Family Series (@ Great Escape)

Tues-Wed-Thurs, you can enjoy a FREE family movie at THE GREAT ESCAPE... now through August 2nd.
All shows start at 9:30 am and include: RIO, CHIPWRECKED, RANGO, PUSS AND BOOTS, HOP, HAPPY FEET 2, KUNG FU PANDA 2, & SMURFS.

Go HERE to see which movies you'll enjoy & which days you can see them!

Free Movies: Summer Series (@ Wehrenberg)

Starting 6/6, Wehrenberg will once again offer their free family movies as part of their Summer Series.
Movies include:
PUSS N BOOTS
RIO
MR POPPERS PENGUINS
ZOO KEEPER
HOP
HAPPY FEET 2
ALVIN & CHIPMUNKS, CHIPWRECKED
KUNG FU PANDA 2
SMURFS
WINNIE THE POOH

These are offered at Des Peres, Arnold, & Ronnie's, Chesterfield, St Clair, St Charles, MidRivers, O'Fallon, etc. on Wed. & Thurs. at 10 am. (see schedule for exact listings).

Summer Reading Programs

Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program

Children will earn a FREE book when they read 8 books of their choice and record them in a special journal! Sign up and download a journal today.

Borders Double Dog Dare Challenge

Kids 12 and under will earn a FREE book when they read 10 books, record them on the Double Dog Dare Challenge form and take the completed form to any Borders, Borders Express or Waldenbooks.
Valid from 6/1/11 to 9/15/11.

Scholastic Summer Challenge

Log your reading minutes in the Scholastic Summer Challenge to be entered to win a set of five Klutz books from Scholastic.
Open from 5/15/11 to 6/4/11.

Summer Break with Book It!

Read five books and submit the the Summer Break Reading Challenge Form for a chance to win a Book It! prize package including a tote bag, water bottle, mini flier, mini ball, sunglasses, jump rope, book light, Mr. Popper's Penguins and a $20 Visa gift card.
Open from 6/15/11 to 8/15/11.

Free Kids Books at Borders

Join the Borders Double Dog Dare Challenge and your child (12 & under) can receive a free book if they read 10 books. Download the form now & redeem in-store starting June 1st.

Summer Stuff

Dave Ramsey has a fun article about summer activities to do w/ your kiddos. Go HERE to read it.

Summer Reading

I'm a teacher so there's no doubt that I'll encourage all kids to read. Esp if they get "something" in return (that is--besides the obvious rewards of reading!!)

Here are the programs / incentives that I know of. If you know of something in our area that I've missed, let me know in the comments.

Who knew Chuck cared about reading?...Go HERE to read about Chuck E Cheese's reading incentive for this summer. Fill out the reading chart & get 10 free tokens!

Barnes & Nobles' program, go HERE.

Read 10 books & get one free at Borders, go HERE.

Kids 14 & under can earn a $3 shopping card each week they read 15 or more minutes each day. Go HERE.

Go HERE to read about Pottery Barn Kids story time where your first visit gets you a book club card & after 5 visits you earn a special gift.

Summer Nights = Free Music

Free Music -- Summer Nights

WIL Picnic in the Park, July 16th with Jake Owen.  Rotary Park in Wentzville.  Gates open @ 5 pm.  There will be another night of music in August.  Go HERE for deets!

Live on the Levee...every Friday and Saturday, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., until August 1.  Live Concerts:  Whether you're into rock, country or rythmn & blues, there's a concert for you. Performers this year include Sonic Youth, Gretchen Wilson, Guster and more. The concerts begin at 8 p.m., but the crowds will begin arriving several hours earlier. The best place to see the concerts is on the staircase between the Arch and the riverfront. Visitors will not be permitted on the Archgrounds during the concerts.

Here is the Live on the Levee 2009 Schedule: July 17 -Sonic Youth, July 18 - Little Feat, July 24 - Angie Stone, July 25 - Gretchen Wilson, July 31 - Guster, August 1 - Lupe Fiasco

Twilight Tuesdays

Admission: free
Missouri History Museum Front Lawn
Lindell & DeBaliviere in Forest Park
314-454-3199 or 800-916-8212

Our popular outdoor concert series returns with a spectacular spring line-up! Grab your blankets and lawn chairs, pack your picnic basket and come hear some terrific music under a beautiful Forest Park sunset. In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be rescheduled to a later date. After 3pm, call the Twilight Tuesdays Information Hotline at (800) 916-8212 or listen to the Clear Channel stations for details.

•  On concert evenings, seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Make-and-take activities for children will be offered o the museum's front lawn beginning at 6pm. Activities will be closed after intermission.

Jungle Boogie

Friday evenings 5-8 pm @ the St Louis Zoo...May 22-September 4...Schnucks Family Plaza

• July 3
  Kim Massie (Blues)
• July 10
  Ticket to the Beatles (Beatles)
• July 17
  Charles Glenn (Jazz/R&B)
• July 24
  Mighty Big Band (Blues/Jam)
• July 31
  Bob Case (Rhythm & Blues)
• August 7
  Hudson and the HooDoo Cats (Blues)
• August 14
  Usual Suspects (Rock)
• August 21
  Indecisive Band (Rock)
• August 28
  Tiny Cows (Rock)
• September 4
  Arvell & Co. (Motown/R&B)
• 
  
• Whitaker Music Festival @ 7:30 pm at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Some of the area's most popular musicians will be performing at the Garden every Wednesday evening from June 3 through August 5.
• Admission to the Garden is free after 5 p.m. and the concerts start at 7:30 p.m. Visitors are invited to bring their own picnic baskets or coolers. Sandwiches, hot dogs, chips and drinks are also available for purchase. The Children's Garden is also open until 7 p.m. on Wednesday evenings with free admission after 5 p.m.

  2009 Whitaker Music Festival

  July 8 - Tony Simmons Band
  July 15 - Rogers, Neinhaus and Crawford
  July 22 - Farshid Etniko
  July 29 - Ralph Butler
  August 5 - Anita Rosamond

Carondelet Park Summer Concert Series, Sun's @ 6 pm.  Go HERE for their line up.

Sunday Serenades & Musical Mondays is when the Compton Heights Concert Band performs Sundays in Francis Park and Mondays in Tower Grove Park. Guest performers include world champion whistler David Morris and 8-year-old trumpet prodigy Geoffrey Gallante.  Now through August 3.

Gateway Festival Orchestra presents classical favorites from the world's great composers performed on Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m. at Brookings Quadrangle at Washington University. July 12, 19 & 26.

Kirkwood's Summer Concert Series are on Thursdays @ 6:30.  Go HERE to check out their line up & location.

Summer Reading Programs

Kids can earn a free book from Barnes & Noble when they read 8 books this summer. Here is how it works:

1. Kids (grades 1-6) read any eight books of their own choosing. 2. Use the Summer Reading Journal to describe their favorite part of each book. A parent/guardian signs the journal when it’s complete. You can also get a Spanish-language Reading Journal. 3. Bring their completed Reading Journal to a Barnes & Noble store between May 26th & September 7th, 2009. 4. Get a coupon for a free book (select titles).

Scholastic Summer Challenge has a super scholastic way to motivate kids by earning points for reading. There are tons of resources, a Save the Children charity drive, and sweepstakes that you can enter to win books and other prizes.

Half-Price Books Feed Your Brain at Half-Price Books and CiCi's Pizza where your kids can make money on reading! Kids under 12 can earn a $3 Half-Price Books gift card for every week they read at least 15 minutes June 1-July 31. (Kansas City)

Pottery Barns Book Club has a regularly scheduled storytime goes on all year long on Tuesdays from 11 to 11:30 am.  (not just over the summer!)  And your kids get a coupon ($10 off a purchase I hear) after attending 5 sessions and getting their booklet stamped.

TD Bank Summer Reading rewards your kids by asking them to read 10 books and get $10! A great incentive if you've got this bank near you (I don't know that there are any in STL, pretty sure just Florida).

BORDERS is also getting in the game.   Have your little student fill out this worksheet to get 50% select items in-store. And be sure to take in this $2 off any kids book coupon with you to save even more!

FREE TEE for reading 10 books.  Go HERE, print out/ fill out the form & mail in (to Texas by the way) to get a pretty cute shirt for your reader.

And then there is, of course, the LIBRARY reading programs, which we are always sure to take advantage of.  The last 3 summers we've enjoyed a STL Cards game FOR FREE.

Here are some library programs I know of:

St Louis County Library Summer Reading Clubs Kick-off June 1 & all twenty branches of St. Louis County Library will celebrate the 40th year of the Summer Reading Club with programs for kids, teens and, for the first time, babies! The Summer Reading Clubs provide nine weeks of fun from June 1 through August 1. Participation is free and registration begins June 1, simply stop by any St. Louis County Library branch to sign-up and reap the benefits of reading just for fun.

FESTUS LIBRARY SUMMER READING PROGRAM also kicks off June 1st...Children of all ages (preschool through high school) may sign up.  Children have until August 15th to complete the reading requirements and will be awarded prizes.  The summer program will conclude with an ice cream sundae party for those who participated.  Story times for preschool children and also for children going into 1st through 3rd grade will be held every Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m.  The "Teresa T Magic Show" will perform July 16th at 1:00 p.m.  Other programs will be held throughout the summer.  Check your local paper for activities and dates.

CRYSTAL CITY Summer Program is for Preschool-6th grade is held annual from the middle of June through the end of August.  That's all I got on that one.

JEFFERSON COUNTY LIBRARY's Program never disappoints.  Running June 1-August 1 with a new system in place (a sticker for each day where the child reads 15 mins or more). For children AND teens.  Go HERE.

KIRKWOOD's program has so much, I can only list a small fraction.  You'll have to go HERE to read the rest.  Every week, there's something for your little reader to do & the program kicks off May 30th, at Station Plaza.   Keep track online & earn uber-cool prizes.

If you know of a program that I missed, will you share with us Tightwads?