Books for Sale!

What: Book Sales and Signing for 100+ Free and Cheap Things to do in Atlanta with Kids
When: Saturday, June 4, 2011 from 2 – 4 pm
Where: Gwinnett Place Mall Kidgits Club Super Duper Mini Chefs
Cost: Kidgit’s Club members are free, Non-members join for $5 for the entire year. Books are $9.99 each

What: Book Sales and Signing and FREE Outdoor Movie (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2)
Where: Sunday, June 5, 2011 at 8 pm
Where: Morris Brandon Elementary School Main Campus
Cost: Books are $9.99 each, Movie is free (concessions available for a fee)

If you’ve been waiting to get your copy of 100+ Free and Cheap Things to Do in Atlanta with Kids, the wait is over. Join us this weekend for two fun events where you’ll also be able to purchase a book.

On Saturday, June 4 from 2 – 4 pm we’ll be at Gwinnett Place Mall lower level, Belk Wing, selling books during the Simon Kidgits Super Duper Mini Chef’s program. Super Duper Mini Chefs allows families to stir up some tasty fun with a smorgasbord of exciting activities for kids and parents, including food-related arts and crafts projects and prize giveaways. Kids can build their culinary skills with this hands-on, fun-with-food event. If you can’t make this Saturday, but still want to participate in Super Duper Mini-Chef’s, the program will be at the Mall of Georgia on Saturday, June 12, 2011 from 2 – 4 pm in the Nordstrom Court – but you’ll have to buy your book online at www.fieldtripswithsue.com/100free, we’re only selling books at the Gwinnet Place event.

My faithful and cute salesmen

Looking to find us intown? On Sunday, June 5, we’ll be at Morris Brandon Elementary School for an outdoor screening of Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2 thanks to Southern Outdoor Cinema. Bring a blanket and some cool treats and join us in the Brandon Backyard. A portion of all book sales will be donated to the Morris Brandon Elementary School PTA. You don’t need to be a Brandon student or alumni to join us, everyone is welcome, so invite your friends and neighbors. No purchase necessary to enjoy the movie.

What: Build-a-Bear Workshop
Where: Northpoint Mall, Towne Center Mall and others
When: Anytime
Cost: Bears begin at $10
Pictures: For additional pictures of Build-a-Bear, visit Field Trips with Sue on Facebook

I love experiential gifts, so last week I took my youngest to Build-a-Bear Workshop for his birthday where he chose a bear and outfit as his present. Even though I have three children, this was my first time going to Build-a-Bear, now I wish I had taken the other two when they were small.

The first stop on the adventure is a wall of different animals. My son picked out a stuffed bear shell. Next up is the stuffing station. He handed his bear shell to the associate, who stuffed him full all the while talking to my son about his bear (and his birthday) and even gave him a sticker. At the very end, she had him pick out a heart and place it inside his bear before she sewed him up.

Once we had the bear stuffed, it was on to the fluffing station, where the bear was blown dry and my son brushed his fur. After that, we went to the computers to name the bear and create a birth certificate. He named him Black Knight and we picked up the certificate at check out. Next we moved to the dressing room where we tried on several outfits (excuse me, I was told by my brother that boys don’t have outfits, it’s gear), sooo… we tried on several things before we settled on karate gear.

At the checkout, I noticed that Black Knight had some fur that wasn’t so, well, furry. The associate took out her needle and thread and fixed his bald spot right there all the while assuring my son that his bear was being very brave and not making a peep during his surgery.

I was very impressed with the Build-a-Bear set up and surprised that the bears themselves were not that expensive – starting at a very affordable $10 and going up to $25. Our bear even came with an online game similar to WebKinz called Bearville.com. The outfits are what will get you and the cheapest I found was a t-shirt for $6. That said, my son announced un-provoked on the way out of the store that this was the best birthday present ever! Score one for Mom.

What: Kidgits Club Groovy Sixties Party
Where: Gwinnett Place Mall (Belk Wing)
When: Sat., Aug. 21, 2010, 2 – 4 pm
Cost: Free for Kidgit Members or sign up onsite for $5 annual membership fee

Simon Malls Kidgits Club has lots of fun activities for toddlers, pre-schoolers and young elementary students. There is always something fun going on at one of the Simon Malls and the Kidgits Club sounds like a pretty good deal. For a $5 annual membership fee, you get all the parties FREE.

This weekend is a 60′s party at Gwinnett Place Mall. There will be songs, games and a trivia contest based on TV and pop cluture of the 1960′s. My current favorite show is Mad Men, where we’ve just entered 1965. As kids after school our local TV channel always had re-runs of Get Smart, To Catch a Theif and Bat Man. I think I could hold my own in the trivia contest. There will even be a Sixties costume contest with prizes, so get your Halloween costume a bit early and join the fun. Then check out the Kidgit’s website for more fun and games coming this fall.

Wheel of Wow on the Webkinz Road Trip

What: Webkinz Road Trip
When and Where:
July 15: 10 – 2 pm, Parsons, 525 Lakeland Plaza, Cumming, Ga. (770)887-9991
July 16: 11 – 7 pm, Melissa’s Hallmark, 130 Woodstock Sq. Ave., Woodstock, Ga. (770) 516-2918
July 17: 11 – 5 pm, Learning Express, 7300 N. Point Pkwy, Alpharetta (770)740-1523
Cost: FREE

If you’re kids are Webkinz fans, they’ll definately be interested in the Webkinz Road Trip. There isn’t a ton of information on this one, but it looks like there will be activities, games, prizes and a free feature code card for an exclusive online Webkinz Van for your Webkinz. Thanks to our friends @indepthwraps for letting us know about this one.

Notice the Cool Vans Wrapped by our Friends In-Depth Wraps

If you are interested in attending, I would recommend calling the location beforehand to get more details.

A friend once told me she was surprised I could keep this blog going for over a year. “I would have thought you’d run out of things to write about,” she said. Well I am continually amazed at how many cool, fun things there are to do in Atlanta. I’m even more amazed that there are so many free and inexpensive things to do.

Here is a fantastic list of free and inexpensive summer activities for families from Amy Ryan and Amy Rice. We’ve reviewed many of these activities on this blog, so if you want a little more info, use the search box on the right column of the blog to find the post. There are also several videos we’ve reviewed at www.youtube.com/suerodman.

Thank you to Brandi Diamond, Pam Hansen, Patty Harris and Jaime Lackey who forwarded the Amy’s email to me. As summer begins, be sure to tell your family, friends and caregivers to subscribe (it’s FREE) to Field Trips with Sue via email, or Facebook and follow @suerodman on twitter for fun activities throughout the summer.

The kids are almost out of school and the days are getting longer, which means it’s time for summer movies! There are lots of places around Atlanta to catch FREE outdoor movies. Here is a list of several locations, if you know others, tell us. Movies generally begin at dusk, but most locations have pre-movie activities too. Click the links for additional information on what you can bring and other activities in addition to the movies. Thanks to Rana Cash, Atlanta Bargain Hunter for a great starter list.

Atlantic Station: Movies at the Market
May 20: Shrek  The Third
May 27: A Hard Day’s Night
June 3: The Karate Kid
June 10:The Great Race
June 17: Back to the Future
June 24: Mamma Mia!
July 1: Grease
July 8: Singing in the Rain
July 15: Men in Black
July 22: The Philadelphia Story
July 29: Dirty Dancing

City of Kennesaw’s Outdoor Movie Series
June 12: Monsters vs. Aliens
Oct. 2: TBD

East Cobb Park
June 25: Wizard of Oz
Check the website for additional shows

Flicks on 5th (Free Popcorn here, Yeah! Here’s a post I did in 2009 that includes info on parking)
June 9: Sherlock Holmes
June 16: The Hangover
June 23: The Blind Side
July 7: The Hurt Locker
July 14: Fantastic Mr. Fox
July 21: Hot Tub Time Machine

High Museum of Art
May 28: American Graffiti

Johns Creek: Newton Park
June 5: TBD
July 10: TBD
Sept. 4: TBD

Mall of Georgia: Movies Under the Stars
May 29: Hook
June 5: Planet 51
June 12: Field of Dreams
June 19: The Tooth Fairy
June 26: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
July 4: Transformers
July 10: The Blind Side
July 17: Fantastic Mr. Fox
July 24: Back to The Future 3
July 31: Alvin and The Chipmunks The Squeakquel

Piedmont Park: Screen on the Green (Here’s video of last year’s Screen on the Green at Centennial Olympic Park)
May 27: National Treasure
June 3: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
June 10: Dreamgirls
June 17: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
June 24: Jurassic Park

Roswell: Riverside Park
May 29: Fantastic Mr. Fox
July 17: The Blind Side

W Perimeter Hotel: Dive-In Movie
June 1: St. Elmo’s Fire
June 8: Sherlock Holmes
June 15: Invictus
June 22: Mommy Dearest
June 29: The Hangover
July 6: Transfomers 2
July 13: The Lovely Bones
July 20: To Wong Foo
July 27: The Blind Side

I love being in studio at CBS Better Mornings Atlanta when they have fun guests. This morning I got to meet Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat! I love Curious George.  You can see them too this week at the Fox Theatre.

If you missed this morning’s Field Trips with Sue segments on BMA, we announced the winner of the tickets to see South Pacific at the Fox Theatre. Our winner is Gail! Congratulations.

If you missed it, here’s a wrap up of the segment that featured posts from this week:

Stone Mountain Fun Break Deals
North Georgia Eco Canopy Tour (aka ziplining) deal
BOGO Offer to see South Pacific at the Fox Theatre
$5 Tickets for the Braves vs. White Sox exhibition game this weekend

And here’s a preview of the posts we have for you next week:

FREE Golf Lessons  and More FREE Golf Lessons
Spring Football at the University of Georgia
FREE Concerts at Centennial Olympic Park (look for a post next week)

What: Laughing Pizza in Concert
Where: GPTV, 260 14th Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30318 
When: Sun., March 14, doors open at 2 pm, concert at 3 pm
Cost: $15 per adult, $10 per child (or win tickets here, see below for details)

Laughing Pizza, the musical group for kids that appears on PBS and the Disney Channel will be playing a hometown concert (they live in Atlanta) on Sunday, March 14 at the GPTV building on 14th St. in Midtown. The concert is the official kick-off for their new CD and video “Let’s Go Play.” They’ll also have a special meet and greet after the show. Yours truly will be introducing them and hanging out for the show.

I’d heard of Laughing Pizza before, but hadn’t really listened to any of the songs until Kim Elkins, an Associate Pizza, gave my youngest a box of CDs, videos and a t-shirt I can’t get off him. We’ve been jamming to the Pizza’s ever since.

If you can’t make it down to the performance at GPTV, the band has a “Meet & Greet” at Towne Center at Cobb on Sat. March 13 at 12 noon. Fans can have a CD or DVD signed, get a poster and a photo with TV’s family band. There will be free giveaways, stickers, bookmarks, and a chance to win tickets to the Laughing Pizza performance on Sunday at the GPB TV Studios!

How to Win Tickets and a Pizza Prize Pack: To win 2 tickets to the show, a CD and Laughing Pizza poster, become a subscriber of Field Trips with Sue (Click the Subscribe button on the top right of the blog) and leave a comment below. We’ll choose one winner on Monday.
Want an extra chance to win? Follow @suerodman on twitter and tweet: I want to win tickets to the Laughing Pizza Show on Field Trips with Sue #FTWS.

What: LEGO mini-build
Where: LEGO Store Discover Mills Mall
When: First Tuesday of the Month beginning at 5 pm
Cost: FREE (while supplies last)

In Feburary, I took the boys to Discover Mills mall for the LEGO mini-build. Discover Mills is in Lawrenceville, a bit of a haul for us intowners, but I have some LEGO lovers and I wanted to check out the new airsoft place too.

We arrived at the LEGO store about 5:05 pm. The line was already down the mall! When I asked the folks in front how long they’d been there, they said since 4:00 pm!! The LEGO attendant said they had people showing up around 3:15!!!

We’d already come quite a way, so we decided to wait. It took about an hour in line, but by my calculations, we would have waited the same hour if we’d gotten there earlier too. We had some nice folks around us so it really wasn’t a bad wait. One women told me they bring their homework and sit down and work on it while in line (wish I’d thought of that).

Once inside, you pick up your pieces and head to one of three tables where a LEGO employee assists the kids in putting together their creation. My five year old said he’d love to come back, but the 10 and 12 year old said it was fun, but they’ve check it off the list now.

The store itself is pretty cool too. There is a screen where you can scan a LEGO set box and it virtually builds it on the screen. As you move the box, the virtually built set moves. It was WAAYYY cool (or sick as the kids are saying these days).

Bottom line, take a look at the video to see if this is an activity for you. The only downside in my mind was the long wait, but if you aren’t strapped for time, why not, just come prepared. I also learned that the LEGO store does birthday parties, but you need to schedule them at least 3 – 4 months out. Across the mall is another great place, the Sling Shot Speedway, but that’s another post. We never made it to the Airsoft place.

Winner: Amy C. You are the winner of the Thomas the Tank Engine Train Pack. Please email me your address (sue@fieldtripswithsue.com). We’ll be back next week with more prizes, until then…

Nuclear Cowboyz at the Georgia Dome, Feb. 13
Atlanta Braves Community Caravan
Silver Scream Spookshow

The LEGO Store Mini-Model Lego Build at Discover Mills Mall (Info coming next week)
Atlanta Thrashers Open Practice
FTWS Ongoing Birthday Bash (lots of great prizes to come!)