• Put on your best sports gear, because you never know which mascot you’re going to want to impress. Show your support for your favorite team!

• Check back later for updates regarding who will be coming out to help us reach our maximum athletic potential and what else we have planned!

We’ll be kicking off our Spring Break celebration with multiple activities with one central theme:  Science!

Join us from 10:00 am to 4 pm for the following events and and interactive activities:

• Educator-run projects throughout the museum.

• Science of Art demonstrations

• Movin’ Mania – the importance and science of keeping the body moving.

• Hydro’s Hydration Station - 10am-2pm – providing naturally flavored waters!

• Bon Secours’ Class-A-Roll – a mobile learning kitchen that provides a fun and interactive way to learn about healthy ways to prepare our food!

• Broc&Vie from Movin’ Mania will be visiting us!

• Our friends from The Teeny Tiny Farm will be back to warm our hearts and make us smile with their sweet farm friends.  They will be bringing at least one of the following: miniature horse, sheep, goats, rabbits, cows and pigs!  2pm-4pm

• The Virginia Living Museum will be here doing what they do best: fostering care and protection of the balance of our natural world and all the animals in it.

The Vernal Equinox marks the changing season as the earth travels around the sun. It’s one of two days in the year when the Earth’s axis tilts neither away from nor towards the sun, and the sun’s rays shine perpendicular to the equator. Day and night are in perfect balance as the hours of daylight and darkness are (nearly) exactly equal.

Following cold Winter’s low sun the days will finally begin to grow warmer and longer.

As I continue to explore and embrace seasonal living I’m moved to celebrate the start of Spring as it returns to us. It’s time to wake up from our sleepy hibernation and reacquaint ourselves with the joy and beauty of nature as it presents itself in Spring.

Here are a few simple welcoming rituals for you and your littles, to connect with each other and with nature, as the season turns to more light and new life and promise for what is to come.

1. Take a short nature hike, rain or shine, to observe together the seasonal changes. Collect signs of Spring or other interesting finds. Don’t forget to bring a little bucket or tote to carry your goodies home. Display them in a special place or use them to decorate a Naturescape.
2. Create a Spring Naturescape. Use colorful felt, fabric, or tissue paper to create a backdrop and add in any found nature items, pretend animals, bugs, or figures you have on hand—anything that makes you or your kids happy and reminds you of springtime.
3. Watch the sun rise together. With the time change you may be up anyway! Check out Time and Date to find out what time the sun will rise in your neighborhood.
4. Get outside to enjoy the sunshine. Enjoy a meal or snack porch-side to soak up the rays and talk about your hopes and plans for Spring.
5. Dust off your helmets and go for a bike ride.
6. Challenge your kids to an indoor or outdoor color scavenger hunt. They can work alone or as a team, and you can play too.
7. Make colors! Use the primary paint colors blue, red, and yellow to mix secondary colors purple, orange, and green. Use white to play with different tints, and black paint to change the shade.
8. Make natural dyes with your kids from foods and spices in your own pantry or backyard, and use them to dye eggs together. For a little twist you can write words or good wishes on them and let each person in your family choose an egg at random to find out what good Spring will bring.
9. Start your seeds: we saved a mango and avocado seed to sprout in the windowsill. You could start garden seedlings inside, involve your kids in your plans for yard plantings, or pot some plants for the porch.
10. Buy flowers or pick some greenery to bring Spring inside.
11. Wear spring colors to feel cheerful and in the season.
12. Brighten up the yard: paint rocks, sticks, or tree trunks; use colorful chalk on the sidewalks or patio to draw flowers and chicks and other signs of Spring.
13. Make a bird nest basket by filling a produce clamshell tied and hung with string, or suet bird feeder, with loose yarn, thread, hair from a hairbrush, shredded paper, cotton balls, or twine. You can also create little piles in nooks and crannies, or drape them around the yard.

Martial Arts World
Join us for an amazing Spring Break Camp at Martial Arts World!  Join us for A day under the big top, a day of swimming, an air & space day, a Superstar Challenge and a day all about Rhythm, all while learning martial arts! Whew!!! Drop off the kids off any time after 7:15 a.m. for exciting activities up until 6 p.m.$50 per day or $189 for the whole week.  Email info@mawwestend.com or call 673-5200 for more info.

Mathnasium’s Multiplication Madness Spring Camp
April 6th – 9th, 2015
Needing extra work on those multiplication facts?  Mathnasium’s Multiplication Camp will focus on learning multiplication facts (0-12) in an effective and fun way.  Limited to first 20 students per location, sign up today!  Registration open until April 2nd, $75 per student. Six Richmond locations!  Sign up here or call 804-272-MATH (6284).

RockIt Sports
April 7^th and 9^th
Get the kids out of the house on Tuesday and Thursday and bring them to RockIt for some fun! We will be hosting a baseball and basketball combo camp from 9:00 to 12:00 on both days. They will go through an hour and a half of each activity, with a mix of skill work and competitive games! Come either day or both!

Virginia Outside
We will be offering several different spring break camps throughout the week of April 6-9. Campers can join us for individual days or the whole week. All camps depart from Forest Hill Park.
Daily activities include: Pond Fishing, Mountain biking and exploring in the James River Park, Shad and Striped Bass FIshing in the James River, Pond Fishing

Virginia Rep Spring Break Camp
April 6 – 10, 2015
Campers will go on an endless pirate voyage as they venture out into the tropical seas. Each day will be filled with creative drama, movement and music in addition to a mix of theatre related arts and crafts. The campers will get to see the professional production of Treasure Island. On the last day they will perform selections from the show for friends and family. Kindergarten through 5th grade. Monday – Friday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., an extended day option is available.

 Don’t miss out on great things do to!!

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March means spring!
Spring means outside!
Outside means FESTIVALS!

It’s time to get outside and breathe some fresh (not frozen) air.

Fill your calendar with these awesome outdoor activities:

March 6, 2015

Squirrels First Friday Fan Fest & Ticketpalooza
5:30PM-8:00PM
The Diamond
In homage to the Squirrels 2015 Free Shirt Fridays, the first 100 fans who purchase tickets during the First Friday Fan Fest & Ticketpalooza on March 6^th will receive a free T-shirt. Happy hour drink specials will be available from 5:30PM-7:30PM just as they will be all season long during Free Shirt Friday games. Fans can also enjoy live music, concession items and a sneak peak at the new upgrades taking place at The Diamond. FREE to attend.

March 14, 2015

Shamrock the Block
11:00 am- 5pm
1301 North Boulevard, Richmond , VA 23230

Shamrock The Block is free to attend, with great food, live music all day and plenty o’ green beverages for you to enjoy safely, so bring a designated driver. Special kids area with face-painting, bounces, games and more. Come early though, as some lines can get long. FREE.

St. Paddy’s Day Palooza  ***THIS EVENT HAS BEEN MOVED TO SUNDAY MARCH 15***
11:00am-5:00pm
Innsbrook Pavilion 4901 Lake Brook Dr.

Last year over 10,000 people attended the family-friendly St. Paddy’s Day Palooza a benefit for St. Baldrick’s Innsbrook is gearing up to help you shake off the winter doldrums and enjoy everything Irish! Families can enjoy live music, Irish dancing, bands, food, inflatable: slide, moon bounce, and obstacle course, ice cream, face painting, a petting zoo, pony rides and a hot air balloon.  Free to attend.

Shockoe Festival
11:00 am – 4:00 pm
17th Street, Richmond, Virginia 23220

Live music, Irish dancing, beer, Irish coffee and food. More information to come.

March 15, 2015

St. Paddy’s Day Palooza 
11:00am-5:00pm
Innsbrook Pavilion 4901 Lake Brook Dr.

Last year over 10,000 people attended the family-friendly St. Paddy’s Day Palooza a benefit for St. Baldrick’s Innsbrook is gearing up to help you shake off the winter doldrums and enjoy everything Irish! Families can enjoy live music, Irish dancing, bands, food, inflatable: slide, moon bounce, and obstacle course, ice cream, face painting, a petting zoo, pony rides and a hot air balloon.  Free to attend.

March 21 & 22, 2015

Church Hill Irish Festival
March 21 10:00 am – 7:00 pm.
March 22 the HillTopper 5K race will begin at 8:00 am. The festival closes at 6:00 pm

In addition to great entertainment, there will be plenty of family fun, including children’s games, a large children’s play area, face painting and Irish-themed crafts. Over thirty Irish vendors will be in attendance. Food and refreshments will also be available. Enjoy wonderful “Irish Lasagna” prepared by the Ladies of St. Patrick’s, “Fish and Chips” and other favorites provided by Rare Olde Times Irish Pub, and many more.
A $5.00 donation will be collected at the gate, proceeds benefit neighborhood causes as well as St. Baldrick’s Society and the historic preservation of St. Patrick’s Church.

March 27-29, 2015

Virginia Horse Festival 
March 27: 1-9 p.m.
March 28: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
March 29: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A three day festival perfect for horse owners, riders and enthusiasts. Food vendors, storytelling, horse shows and more.  Find out more about this family friendly event here.

 Get the mid-week update from Richmondmom by signing up for our newsletter. You’ll get an up-to-date look at kid and family friendly events and activities in the Richmond, Virginia area as well as great stories, school and playgroup information, dinner ideas, shopping, camp informations, volunteering and a whole lot more. Sign up for our newsletter here and find us on Facebook.