The Center for Wildlife Education and and The Lamar Q Ball, Jr. Raptor Center at Georgia Southern in Statesboro will reopen on Mon. Oct. 5, 2020 after closing in March due to COVID-19.

Find visitor guidelines regarding the reopening here.

Come check out the new waterfowl observation deck. This walk-in deck is now open to the public and allows for up close encounters with the center’s waterfowl.

The center’s collection has grown both in number and in species, making the Wildlife Center home to one of the largest waterfowl aviaries in the state of Georgia.

Other features of the Wildlife Education Center include a Discovery Trail which includes a opossum and skunk; a Habitat Walk includes a live bald eagle in her nest; 10 displays housing several live birds; a wetland preserve with ducks and wading birds, a playground; and “Discovery Logs” where kids can crawl inside and see encased ladybugs, grasshoppers, frogs, beetles and more.

Hours of Operation
Monday-Friday: 9AM-4:45PM
Saturday and Sunday: Closed to the public.

LEARN MORE HERE. 

Looking for a fun, socially-distant way for your family to enjoy the outdoors and burn off some energy?

Join Savannah Tree Foundation for a family-friendly, nature-based scavenger hunt Sat. Oct. 10, 2-4PM in Juliette Low Park. Search for tree-related natural items throughout the park. Learn about different leaf types, what seeds animals like to snack on, and more.

The first team to finish the scavenger hunt will win STF t-shirts for the whole family.

This will be a day of learning and adventure.

RSVP at the ticket link here, as this event will be limited to a capacity of 50 people.

RSVP online here.

Event’s COVID safety protocols:
Face masks will be required. Hand sanitizer and gloves will be provided. Prior to the event, please DO NOT ATTEND if: You or a member of your household has tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 2 weeks, you or a member of your household has had a fever, or you or a member of your household is waiting to receive results of a COVID-19 test.

Sat. Oct. 10, 2020 @ 2-4PM
Juliette Low Park in Savannah’s Gordonston neighborhood
Hosted by Savannah Tree Foundation

Bring your family and friends to Fort King George State Historic Site in nearby Darien for a Private Escape Room experience on Fridays and Saturday nights in October 2020.

Each session is exclusive to one party (no need to play with strangers). These rooms are designed for groups of 4 to 8 people.

Pre-registration is required, $25 per person.

Register or learn more here or call 912-437-4770.

Fort King George State Historic Site
302 McIntosh Road SE
Darien, GA 31305
McIntosh County

Impressionism Free Family Weekend
Nov. 13 at 10AM–Nov. 15 2020 at 5PM
@ Telfair Museums’ Jepson Center in Savannah

Families can explore Telfair’s beloved collection of impressionist art in a new light at the Jepson Center in this weekend of free admission for Savannah and Chatham County residents. Family Activity Kits include scavenger hunts in the museum galleries along with at-home art making kits. Family Weekends are free of admission to the Jepson Center only for City of Savannah and Chatham County residents. Investment is provided by the City of Savannah.

Learn more here.

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Telfair Museums is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser 

DRIVE UP Fall Festival 2020 @ Trinity Lutheran Church in Savannah

Sat. Oct. 24 2020

10AM-1PM (while supplies last)

Drive up for a free goodie bag filled with candy and goodies. Kids are encouraged to wear costumes

FREE & open to the public

Trinity Lutheran Church, 12391 Mercy Blvd. Savannah 31419

Two Sisters Travel: Disney discount for Georgia and S.C. residents

Ready to escape these unprecedented times and have fun with your family? Walt Disney World has re-opened and the magic is alive.

For a limited time, Georgia and South Carolina residents can save up to 30% on their stay at Walt Disney World Resort hotels now through December 25, 2020.

With limited capacity inside the theme parks, now is the perfect time to visit! Take advantage of low crowds and incredible deals to experience new attractions or the classics.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios has opened 2 brand new lands, Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land. Both offering exciting new attractions, entertainment and dining venues!

Not sure what visiting a theme park is like right now? Two Sisters Travel has visited them and can give you all of the insider details to make your getaway stress-free!

Contact your Authorized Disney Vacation Planner at Two Sisters Travel now and let’s plan your magical getaway. And remember, their concierge travel planning services are always FREE!!

Tara McCoy
Travel Advisor at Two Sisters Travel
843.284.3241
Become a Facebook fan at facebook.com/twosisterstravel

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Two Sisters Travel is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser

At-Home Kids’ Activity from Savannah Cultural Arts Center

Here’s a fun way your kids can use up a little extra black coffee for an abstract art activity.

What we love about this project is there are no wrong answers, no special tools needed, and it is fun for kids and adults!

Download the instructions from the Savannah Cultural Arts Center here, or watch the video on their Facebook page.

See the instructions online here. 

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Savannah Cultural Arts Center is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser

Holiday Farms The Great Pumpkin Patch 2020, Ridgeland SC

Holiday Farms’ 13th annual THE GREAT PUMPKIN PATCH will be open for the 2020 season from Oct. 2-31 2020.

Live pig races every day. Wagon rides, farm fun & pumpkins.

Opening Day: Oct. 2 2020

Oct. 2-31 2020, Holiday Farms will be open to the public on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 9AM-6PM and Sundays Noon-6PM.

Military Appreciation Day: Oct. 3 2020. Half price admission for immediate family with military ID.

Special Monday hours on Columbus Day-Mon. Oct. 12. Open 9AM-6PM. 

Live music by the Nautical Wheelers on Saturdays 11AM-3PM and Sundays 1-4PM.
Concessions Thursdays-Sundays 11AM-5PM.

Stay connected about other events at Holiday Farms by liking their Facebook page here.

Holiday Farms, 10884 Grays Hwy, Ridgeland, SC 29936, (843) 726-5527, email holidayfarms@yahoo.com
www.holidayfarmssc.com  Holiday Farms is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser 

You & your family are invited to get a first-hand glimpse of all the amazing opportunities available for students in Pre-K through 12th grade through private tours of Calvary Day School in Savannah 

Calvary Day School private tours are the perfect chance to see what today’s learners are doing to become tomorrow’s leaders.

Learn more here

Calvary Day School, 4625 Waters Ave, Savannah

Private Tours

Campus Tours are by appointment and are offered Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays throughout the school year. Please call the admissions department at (912) 351-0700 or email admissions@calvarydayschool.com to schedule your tour.

To learn more about Calvary Day School, visit their website at www.calvarydayschool.com.

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Kindermusik Savannah with 88 Keys Piano

In-person Move & Groove class for ages 4-7

Beginning next Monday, Kindermusik’s “Move and Groove“ class for ages 4-7 is moving back to the studio.

Join Kindermusik Savannah at 4PM every Monday for a thrilling musical experience with your older children. First trial class is free. Text 912-432-5885 for more info,  or visit kindermusikwith88keys.com.

Visit 88keyspiano.com.

Kindermusik Savannah is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser 

Advanced Academics new fall schedule 2020 is now posted here. 

New fall schedule for homeschool program, early learners as well as enrichment classes. Enrichment classes are open to the public.

Advanced Academics in Pooler microschool offers full-day sessions for homeschoolers and early learners on a small campus in Pooler.

Advanced Academics can customize education for each child.

Advanced Academics
email: adv.aca.mail@gmail.com
912-348-2017
405 Hwy 80, Suite 104
Pooler, GA 31322

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Advanced Academics is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser 

Dr Misal Patel

Looking for a primary care physician in Pooler?

SouthCoast Health, a medical leader across the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry, welcomes Dr. Misal Patel to its ever-growing roster medical experts.

Dr. Patel is now seeing patients at the newly-expanded Pooler location (Godley Station Professional Park, 1000 Towne Center Blvd., Building 1200, Pooler). A Savannah native, Dr. Patel specializes in a variety of primary care services, and specializes in preventive care and management of chronic diseases.

Learn more here.

SouthCoast Health is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser 

Not interested in Savannah-Chatham public schools proposed hybrid approach for your child?

Here’s an alternative: YMCA of Coastal Georgia branches in the Savannah area offer E-Camp – where students can do their school work in a supervised environment.

YMCA E-Camp is a day camp program that’s already under way and provides E-campers with a safe, designated time and place to complete virtual coursework on their individual devices followed by an active, engaging afternoon summer day camp program.

To learn more or register, visit here.

YMCA of Coastal Georgia is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser

“Where’s Noble Bones?” Halloween-themed scavenger hunt @ Wormsloe State Historic Site

Help find one of Savannah’s founders — Noble Jones — who has lost all of his Noble Bones. Every Saturday in October 2020, Wormsloe State Historic Site in Savannah will host a spooky scavenger hunt. It gives families a perfect way to get outdoors and enjoy nature and history while scaring up Halloween fun.

Guests will make their way to the museum where they will find QR codes giving the first clue to begin their journey. The first clue will lead you to the first “Bones” family member hidden on the main trail. Near this skeleton will be the next QR code with the next clue. After locating the fourth Bone’s family member, it will lead you to your final destination.

The scavenger hunt is free with admission, which ranges from $4.50 children to $10 adults. Every Saturday will offer a different experience with unique locations and clues for locating the skeletons.

Wormsloe State Historic Site
7601 Skidaway Rd
Savannah, 31406.
912-353-3023.

Time to sign up your child for Scribble Art Studio in Savannah’s popular after school art classes for ages 5 and older as well as their Portfolio Builders’ Class for older children.

Classes run on:
Mondays: 4:30-5:30PM & 5:15-6:15PM
Tuesdays: 4:30-5:30PM & 5:15-6:15PM
Thursdays: 4:30-5:30PM & 5:15-6:15PM

Both the General Art classes and Portfolio Builders class run each day at both times for your convenience. You pick the day and time that works best for you. OPEN ENROLLMENT!

Classes run in 5 week sessions for $200. All supplies included.

Check out Scribble Art Studio’s updated website here.

Open enrollment. Register today at www.scribbleartstudio.com

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Birthday Parties & New Adult Workshops, too

Birthday Parties

Celebrate your child’s next birthday party at Scribble Art Studio where you’ll enjoy your choice of guided art project and then leave the mess for Scribble to clean up.

Adult Workshops

Host a creative escape for your crew at the studio. Scribble is now booking parties for you and your friends to try your hand at printmaking, or acrylic or watercolor painting.

Questions? Call Geoff at 202-379-5643

Scribble Art Studio
212 E. 37th St.
Savannah, GA 31401

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Scribble Art Studio is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser 

For all educational institutions, teaching during a pandemic is challenging to say the least. Different strategies and methods are being used to deliver instruction, and there are challenges and successes.

The Savannah-Lowcountry community is invited to learn more about those during Georgia Tech Savannah’s next virtual Learners and Leaders session, which will focus on public education in a pandemic.

Register online here for this free event. 

The online program will be 8-9:30AM Thurs. Oct. 8 and is free to all participants, though registration is required.

Panelists include Dr. Lizanne DeStefano, executive director of CEISMC at Georgia Tech; Dr. M. Ann Levett, superintendent of Savannah-Chatham County Public School System; Dr. Yancy Ford, superintendent of Effingham County Schools; and Dr. Paul Brooksher, Superintendent of Bryan County Schools. Each panelist will speak about their experiences with holding classes on a variety of different platforms and the planning that went into each system’s approach for dealing with COVID-19. Attendees will also have the opportunity to submit written questions that may be posed to the panelists by the program facilitator if time permits.

Find more info about Georgia Tech-Savannah’s Learners and Leaders program or register here for Public Education in a Pandemic session or call 912-966-7922.

Meet the SMF Jazz Academy’s 2020-21 Artist Instructors

If you have a child enrolled in Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools who plays a musical instrument or is interested in learning to play a musical instrument, please check out the free Savannah Musical Festival’s virtual Jazz Academy.

Registration is open now for the Fall 2020 semester of SMF Jazz Academy. Enroll online here. 

Open to all students in the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System. Open to all music levels.

This a flexible program that’s able to adapt to student’s needs and give them the skills to grow their creativity. It’s being offered virtually for fall 2020 and already serving students in jazz music education.

Here’s what’s included for each student FOR FREE:

Depending on musical level, students are provided the following:
1) 2 days a week (either Mon and Tues or Wed and Thurs) of Jazz Music Classes (online)
2) Private instrument lessons with one of SMF Jazz Academy Artist Instructors (pictured above)
3) If your student needs an instrument or practice materials, SMF Academy has some for them that they can rent for FREE.

My 6th-grade daughter is enrolled and has already had a few of the sessions. She had her first private lesson today and loved it. She’s been taking saxophone for a year now and is a beginner. I’ve never seen her so spirited about her instrument until after today’s lesson. SMF Jazz Academy has been a welcome bright spot in my daughter’s distance learning during this complicated season of virtual education.

SMF Jazz Academy is currently accepting beginning, intermediate and advanced students. Previous musical experience is not required.

Enroll online here. 

Questions? Contact Jessica Messere at jessica@savannahmusicfestival.org or 912.234.3378 x107.

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Halloween 2020 guidelines warn against typical trick-or-treating.

Find details as well as safer alternatives here.

Advanced Academics in Pooler, which provides education services for early learners and homeschoolers, now offers full day sessions starting Oct. 1 for 1st-5th grade students.

Learn more here. 

Advanced Academics offers customized learning PreK – 5th, face to face, on a small campus. Students may enroll at anytime during the year. Four year old’s may begin after their birthday.

This is a microschool, which does mean a small campus, but it also means that Advanced Academics can customize education for each child.

Advanced Academics
email: adv.aca.mail@gmail.com
912-348-2017
405 Hwy 80, Suite 104
Pooler, GA 31322

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Advanced Academics is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser 

SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah has reopened to the public.

SCAD MOA is now open Thursday-Sunday with five new exceptional exhibitions.

Find tickets and more information about exhibitions, hours, and new safety procedures at scadmoa.org

Children younger than 14 are free.

The SCAD Museum of Art offers a unique experience for study and discovery. With checklists, lesson plans, visual aids and more, these educational guides provide information for teachers and parents to prepare themselves and students for learning opportunities at the museum and the Walter O. Evans Center for African-American Studies.

The SCAD Museum of Art is housed in an 1853 brick structure that was once a railway depot for the Central of Georgia Railway.

SCAD Museum of Art
601 Turner Blvd.
Savannah, GA

SCAD Museum of Art is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser 

If you’re feeling ready to explore again, the world is re-opening for travel and the deals are some of the best we’ve ever seen!

Take advantage of the low crowds and the 2-days free ticket offer for a last minute vacation at Universal Orlando Resort this fall. You can even package with their convenient onsite hotels for even bigger savings.

Not sure what it’s like visiting a theme park right now?

Two Sisters Travel visited last month and have all of the firsthand knowledge and experience to help you navigate the travel options for your family.

If you’re looking to plan a trip to Universal Orlando Resort or any vacation, contact Two Sisters Travel team of professional travel advisors.

Two Sisters Travel will help you make vacation planning easier, and there’s no fee for their services.

Tara McCoy
Two Sisters Travel
843.284.3241

Two Sisters Travel is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser

Low Country Counseling in Savannah on Binge Eating Disorder

For those who struggle with binge eating, food can lead to anxiety and shame.

This eating pattern has many names: emotional eating, over-eating, compulsive eating, food addiction, etc. They all mean the same thing: that eating has become an adaptation to dealing with negative feelings and experiences. And then a terrible cycle ensues: eating, shame, and then fasting or dieting to “do better.” This cycle can feel lonely and endless. And hence the question, “Why Can’t I Stop Eating?”

The answer may be Binge Eating Disorder (BED). BED is the most common eating disorder, however it was only recently recognized officially.

Learn more about causes of BED, tips to reduce binge eating and 5 signs of binge eating disorder here.

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Low Country Counseling in Savannah

If you or a loved one is in need of support, Low Country Counseling offers specialized therapy for individuals, moms, couples, families, and teens. Contact Low Country Counseling for any questions or to schedule an appointment. Help is available.

Low Country Counseling is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser 

Every Thursday from Oct. 1 until Nov. 19, marine educators at the UGA Aquarium in Savannah will host virtual after-school programs designed to inspire wonder and curiosity about the Georgia coast by featuring various activities and animals.

These After School at the Aquarium programs will include a mix of art, nature journaling, science demonstrations and virtual animal encounters that provide exciting learning experiences for participants. Children of all ages are welcome, but activities are designed for children ages 6-12 with an accompanying adult. Adult supervision is required for the duration of the webinar.

Each program will be held via zoom webinar from 4-4:45PM. These After School at the Aquarium programs will include a mix of art, nature journaling, science demonstrations and virtual animal encounters that provide fun learning experiences about the ocean.

Course outline
10/1- Sounds around me
10/8- Fish Tales
10/15-Patterns on the Coast
10/22-Home Herpetology
10/29-Ocean Pollution Solutions
11/5- Marsh Mysteries
11/12-Seafood Snack-time
11/19-Turtle-y Awesome Art

Course Fee: $5

Register online here. 

Kindermusik Savannah with 88 Keys Piano will have their fall recital outdoors in a covered pavilion on a stage.

If your little one starts lessons now, they could perform for this recital on Nov. 14 2020.

Come see why community recitals are a huge motivator and inspiration to Kindermusik’s music students ages 6+.

For more info, or to set up your child’s free 15-trial lesson, text 912-432-5885 or visit 88keyspiano.com.

Kindermusik Savannah is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser