Beltway Bambinos

(re) discover Washington DC through the eyes of your children

Ring in the new school year with ‘Back to The Yards’ giveaway event

Lancer Photography, 2020. All rights reserved.

The Yards, DC’s most exciting waterfront neighborhood for living, dining, shopping, and relaxing, is ringing in back-to-school with Back to The Yards! While this school year looks different for many students and parents, The Yards will be giving away FREE boxes of fun school supplies curated for younger Yards guests when they dine-in or pick up take-out from any Yards Restaurant on Friday, September 25th from 5:00-8:00pm.

Back to The Yards boxes will contain fun, colorful essentials for back to school (or homeschool), wherever that may be! Boxes are limited to one per family, while supplies last, for pick-up at The Yards Park.

Back to The Yards boxes will include festive supplies like: pencils, notebooks, colorful post-its, stickers, highlighters and more fun. Special boxes with fun school supplies are free to each family with a receipt from any Yards restaurant. All participating restaurants can be found here – meaning a receipt from one of these restaurants will allow you to pick up a free back-to-school box from Yards Park. We hope the start of the school year has been okay for everyone.

Celebrate the High Holidays at home with PJ Library

Each fall, Jews around the world celebrate the High Holidays: Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).  It’s a time when one can take a deep breath and think about the ways to make ourselves and the world a better place. Traditionally, many families celebrate the holidays at synagogue and with relatives and friends. This year, to stay safe, many are staying home, so PJ Library has created a FREE, everything-you-need family guide to help celebrate what may be many family’s first High Holidays spent entirely at home. It’s easy to subscribe to PJ Library just click HERE! Be sure to check out and download this beautifully-illustrated “High Holidays at Home: A PJ Library Family Guide” featuring new and familiar rituals, hands-on activities such as shofar making and challah baking, conversation starters, “unpacking” of selected prayers (with tips on talking with children about God), and family-friendly explanations — all aimed at making the ten days the High Holidays are celebrated meaningful, memorable and fun for families, this year and in the future. The guide is also accompanied by an interactive online companion that offers helpful how-to videos, music, and audio versions of blessing and prayers.

Our family used the guide to make homemade challah, using the recipe in the guide. It was so simple and a great way to bond and discuss the holidays.

It’s easy to subscribe to PJ Library just click HERE!

Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center: Bringing the wonders of the Smithsonian to your living room

This post comes to you from the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center. We’ve had the opportunity to visit their space and participate in various workshops they offered prior to the pandemic and can’t recommend their family programing enough. We look forward to being able to go back one day and hope you will too!

When Covid closed our museums and our city, the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (SEEC) had to develop a new plan for its weekend family workshops. It was imperative to keep the essence of programs the same: forming relationships, connecting with Smithsonian objects, and learning through play.  

Fostering relationships is at the core of our work at SEEC. Young children learn better in a social context with trusted adults and peers. Moving to a digital platform makes this challenging, but not impossible. SEEC’s family workshops are limited to six families so that everyone has a chance to get to know each other and participate fully. Families will sign up for a four-week session on a topic, which allows for the deepening of relationships over time. In addition to the virtual classes, families will receive a video with activities in between each session to help continue discoveries. 
  
While families are unable to physically visit the objects and artwork of the Smithsonian, SEEC’s virtual classes allow children to experience these objects in closer detail and at their own pace while at home. SEEC believes objects are powerful learning tools as they often bridge the gap between the familiar and the unfamiliar, opening up windows to new worlds. The virtual weekend classes will use objects to share stories and help children practice critical thinking skills.
 
Learning happens through action and SEEC’s virtual classes will be action packed and fun! The classes will encourage all types of active learning including dramatic play, movement games, singing, storytelling, sensory experiences, and more. Children will be laughing, playing, and exploring as they learn about all the Smithsonian has to offer.
  
SEEC has missed its family workshop participants over the last six months and are so excited to reconnect in this fashion! To learn more, please visit our website.  

PJ Library podcasts for children

Since being in quarantine, podcasts have been a popular way for children to get their fill of information and entertainment while being in the car headed someplace for an extended stay or in the comfort of their homes. The good part about podcasts is that they are easily accessed through a smart phone, tablet, or computer. Prepare for hours of entertainment and even some learning opportunities.

This month PJ Library has two new episodes of the PJ Library Have I Got a Story for You podcast. You can find them here. Every episode of Have I Got a Story For You takes a classic Jewish folk tale and gives it a modern twist. You can explore episodes here and if you find one you really like, be sure to click on the episode page to find activities, book lists, and keep the fun going.

The podcast is just one element of the always-free and open PJ Library Listen hub where you will find all things audio from stories, songs, Spotify playlists and the podcast.

Keep an eye out for PJ Library’s downloadable “fall guide,” coming next month.

PJ Library invites families for a LIVE interactive tour of Jerusalem to unlock the mysteries of the Holy City

Fun for the whole family, admission is free to “You Be the Detective: A Family Tour of Jerusalem,” a unique webinar, which runs from 1:30pm-2:30pm ET on Monday, July 13, 2020.

Though the coronavirus has upended summer travel plans for many, this July, PJ Library wants to send families to the holy city of Jerusalem for a unique and interactive trip. On Monday join engaging tour guide Jonty Blackman for the LIVE hour-long webinar “You Be the Detective: A Family Tour of Jerusalem.” Though bags don’t need to be packed and admission is free, space is limited and registration is required here. With Israel also suffering from coronavirus fall-out, tourism in the land of milk & honey has all but stopped. But that’s not stopping PJ Library from inviting interested “tourists” to unlock the mysteries of Jerusalem with a unique, interactive webinar.

Along with veteran Israel tour guide Blackman, families are invited to explore both the old and new city including stops at Jaffa Gate, the Knesset, the City of David and the world-famous Machane Yehudah outdoor market. And, along the way, PJ Library tourists will be invited to uncover the mysteries of Jerusalem, find the yummiest food in the market and discover ancient secrets hidden in archaeological discoveries. Don’t miss out on the most exciting trip of the summer – without leaving your home – with “You Be the Detective: A Family Tour of Jerusalem.”

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