The tall ship LYNX “America’s Privateer will sail into Savannah at 12 noon Wed. March 2. Savannah Riverfront on River Street was chosen as a host port for the LYNX’s spring tour because of Savannah’s rich maritime history. The LYNX will be available for dockside tours as well as sailing excursions throughout the month of March.

Lynx was designed and built to interpret a privateer or naval schooner from the War of 1812. Displacing 114 tons, she is 76 feet in length over all, with a sparred length of 122 feet, a 23-foot beam and a draft of 9 feet. She is fitted with period ordnance and flies pennants and flags from the 1812 era. She represents the first ships to defend our freedom. The Lynx crew wears period uniforms and operates the ship in keeping with the maritime traditions of early 19th Century America. History comes alive as students and teachers play an active roll in our nation’s maritime heritage though a hands-on interactive state standards-based educational program.

For a schedule of when the ship is open for public tours, visit  www.privateerlynx.org. Cost of public tours: $5 adults; children 12 & younger are free. CLOSED MONDAYS.

Savannah Fun Tours, will present “Shamrock Scramble”, a City Wide Scavenger Hunt. Funds from the event will be donated to local breast cancer organizations Susan G. Komen Coastal Georgia Affiliate and Young Survival Coalition, Savannah Affiliate. 100% of all net proceeds will be given to the listed charities.

During the “Shamrock Scramble” teams will compete against each other for cash prizes in a variety of categories including: Best Team Costume, Best Team Spirit and First to Finish. All participants will be eligible for door prizes contributed by sponsoring businesses.
Savannah Fun Tours believes this event is a way for people to donate to worthy causes while having fun and getting value for their money.

Tickets to this event are $20 per person and include a t-shirt, event participation, inclusion for door prizes, and attendance at the post event oyster roast party. Participants can register by visiting www.shamrockscramble.com.

Savannah Fun Tours, a family owned, boutique tour business that designs memorable outings for locals and tourists, is hosting a fund raiser for breast cancer organizations in the area. The business is owned by Cayce Girardeau, a former VP of Human Resources who decided to branch out on her own after her second bout with breast cancer in 2007. After 20 years in “corporate America” she decided to do something related to things she truly loves: Savannah and FUN!

Savannah Fun Tours is committed to giving back by incorporating philanthropy into many of their events. For more information, contact Cayce Girardeau at cayce@savannahfuntours.com or (912) 667-9760.

One of our favorite annual Fall events.

A fun, safe, not-so-scary event for little trick-or-treaters.

TIME: 5-8:30 PM Oct. 19 & 20 2012

Walk with your trickster down our friendly forest trail to meet and gather goodies from our friendly animal characters. Let Mother Earth show you the way and sit with Mother Goose as she tells her favorite rhymes.

Face painting, spooky crafts, and many more monstrous activities await your arrival! Comfortable walking shoes and costumes are encouraged. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Admission: Adults……..$6.00 Children………$8.00

Observe and participate in magical creation of a woolen shawl through all the stages of wool processing. Oatland Island sheep will be sheared throughout the day with demos of carding, spinning, dying and weaving the wool. Crafts, games, hay rides and other children’s activities as well as food concessions.

Put your wings and pointed ears on and come to Oatland Island Wildlife Center for a day of enchantment at our second annual Fairy and Gnome House Festival. This family-themed day is all about the “wee folk”, getting up close with the natural world and encouraging active, outdoor play. Children and their adults can enter a fairy house or gnome home building contest using all natural materials. Will your house be able to lure a Fairy from her wings? Would a gnome dare to tread past your threshold? Designs will be evaluated by a panel of judges and winners will be awarded fabulous prizes. Dress in your best fairy and gnome attire and enter our prize winning costume contest.

Additional activities include a Scavenger Hunt, prize-winning games and Fairy themed crafts. Bring your favorite stuffed animal and let us transform it into a flying fairy. Visit our Hair Fairies and have your hair made into a fanciful fairy hairdo. Be sure to bring your whole family to stroll along Oatland’s enchanted trails and see if you can catch a glimpse of any fairy or gnome looking for a place to call home!

Entrance fee Adults $6. Children $5. Some activities and concessions for additional fees. For further information, please call Oatland Island at 912-395-1500.

www.oatlandisland.org.

2011-2012
Online Application Process Opens Tues. Feb. 1 2011. The deadline for application is Fri. March 4 2011 @ 4:30 PM.
Before applications are accepted, parents/guardians are required to attend a scheduled Open House.
Open House Schedule:
Wed. Feb 9 4:30 – 6:30 PM
Thurs. Feb. 24 4:30 – 6:30 PM
Wed. March 2 4:30 – 6:30 PM
912.238.1973
www.cemco.org

Applications for the 2011-2012 Pre-Kindergarten Program will be available Monday, February 7, 2011 through Friday, March 11, 2011.
Funding from the Georgia Lottery, pending approval, will provide a limited number of Pre-Kindergarten classes to be held at various SCCPSS sites during the 2011-2012 school year. Contact Coastal Empire for that schools dates.
Children will be selected through a lottery process, which will be held in late March 2011. Parents will receive written notification of acceptance or waiting list status. Applications will continue to be accepted after the classes are filled, but they will be placed in a “waiting” folder in the event that openings occur in the Pre-K classes.
Parents of children who will be four years of age prior to or on September 1, 2011 may go to any of the sites with the program to obtain an application. The Information desk at 208 Bull Street will also have applications. For more info, click here.

Wee Ones is a seasonal (twice a year) consignment event where you will find a friendly, clean, organized store to shop for children’s items. The sale features upscale, boutique quality gently loved clothing sizes newborn-12/14, shoes, toys, equipment, books and more. Consignors will make 70% profit and also have the special opportunity to SHOP first and Wee Ones does the work for you!To find out how to prepare your items for sale and to learn more about becoming a consignor, click here or email weeonessale@windstream.net.

Sale dates & times (Extended hours)
Consignor only presale: Wed. March 2 from 1pm-5pm Public sale: Thursday March 3 from 10am-8pm Public Sale: Friday March 4 from 10am-8pm Public Sale: Sat. March 5 from 10am -3pm (select items will be 1/2 price)

Wee Ones offers moms who own small business’s the opportunity to advertise! For $20 you can advertise your business in our goody bags that we give away to shoppers and hang your poster size advertisement in our store. Expose your business to lots of GREAT Mommies from Rincon, Springfield, Guyton and all the Savannah area! Email Wee Ones for details at weeonessale@windstream.net.

The popular Mommy and Me Thursday morning program at the newly renovated University of Georgia Marine Education Center and Aquarium on Skidaway Island starts in March after being on hiatus during the renovation of the aquarium, which reopens with two fun public events Feb. 25-26. Registration is for FOUR Weeks March 3-March 24, 2011. The class will be Thursdays only 9- 9:45 AM and is limited to 20 children (ages 1-4). Pre-registration is required. Closed-toed, closedheel shoes are required for both kids and participating adults. Meet at the Aquarium entrance at 8:50 a.m.  The program begins promptly at 9 AM. To register call 912-598-2496 or email fish@uga.edu.

PRE-PAYMENT REQUIRED

Cost for Aquarium Season Pass Holders

1 class: $8/”Mommy and Me” pair ($4/extra child)

5 Classes, 15 percent discount: $28/“Mommy and Me” pair ($12/extra child)

Cost for Non-Aquarium Season Pass Holders

1 Class: $10/“Mommy and Me” pair ($5/extra child)

5 Classes, 15 percent discount: $35/“Mommy and Me” pair ($15/extra child)

Coastal Kids Market is a  seasonal, upscale children’s consignment sale in Pooler just outside Savannah.

This highly popular sale offers amazing deals on high-end, gently-used boutique & trunk show clothing. Think Lilly Pulitzer, Bailey Boys, Oilily, Hannah Kate, Mini Boden, Anavini, Strasburg and Kelly’s Kids, to name a few. Consignors who volunteer at the sale get to shop early before the Preview Party as well as earn a higher percentage of their sales. Click here for more info.

Coastal Kids Market is partnering with The Next Generation to do a book drive for the Backus Children’s Hospital at Memorial. Shoppers who bring three children’s books (new or previously used in excellent condition) will get to enter the sale 15 minutes early on Opening Night!

A portion of the proceeds from the Spring Sale will be donated to the Erin Fray Medical Fund. Erin is a young Pooler mother of three and friend of Coastal Kids Market battling breast cancer. You can read about her journey on her blog by clicking here.

Coastal Kids Market Spring Sale also offers affordable opportunities to promote your business. If you want to advertise, contact Coastal Kids Market by clicking here.

Coastal Kids Market SPRING 2011 SALE DATES
Thurs. March 3, 6-8 PM
Fri. March 4, 9 AM – 5 PM
Sat. March 5, 9 AM – nooon
**Select items will be half price on Saturday
Coastal Kids Market accepts cash and credit cards. A $15 minimum purchase is required for credit cards. http://coastalkidsmarket.com/

Coastal Kids Market is a SouthernMamas sponsor.

The Savannah Soap Co.  – a new green laundromat on the Southside that can save you time and money – will host Mommy Monday each week at 10:30 AM

Each Mommy Monday will feature a different green product that’s available at  The Savannah Soap Co.   The Feb. 28 Mommy Monday will feature Earth Mama Angel Baby. The Savannah Soap Co. owner Aimee Wine will help mommies learn about this fabulous line of organic soaps, butters, lotions, and oils for mamas, moms-to-be, and their babies. The Savannah Soap Co. will be giving out  free samples, refreshments, a discount on Earth Mama Angel baby products and giving away a door prize.

Feel free to bring your children as The Savannah Soap Co. is a child-friendly environment. The Savannah Soap Co. is a SouthernMamas sponsor.

Recommended by the Smithsonian, Tim Arnold is considered to be America’s best silhouettist. All ages welcome (even your four legged friends). By appointment only so be sure to reserve your spot today! Call 912-234-5266 or email sarajanekids@comcast.net

Sara Jane Children’s Boutique is a SouthernMamas sponsor. http://sarajane.myshopify.com/

Free showing of ”WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN,” the celebrated pro-charter school documentary about the state of U.S. public education.

The founding members of a proposed local charter school, The Savannah Classical Academy: A Challenge Foundation Academy, organized a free showing of the controversial documentary. For more information, call Barbara Grimm at 912-484-6581. For more info on The Savannah Classical Academy, proposed to open in 2012, click here

The Little Lambs Spring Consignment Sale at First Presbyterian Preschool at 520 Washington Ave., Savannah , 31405 (on the corner of Washington and Paulsen streets in Ardsley Park .)

Dates of the Little Lambs sale are:
Fri., March 11, 2011 9 am-2 pm
Sat., March 12, 2011, 9 am-noon with many items half price

Items for sale include clothing (infants, children and maternity), toys, books, CD’s, baby items (strollers, car seats, boppies, etc) furniture, trikes.

Proceeds benefit First Presbyterian Preschool (a nurturing, friendly school that my children attend and love) as well as Thornwell Presbyterian Home for Children and Savannah Care Center .

If you have items to sell and want to make some money, call the preschool @ 912.351.0609. Leave you name and email address to receive a seller’s instruction packet.

Kim Spencer will share her knowledge and experience regarding Biomedical Interventions, Special Diets, and Autism Resources.
Childcare will be available; please email lowcountryautism@gmail.com to RSVP for childcare.

Join Sara Jane Children’s Boutique – a SouthernMamas sponsor – for a Sweeteas party on March 13 benefiting the March of Dimes.

Enter the world of the Sweeteas book series- where Peaches (a Savannah local) will teach you all about the sisterhood of the Sweeteas- introducing you to all of her Southern girlfriends from different cities around the South. The Sweeteas will share in the importance of friendship, love, faith, and most importantly, charity- the reason for the Sweeteas party. Proceeds from the Savannah Sweeteas party help promote healthy babies in support of the March of Dimes.

Author of the Sweeteas Rochelle Fraizer will do a book signing .

Tickets: $30 per child. Proceeds benefit the March of Dimes. All ages welcome.

Seatings are noon, 2 PM & 4 PM. Purchase tickets by clicking here. Tickets can also be purchased at Sara Jane Children’s Boutique, 202 E. 37th St., Savannah, 31401.

This week’s e-letter is sponsored by Coastal Kids Market, a seasonal, upscale children’s consignment sale in Pooler just outside Savannah.
This highly popular sale – set for March 3-5 2011 @ The Shops at Godley Station, Pooler Parkway – offers amazing deals on high-end, gently-used boutique & trunk show clothing. Think Lilly Pulitzer, Bailey Boys, Oilily, Hannah Kate, Mini Boden, Anavini, Strasburg and Kelly’s Kids, to name a few. Registration for consignors is OPEN. Remember, consignors who volunteer at the sale get to shop early before the Preview Party as well as earn a higher percentage of their sales. Click here for more info.

The below are not all the kids’ events happening this week. To read the complete list of this week’s activities for kids and families, click here.
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Super Museum Sunday 2011 is this Sun. Feb. 6
Free admission to most Savannah-area museums and forts including Savannah History Museum, Roundhouse Railroad Museum, Old Fort Jackson, Ships of the Sea Museum, Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum. For a list of local organizations participating in Super Museum Sunday 2011, click here.

Not only is admission free but most museums will have scheduled activities for the whole family such as the Colonial Faire and Muster at Wormsloe State Historic Site on Sat. and Sun. Feb 5 & 6, 2011 from 10 AM to 4 PM both days.
This event is free and open to the public. Visitors can see, hear and experience everyday life during colonial times through activities and demonstrations by on-site interpreters. There will be historical re-enactments, cannon firings, music and dance, and demonstrations of cooking and craft techniques. No Admission Fees

Special events at the Savannah-Ogeechee Canal Museum & Nature Center – free admission from 9 AM-5 PM Sun. Feb. 6 – will include ongoing events from 1-5 PM such as a Live Native Reptile Exhibit; 1930s Arts and Crafts. The Museum is located at 681 Ft. Argyle Rd. (Rte. 204) 2.3 miles past I-95. Info: (912) 748-8068 or info@savannahogeecheecanal.com.
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Pooler MOPS School Fair for the Savannah area Struggling to make the right decision on where to send our children to school? Pooler MOPS tries to make the decision a little bit easier by hosting a School Fair each year.
Wed. Feb. 2 from 9 AM-noon at First Presbyterian Church of Pooler 305 HWY 80SE, Pooler.
Public, private and home schools . The event is open and free to the public.
Interested schools can contact Liz St.Lawrence at poolermops@gmail.com if they would like to attend. A list of confirmed schools can be found by clicking here.

EF Garrison School of Visual and Performing Arts (K-8) Open House, 649 W. Jones St.
5-7 PM Thurs. Feb 3 with a presentation at 6 PM.
The new arts K-8 school at Garrison prepares students for the district’s premier high school, Savannah Arts Academy.
The school does not have an attendance zone/district. Parents who would like to chose a specialty school for their child rather than their neighborhood school may apply for admission.
(912) 395-5975

The above are not all the kids’ events happening this week. To read the complete list of this week’s activities for kids and families, click here.

UPDATE: Holly Radway is the winner!! Congratulations Holly. Thanks to everyone who entered to win!!!

This week a SouthernMamas reader will win a free 6-week session of kiddie indoor soccer with Savannah Celtic FC , which offers an amazing program for children between the ages of 30 months and 4 years old. Savannah Celtic Early Goals works to develop coordination and comfort with a soccer ball at their feet.

The winner will win her/his pick of one of two sessions:

Tuesday 5- 5:45pm Jan. 11 to Feb. 15 at SuperGoose Indoor Arena OR

Sunday 2-2:45pm Jan. 23 to Feb. 27 SuperGoose Indoor Arena

To enter to win, visit the Savannah Celtic FB Facebook page by clicking here, “like” it and write a comment about why you want your child to preschooler to play soccer this winter. Be sure to mention you read about Savannah Celtic on Facebook. We’ll pick a name at random and announce the winner here Friday. Good luck!

This winter Savannah Celtic is offering sessions INDOORS at an indoor soccer facility. Enjoy the safety of an enclosed field (walls are always good with this age), the warmth of a heated building, and the sight of your little ones having a blast playing soccer.

Now in its 8th season, ’Early Goals’ is a fun, action-packed soccer program specifically designed to cater for the youngest players ages 2 (30 months) to 4. Coaches will work on simple motor skills, ball familiarity and hopefully plant the seed for a lifetime of enjoyment.

With one session a week, ’Early Goals’ is a safe, non-competitive environment which focuses on the fundamentals of the ’beautiful game’. The season ends with a scrimmage and selection of fun activities. Every session will be overseen by one of Savannah Celtic’s professional club coaches.

Can’t wait for the giveaway? To register for the Winter 2011 season, click here.

For more info or to register your child, click here.

This week a SouthernMamas reader will win a Carol-O-Cards session and four Copies of the Picture/CD Cards.
To enter to win, just tell us one fun activity you plan to do this week from the list of kid-friendly activities listed in the online e-letter. Email your answer to anne@southernmamas.com. Deadline to enter is early this week: 6 PM Mon. Dec. 20. We’ll annouce the winner here Tues. Dec. 21.

A Savannah recording company offers a fun idea for the holidays: put your child singing a favorite Christmas Carol on your holiday card – along with holiday photo and live recorded Christmas greeting.

Carol-O-Cards are a way to give the gift of holiday cheer for Christmas! The perfect gift for grandparents and parents.

This Carol–O –Card will feature:
1. A Holiday picture of your Child or Children
2. A Christmas Photo Card
3. Live recorded Christmas Greetings
4. A recording (CD) of your child singing their favorite Christmas Carol.
A unique Gift for Christmas.

Cost: $35 with a 20 percent military discount or 15 percent SouthernMamas discount on Carol-O-Cards

Recording/Photo Sessions are by Appointment Only.
Kingdom Recording Studios
6203 Abercorn Street
Suite 300
Savannah, Georgia 31406

Make your appointment by emailing: Majestickingdomgroup@gmail.com or call 912-412-9885.

Visit Majestic Kingdom Recording Studios Web site by clicking here.

A favorite Savannah holiday light display is The Haldemans’ private home at 512 Gordonston Ave. The Haldemans decorate their house and yard as well as their neighbors’ yards and encouage the public to walk through the lights and drink free hot chocolate.

Know of great local holiday lights display? Please let us know.

Here are some Coastal Empire home holiday light displays that were well worth checking out last year. Not sure yet if these are still well-decorated spots this year. If you know, please share to anne@southernmamas.com or comment here.

• New addition to the list: 8618 Gohler. 1 street east of waters ave off montgomery x-roads. Quality bike and crossroad animal hospital are on the corner. Unique hand made holiday designs and a 4 stage animated grinch on the roof.

New addition: Sea Palm Dr in Palmetto Cove on Wilmington. Very similar to the Battery Point with the music.

New addition: For the house on Wynn Gate Road in Wilmington Park with the lights set to music: Take Wilmington Rd to Winchester Dr (1st entrance to the park) and take a left. Take a left at the next street, which is Clarendon Rd. Then take the next right on Wynn Gate Rd. It’s on the right with a sign to set your radio to 94.4. It starts off slow then escalates.

• 105 Mapmaker Lane, in Battery Point, Whitemarsh Island: computerized lights display animated with music

• 182 Mills Run Drive, off Chatham Parkway: computerized lights display animated with music (THIS ONE IS A MUST SEE!!)

• 512 Gordonston Ave., Savannah

• 711 South Drive

• 202 Blue Marlin Drive in Seagate, Whitemarsh Island

• 203 Windsor Road, Windsor Forest

• 18 Cutler Drive, Georgetown area (in the same area, drive down Lions Gate (also in Georgetown), there are several brightly-decorated homes as well as a house on Waynesboro)

• 136 Chimney Road, Rincon

• 13008 Largo Drive, Windsor Forest

•  116 Community Road in Faulkville Lakeside Farms

• 16 Godley Park Way in Pooler Pictured to the right.

• 504 E. 52 St

• Stuart St. just off Waters: a yard full of blow ups

• Three homes on Clark St, just off Montgomery Crossroads.

• Outside Savannah areaGuido Gardens, Metter GA

 Hilton Head Is./Bluffton area

Fun holiday lights display at Harbour Town, Sea Pines Resort, HHI

Harbour Town Festival of Lights November 24 – January 2

Stroll along the Harbour and enjoy the illuminated seasonal figures which include beachy ones such as dolphins, pelicans, a water-skiing Santa, flamingos and more. The centerpiece of the display being a towering 25-foot lighted Christmas tree.

FREE 2010 Holiday Matinee at Trustees Theater, downtown Savannah
Sat. Dec. 18
SCAD will host a day of free festive films Saturday, Dec. 18 at the Trustees Theater that are sure to spark the spirit of the season within audience members of all ages. The 2010 Holiday Matinee begins at 11 a.m. with a screening of “Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas,” followed by “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” at 2 p.m. The films will be preceded by a holiday sing-along with free refreshments and a visit from Santa and his elves. The event concludes with a 7 p.m. screening of “White Christmas,” a holiday classic starring Bing Crosby.
Admission is free and on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open one hour before showtime. For more information, call 912.525.5050 or visit www.savannahboxoffice.com .

UPDATE: Winner is Heather Thornton!!!

This week, a SouthernMamas reader will win four tickets  to Star Castle Family Fun Center presents Third Thursdays with Angela Beasley’s Puppet People

10:30 AM Thurs. Dec. 16; 10 AM “Run About”
The Magical Holiday Box. Fun-filled morning of puppetry and games; balloon sculptures with Sir Laughs Alot and more.
$8 per child; parents are free; $2 discount with library card
Free balloon sculptures and surprises
Star Castle at 550 Mall Blvd.
912.354.KIDS

To enter to win, email your answer to this question to anne@southernmamas.com. Read the post farther below on this page entitled “Holiday gift idea: Give children’s music classes/lessons in Savannah.” Tell us the name of the music school that will be offering early childhood parent-and-me music classes in January. Entry period closes early this week: 9 PM Tues. so we can announce the winner in time for the Thurs. AM puppet show.

A Savannah recording company offers a fun idea for the holidays: put your child singing a favorite Christmas Carol on your holiday card – along with holiday photo and live recorded Christmas greeting.

Carol-O-Cards are a way to give the gift of holiday cheer for Christmas! The perfect gift for grandparents and parents.

This Carol–O –Card will feature:
1. A Holiday picture of your Child or Children
2. A Christmas Photo Card
3. Live recorded Christmas Greetings
4. A recording (CD) of your child singing their favorite Christmas Carol.
A unique Gift for Christmas.

Cost: $35 with a 20 percent military discount or 15 percent SouthernMamas discount on Carol-O-Cards

Recording/Photo Sessions are by Appointment Only.
Kingdom Recording Studios
6203 Abercorn Street
Suite 300
Savannah, Georgia 31406

Make your appointment by emailing: Majestickingdomgroup@gmail.com or call 912-412-9885.

Visit Majestic Kingdom Recording Studios Web site by clicking here.