Pre-School

Farm Friends

Farm Friends a program for preschoolers at Spencer Peirce Little Farm Newbury Massachusetts!

Children three to six and a favorite adult of their choosing are invited to share in some fun-filled farm adventures which will connect them to daily life at Spencer Peirce Little Farm. Each week includes time with the farm animals, a story, and a related craft to take home.

A parent or guardian must attend. Younger siblings are welcome. Pre-registration is required.

When: 
Fridays, 10-11:00 am

Snakes Alive! Snake Hunt & Live Snake Show

Hunt for snakes with Rick Roth of the Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team!

The Trustees of Reservations hosts an afternoon of fun herpetology at Castle Hill on the Crane Estate with Rick Roth of the Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team! We’ll start with a hunt for local snake species around the Crane Estate, looking under logs and around the stone walls that lace the property. Capture will be strictly catch and release! We’ll then make our way to the Barn where Rick Roth, founder and executive director of the Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team and local snake expert, will present "Snakes of New England and the World." Rick cares for over 100 snakes of all different species -- even if we don’t find any slithering friends on our hunt, there will be plenty of snakes to see and learn about during the show.

When: 
Sunday, May 20, 2018 1-3pm

Who Was Book Club? - Albert Einstein

Who Was Albert Einstein?  A bookclub for kids in grades 2-5 at Newbury Town Library

This month's book club will be reading 'Who Was Albert Einstein?' and making our very own BLUBBER creations!! This Book Club meets once a month and lets kids use technology, crafts, and imagination to share what they learned in every book in the “Who Was Series”. Books will be available for pickup March 31st. Online Registration Required. **Please email Katelyn White (children's librarian) if your child has any food allergies or restrictions.

When: 
Saturday, April 28, 2018 11am-Noon

April Vacation Treks & Trails: Joppa Flats

Identifying Minnows with naturalists from the Mass Audubon Joppa Flats Education Center in Newburyport Massachusetts.  Photo by Lisa Hutchings

Joppa Flats Education Center helps families beat the blahs and keep minds active and hands busy during school break! Head out into the wild with kids and families for great outdoor explorations this April vacation. For families with children ages 3 and up, School and Youth Education Coordinator Lisa Hutchings heads a program where kids will to learn all about the "nursery of the sea" with our salt marsh science stations including live minnow ID, salinity experiments, and a chance to meet some of the live inhabitants of the salt marsh.

When: 
Thursday, April 19, 2018 10am-Noon

Junior STEAM Team

Sawyer Free Library STEAM Team for Children ages 3-6. Dwarf Galaxy Image by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory

Sawyer Free Library offers a S.T.E.A.M.* club for children ages 3-5. We will be providing STEAM, story, and sensory activities all year round with opportunities for your child to do safe science experiments, build with Duplo and other materials, play some beginner Minecraft, read stories, make art, etc. We will have a different activity each month. This program is ideal for older preschool and younger elementary school students who are not yet ready for our other afterschool programs! Please register.

When: 
Thursday, April 19, 2018 4-4:30pm

Concert with Parker Bent at GUS

Come to Glen Urquhart School in Beverly Massachusetts for a kids' concert with Parker Bent

Come to Glen Urquhart School as they host children's performer Parker Bent LIVE from LA for an exclusive free concert for kids! Parker Bent brings his original songs to over 450 kids every week throughout Los Angeles area preschools and beyond. His music is smart, cool, sophisticated, and fun. It's been played on NPR and Disney Radio, made the "recommended listen" list by the Grammys, has been featured in LA Parent Magazine, and most importantly has made tens of thousands of children laugh, dance, and sing.

When: 
Saturday, April 7, 2018 10am-Noon

Sprouting Melodies Music Program

Sprouting Melodies Music Program at Newbury Town Library

Sponsored by the Friends as well as by a grant from the Newbury Cultural Council, Family Sprouts Music Program gathers kids and families together here at the Newbury Town Library, and provides opportunities for children of different ages to learn and interact with each other. Each session includes active music making designed to elicit different responses from the children based on their cognitive, social and physical skills. Family Sprouts is for children under five and is perfect for families with more than one child. Online Registration Required as Space is limited

When: 
Thursday, April 26, 2018 10:15-11am

Sparhawk School: Big Art for Little Humans - a Free Art Class

This class is offered for children ages 3.9 - 5 years of age at Sparhawk School in Amesbury MA

Register today for this special parent & child art class series on Wednesday mornings at the Sparhawk School with Catherine Kulik, the Sparhawk Elementary & Middle School art teacher. Your child will explore diverse ways of creating art and experiment with new, engaging materials while learning about line, color, texture and notable works of art. This class is sure to engage their sensory skills as well as their innate curiosity about the visual world around them.  Each class is limited to ten children and runs for 5 week sessions.

Wind, Weather, and Snow, Oh My!

 Kids will learn about seasons, snow, wind and weather at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Newburyport.

Why do we have seasons? Why is it hotter in summer and colder in winter?  What is wind? How is it measured? How do clouds form? Where do snowflakes come from and why do they fall to Earth? Join us for fun, interactive learning activities to answer these questions about wind, weather, and snow. Learn how to make your own weather vane. Be a snowflake engineer (with the help of toothpicks and marshmallows) and take your tasty construction home! 

When: 
Sunday, March 25, 2018 1-2:30 pm

Pages

Sea Festival of Trees family fun by the beach at Blue Ocean Event Center Salisbury Massachusetts

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Saugus Iron Works Park Grounds & Estuary Walk

Take a hike along the Saugus River Estuary ande explore the Saugus Iron Works Park grounds in Massachusetts
Learn about the natural world in Saugus while ecploring the park ground ast the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Massachusetts.
7:00 am to 7:00 pm

Breakfast with Santa

Kids will enjoy breakfast with Santa at the Hamilton Wenham Community House
Come and enjoy a continental style breakfast and get your picture taken with Santa. We will also have a letter writing station and music entertainment. Following the event at 3 pm, the Musary will be sponsoring a FREE Holiday concert! Donations to The Musary will be welcome. We hope to see you!...
7:30 am to 1:30 pm

Middle Street Walk 2024

The lighting of the Lobster Trap Tree is part of Middle Street Walk's finale in Gloucester Massachusetts.
The Annual Middle Street Walk is a great way to experience Gloucester's Historic District and waterfront while having Holiday fun with the family. An updated schedule of this years walk will be available for download on December 1, 2024 at this link.
9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Music Together - Saturday

Marblehead, Beverly Farms, Hamilton, Salem, Peabody Music Together
Music Together® is a research-based music & movement program for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and the grown-ups who love them. Music Together® classes make it easy for parents/primary caregivers to play a crucial role in activating their child's music development. Classes are 45 minutes...
9:15 am to 11:15 am

Deck The Halls: Hammond Castle

A holiday themed tour of Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester Massachusetts
Come to Hammond Castle for the 6th annual Deck The Halls holiday celebration. Hammond Castle Museum will be dressed for the holidays inside and out. Delight in the enchanting ambiance of Christmas and White Birch trees, meticulously arranged garlands, festive wreaths, and the warm embrace of...
10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Sing & Dance with the Music Man

Sing & Dance with the Music Man Brian Doser in Hamilton visit Massachusetts
Come join the fun at Community House Of Hamilton & Wenham Monday, Thursday and Saturday mornings at 10am for 30 - 45 minutes of great music with Brian Doser! Sing and dance with the Music Man during a family concert, featuring familiar and original tunes, performed by local dad and musician,...
10:00 am to 10:45 am

2nd & 4th Saturday at Lynn Museum

Lynn Museum in Massachusetts offers free admission on the second Saturday of each month.
Come to the Lynn Museum and Historical Society for FREE family fun. Join us on the second and fourth Saturday of each month for FREE admission to the Museum from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.! You can view our latest exhibitions, purchase Lynn-themed goods in our shop, check out books in our free library, and...
10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Middle Street Walk Gingerbread Contest 2024

Middle Street Walk Gingerbread Contest entries can take any shape.
Everybody is invited to enter the Gingerbread Contest for the Middle Street Walk in Gloucester this year! Groups and individuals are encouraged to get creative and come up with entries that can take any shape.  All entries will be judged during the Middle Street walk with winners being announced at...
10:00 am to 3:00 pm

CraneOutdoors: Family Snowy Owl Prowl

Join the Trustees of Reservations at the Crane Wildlife Refuge in Ipswich Massachusetts in search of the Snowy Owl!
Wide-open coastal sites are the location of choice for wintering Snowy Owls; common perches are dunes and salt hay staddles. In winters past, these owls have been frequent visitors to the Crane Wildlife Refuge.
10:00 am to 12:00 pm

CraneExplorer: Coastal Holiday Crafts

Make holiday gifts with beach treasures from the Crane Wildlife Refuge in Ipswich Massachusetts
This holiday season, give a gift from the sea! Beach treasures make beautiful holiday ornaments, jewelry, and keepsakes. Join this workshop to take a beach walk to collect coastal treasures and then make some coastal crafts with our educators. Bring your own shells and beach treasures and we will...
10:00 am to 3:00 pm

A Colorful Christmas at Castle Hill

A Colorful Christmas by the Sea is a weekend of festivities hosted by the Trustees of Reservations at Castle Hill in Ipswich Massachusetts
Visiting Castle Hill at Christmas is a time-honored tradition. Don’t miss this year’s Travels with the Cranes. Each room in our 1920s mansion is decorated for the holidays drawing inspiration from Crane travels around the world, including Paris, Japan, Egypt, and New York.
10:00 am to 8:00 pm

Second Saturdays at Cape Ann Museum

Second Saturdays mean free admission for local Families at Cape Ann Museum!
The Museum is free all day for Cape Ann residents* on the second Saturday of every month in 2024! The second Saturday of every month is free for Cape Ann families. Pre-registration and timed tickets are required.
10:00 am to 6:00 pm

Deck the Docks at Maritime Gloucester

Deck the Docks at on the Gloucester Massachusetts Waterfront and join the holiday cheer!
Come to Maritime Gloucester for fun holiday happenings on the waterfront in Gloucester Massachusetts!
10:00 am to 7:00 pm

Santa's Workshop

Santa's Workshop in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Visit Newburyport MA during the holidays
Newburyport is a favorite local town to shop - especially during the holidays. The fantastic lights downtown, the tree in Market Square, all the beautifully decorated window boxes and of course, Santa's Workshop, where the kids can whisper their wishes to Santa.
11:00 am to 2:00 pm

Ipswich Jingle Bell Walk

Join friends and family for a day of holiday festivities and cheer! Sing carols with Buddy the Elf while waiting for Santa’s arrival.
Greet Santa as he arrives at Town Wharf on East Street, at the north end end of Water Street, in Ipswich!  Come sing carols with Buddy the Elf as we await Santa’s arrival.  Jingle Bells will be available for purchase.  Jingle your bells and follow our honored guest and Buddy the Elf on a festive “...
11:00 am to 1:30 pm

Gingerbread Contest at Wenham Museum

Wenham Museum Gingerbread Contest is free to enter and open to all!
Everyone's invited to enter Wenham Museum’s gingerbread contest! Individuals, families, groups, teams–all are encouraged to create a Gingerbread House for this friendly community competition.
12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

The Nutcracker by Greater Salem Ballet

The Greater Salem Ballet performs the Nutcracker at Lynn Auditorium featuring more than 100 children and adults from the North Shore!
Join Greater Salem Ballet Company for their annual performance of 'The Nutcracker' at the at Lynn Memorial Auditorium at Lynn City Hall!  Follow Clara on her magical journey.
12:00 pm

Free Holiday Concert in Hamilton

The Musary performs A Charlie Brown Christmas at the The Community House in Hamilton Massachusetts
The Musary brings Charlie Brown's Christmas to The Community House!
3:00 pm

A Christmas Carol Panto

Theater in the Open celebrates the holidays with their interpretation of Dickens' Christmas Carol at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport!
Bah, humbug! Theater in the Open celebrates the holiday season with this Dickens classic, presented in true TITO style. So be prepared for anything to happen!  
3:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Winter Solstice Walk

Come celebrate the Winter solstice at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary with a night time walk using lanterns!
Celebrate the shortest day of the year and welcome the lengthening days ahead with a candlelit evening walk on the trails of the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary. The evening will begin by making your own lantern in our cozy, heated barn while sanctuary naturalists share the science of solstice....
4:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Trustees Winterlights at Stevens Coolidge Place

The Trustees of Reservations Winterlights at the Stevents-Coolidge Place North Andover North Andover.
Winterlights is back! Join the Trustees for a magical outdoor experience at Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, and see the gardens aglow with your favorite light installations as well as marveling at new components. Bring the whole family for a fun and safe outdoor experience. Winterlights runs...
4:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Night Tree Celebration at Appleton Farms

Come to Appleton Farms in Ipswich Massachusetts to celebrate the holiday tradition of the Night Tree
Join the Trustees of Reservations at Appleton for this holiday tradition to feed the animals of the forest from your own handcrafted edible ornament. We will begin the night in our historic carriage barn where we will cozy in with hot cocoa and popcorn to read the holiday classic tale “Night Tree”...
6:00 pm to 7:30 pm

NCS Winter Concert - Liminous Night

Newburyport Choral Society Winter Concert featuring Contemporary Norwegian Christmas music.
Luminous Night includes a contemporary Norwegian piece on the beauty and mystery of a winter night, Christmas carols arranged with rich textures by Alice Parker, "A Jubilant Song" by Norman Dello Joio, and Latin American, Chanuka, and seasonal favorites.
7:30 pm

Saturday, December 28

Deck The Halls: Hammond Castle

A holiday themed tour of Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester Massachusetts
Come to Hammond Castle for the 6th annual Deck The Halls holiday celebration. Hammond Castle Museum will be dressed for the holidays inside and out. Delight in the enchanting ambiance of Christmas and White Birch trees, meticulously arranged garlands, festive wreaths, and the warm embrace of...
10:00 am to 4:00 pm

CraneOutdoors: Family Snowy Owl Prowl

Join the Trustees of Reservations at the Crane Wildlife Refuge in Ipswich Massachusetts in search of the Snowy Owl!
Wide-open coastal sites are the location of choice for wintering Snowy Owls; common perches are dunes and salt hay staddles. In winters past, these owls have been frequent visitors to the Crane Wildlife Refuge.
10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Trustees Winterlights at Stevens Coolidge Place

The Trustees of Reservations Winterlights at the Stevents-Coolidge Place North Andover North Andover.
Winterlights is back! Join the Trustees for a magical outdoor experience at Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, and see the gardens aglow with your favorite light installations as well as marveling at new components. Bring the whole family for a fun and safe outdoor experience. Winterlights runs...
4:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Sunday, December 29

Saugus Iron Works Park Grounds & Estuary Walk

Take a hike along the Saugus River Estuary ande explore the Saugus Iron Works Park grounds in Massachusetts
Learn about the natural world in Saugus while ecploring the park ground ast the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Massachusetts.
7:00 am to 7:00 pm

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Tower School Tower Tots

Tower School Tower Tots: PARENT & TODDLER WORKSHOPS Marblehead Massachusetts
Our free Parent and Toddler Workshops are teacher-led, interactive, fun and open to everyone! Each workshop has its own unique theme—incorporating music, art, read-aloud stories and sensory explorations—selected to delight children aged 2–4.
9:00 am to 10:00 am

A Colorful Christmas at Castle Hill

A Colorful Christmas by the Sea is a weekend of festivities hosted by the Trustees of Reservations at Castle Hill in Ipswich Massachusetts
Visiting Castle Hill at Christmas is a time-honored tradition. Don’t miss this year’s Travels with the Cranes. Each room in our 1920s mansion is decorated for the holidays drawing inspiration from Crane travels around the world, including Paris, Japan, Egypt, and New York.
10:00 am to 8:00 pm

CraneOutdoors: Sunday Family Snowy Owl Prowl

Join the Trustees of Reservations at dlife Refuge in Ipswich Massachusetts in search of the Snowy Owl!
Wide-open coastal sites are the location of choice for wintering Snowy Owls; common perches are dunes and salt hay staddles. In winters past, these owls have been frequent visitors to the Crane Wildlife Refuge.
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Trustees Winterlights at Stevens Coolidge Place

The Trustees of Reservations Winterlights at the Stevents-Coolidge Place North Andover North Andover.
Winterlights is back! Join the Trustees for a magical outdoor experience at Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, and see the gardens aglow with your favorite light installations as well as marveling at new components. Bring the whole family for a fun and safe outdoor experience. Winterlights runs...
4:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Monday, December 30

Saugus Iron Works Park Grounds & Estuary Walk

Take a hike along the Saugus River Estuary ande explore the Saugus Iron Works Park grounds in Massachusetts
Learn about the natural world in Saugus while ecploring the park ground ast the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Massachusetts.
7:00 am to 7:00 pm
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