Rainy day? Start a band!

Looking for something to do with the kids on a rainy afternoon? Try a musical interlude with this kazoo you can make out of stuff you can find at home!

What you will need:
cardboard paper towel or TP tubes
waxed paper
rubber bands
markers
scissors

Step 1:
Have the kids decorate the tubes with markers. Remember, you'll be covering one end and cutting into the tubes.

Step 2:
Wrap a piece of waxed paper over one end of the tube. and secure it with a rubber band.

Step 3:
Carefully cut two parallel holes lengthwise in the tubes. They should be positioned as if on a flute, but mostly equal distance from each other and the ends.

That's it! Now they (and you!) can play their favorite songs on homemade kazoos by humming into the open end. You can experiment with different lengths, diameters, thicknesses and hole placements to see what kinds of sounds can be made!

Free fun around Seattle!

Looking for inexpensive ways to have a little fun with the kidlings? Here's a few local suggestions...and best of all, they're completely free!

First Thursdays: Did you know that the Seattle Art Museum and Seattle Asian Art Museum are free for everyone on the first Thursday of every month? Experience Music Project and the Science Fiction Museum are also free from 5pm-8pm on First Thursdays.

Game Night: Blue Highway Games on Queen Anne Avenue offers a free, all-ages game night on Saturdays from 7pm-11pm. Check out their website for other fun events!

Books, books, books: in addition to our great Thursday mornings with Moonpaper Tent and Fridays with Polly-Glot Tots, you can catch storytime at Queen Anne Books every third Sunday.

Sail away...: The Center for Wooden Boats has a free public sail and canoe carving every Sunday and their museum is free all the time!

Do The Write Thing: For kids 8 and up, local nonprofit 826Seattle offers free writing workshops. Encourage your little novelist, poet, or playwright -- and maybe get some writing time for yourself.

Hunt for Buried Treasure: If you have a GPS unit, give Geocaching a shot! Pretend to be pirates or explorers on the hunt for cursed treasure...see what you can find!

So Hot it's Cool: Down on 5th Avenue, Seattle Glassblowing Studio is open to the public every day. Bring your kids and watch glass artists create spectacular works of art with this beautiful (and super cool-looking!) technique.

Have (cheap) fun, and don't forget the next free Urban Kids event: Moon Paper Tent magical storytime which is Thursdays at 10:30 a.m.