Rain, rain, go away! The weather has been all over the board lately, but I guess that’s one of the joys of living in this area, right? I love my house, I really do! But after several days of being cooped inside, cabin fever inevitably set in.
So what could we get into on a random Wednesday?
I looked at the Cincinnati Family Magazine website to check out what was on the “Things To Do” calendar for the day, and saw something that caught my eye! Cincinnati Art Museum holds Wee Wednesday’s, on the last Wednesday of the month (September-May) from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. I also knew I HAD to check out the Rosenthal Education Center with my dudes. I recently visited the CAM with my dear friend (whose name is coincidentally Amanda Nicole, also, Hi BANF!) sans my kiddos, and when we walked past the REC we saw kids exploring and having fun – I knew I HAD to bring my kids back!
The gray weather of the day had my son’s feet dragging as we headed out the door, so we ended up arriving around 10:45 a.m. We were given a map of Wee Wednesday points of interest, and set out on our way. Once we started heading to a destination, both boys perked up. Dominic was super interested in the map and tried to assist in navigation.
Our first activity was observing the Vincent Van Gogh painting “Undergrowth with Two Figures,” focusing on what type of lines were used in the artwork. The kind woman leading the activity showed my boys some cards with various lines on them and asked questions like “How would you describe this type of line?” and “What does this line look like to you?” It was a great activity to get my kids thinking! Then she asked the boys what types of lines they saw in the Van Gogh painting. She asked “Would you like to draw some lines like that?” Dominic meticulously drew long lines for the trees, then dotted some flowers. He worked hard, and was proud of his end result. Overall, this was a great activity (even though Luca got distracted when he saw people eating and ended up rifling through my bag to find a granola bar — you burn a lot of calories and need refueling when you’re 2).
Our next activity was a collaborative work, where youngsters were asked to recreate a shape filled abstract art mural. My kids enjoyed working on the floor with pencils to draw oddly shaped eyeballs.
Our final activity with Wee Wednesday was in the REC. There were stamp pads representing all the colors of the rainbow, and each child was given the opportunity to do some fingerprint art. An example was given, showing how the robot, person and bird could look. My kids liked touching the ink, and looked up at me as if to ask, “Are you sure this is okay?” when they first touched it. I suppose they have been listening every time I said “We do not touch the ink pad with our fingers, only with stamps” after all! I assured them it was okay for this project, and both my dudes went to town smushing their fingers into the ink and onto their paper. Masterpieces complete, we washed our hands and explored the center!
The REC is a big open space filled with lots of fun educational stations. There is colorful, bold art to be seen wherever your eyes might wander! My kids were drawn to the construction area, where there were several types of rubber building blocks. They met many new friends and planned intricate building projects, which were inevitably all destroyed by toddler demolition crews. From the wreckage, they rebuilt bigger, better buildings! It was a lot of fun to listen to the dialogue and observe the roles the children would take. It seemed like everyone got a chance to be the foreman, but Luca mostly was on the demolition crew — haha! There was also a connect-the-dot chalk constellation board that my kids enjoyed drawing on. I don’t think they’d ever had the chance to draw on a chalkboard that big, so it was a hit for them. The dudes practiced patience and their fine motor skills as they strung some large wooden beads on shoe strings, and utilized their attention skills as they played with some i-spy blocks that had an Egyptian theme. There was also a puzzle and small library of art-themed books in this area, too!
Once I thought we were done playing (eyes were rubbed, yawns had escaped), the construction zone once again called to my children. I suggested we help sort the blocks, to tuck them in for a nap. Somehow that worked, and we were able to leave without any tired tantrums!
If you’re looking for something to do on the last Wednesday of the month, I definitely would recommend Wee Wednesday’s at the Cincinnati Art Museum. It is: fun, educational, cultural, active and … FREE (parking is $4 if you choose to park in the CAM lot)!
http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/family-programs
http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/education-center