KCKidsFun

Believe it or not, it’s almost time for Kansas City’s 2010 Spring Consignment Sales! There are lots of them popping up all over the city.  Your kids are growing like weeds and the economy isn’t…a consignment sale might be just what you’ve been looking for.  Not only can you get some really cute clothes for next-to-nothing, you can even make some money, too.

Here’s how they work:  you can generally participate by becoming either a consignor, volunteer or shopper.  (Therefore, you can both make and spend money!)  You’ll need to price and tag your items and be prepared to pay an entry fee in the neighborhood of $10.  Then, get ready to take home up to 70% of your sales!  Some sales are limited in scope to only clothing, while others accept and sell anything from clothing to furniture to sporting goods.  We’ve compiled a listing of upcoming sales and maintain a listing of Consignment Sales year-round–you can click here to see it.

If you run or represent a consignment sale–and would like to purchase featured, prominent placement via a Sponsored Listing – (like “Here We Grow Again”) – all you need to do is contact me.  Just write to me at kiran@kckidsfun.com or leave a comment below.  Happy Selling!  Happy Shopping!

Sponsored Listings:

Here We Grow Again (multiple locations around the Kansas City metro). We are looking for consignors, shoppers and volunteers! We accept and sell quality gently-used and new kids clothing, toys, bedding, furniture, sporting and play equipment–anything having to do with kids!! We hope to see you at the sale!! Next sales: (multiple locations across the Kansas City metro - March 24-27, 2010, Olathe, KS @ 421 Rawhide Rd, Olathe(just west of I-35 and Santa Fe in large white building next to Grass Pad).April 7-10, 2010, Independence, MO @ 4621 S. Shrank Ave. in the Apple Tree Center. April 21-24, 2010, Shawnee, KS @ Merriam Village/Merriam Town Center (I-35 and Johnson Drive).

Basic Listings:

All About Kids (Independence, MO) at the KC Sports Lodge, April 9-11, 2010.

Double Joy Mothers of Multiples Club (Lee’s Summit, MO) – next sale: April 9-10, 2010 at Lakeland Community Church.

Greater Kansas City Mothers of Twins Club (metro-wide, meetings in south KCMO) – next sale: March 27, 2010 at First Church of the Nazarene, KCMO.

Johnson County Mothers of Multiples Club (Johnson County, KS) – next sale: April 17th, 2019 at Indian Creek Community Church, Olathe, KS

Just Between Friends (Northland) – next sale:  February 27-28, 2010, KCI Expo Center, KCMO (With an EXCLUSIVE pre-sale extravaganza on February 26th for Volunteers, Consignors, First Time Parents, Daycare Owners/Managers and Teachers!)

Just Between Friends (Lee’s Summit, MO) – next sale: August 29 thru September 1, 2010

Just Between Friends (Overland Park, KS) – next sale: March 4-7, 2010 at Overland Park International Trade Center.

Just Between Friends (Shawnee, KS & Kansas City, KS) – March 26-28, 2010 at Kansas Speedway.

Kansas City Northland Mothers of Multiples Club – next sale: March 20, 2010 at King of Kings Lutheran Church, Kansas City North

KC Kids Sale April 29- May 1, 2010, Shawnee, KS @ Cedar Ridge Christian Church.  May 13-15, 2010, Lawrence, KS @ Knights of Columbus.

Kids’ Closet Connection (multiple locations across the Kansas City metro –  March 2-6, 2010, Lee’s Summit, MO @ Lakeland Community Church – 913 NE Colbern Road.  April 20-25, 2010, Blue Springs, MO @ Sports City – 425 NE Mock Ave.  North Kansas City– Dates TBD.  April 5-9, 2010, Topeka, KS @ Sunrise Optimist Club – 720 NW 50th St.  April 20-24, 2010, Lawrence, KS @ Douglas County Fairgrounds – 2110 Harper St.

Love It Again (Blue Springs, MO) – next sale:  April 1-6, 2010, American Legion Hall – 499 SW State Route 7.

Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Greater Kansas City Chapter (AAFA) is one of our local partner organizations. We are proud of this partnership and wanted to share one of the great things that AAFA is doing for kids and families dealing with asthma and allergies. AAFA hosts an annual, fun-filled Family Asthma and Allergy Education Day; it takes place on Saturday, March 6, 2010 at Shawnee Mission West high school in Shawnee Mission, KS.  It is an interactive opportunity for families and individuals to learn about asthma and how to control it’s affects on their lives. Each adult will choose from a variety of classes to attend. Separate classes will be held for preschool and grades 1-6 which teach children the fundamentals of asthma and allergy treatment, while having fun. All classes are led by area healthcare professionals and physicians.

For additional information on the 15th Annual Family Asthma and Allergy Education Day, or to register, please contact the AAFAKC office.  Space is limited, so don’t delay!  Scholarships are available.

Another fun event highlighted in our Events Calendar is an ongoing stage performance of Peter Pan!  Tickets are still available from the CYT (Christian Youth Theatre) box office. The performances, typically at 2pm and 7pm, are held in Olathe on the Mid-America Nazarene campus at Bell Cultural Events Center.  This looks like a terrific production and features many, many talented youth from the metro!

**Images appear courtesy of AAFA-KC and CYT Kansas City.

I noticed on Twitter last month that one of our local contemporary art museums, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, MO*, started offering a family-friendly scavenger hunt-type activity one Saturday a month. I was intrigued – neither my kids nor I had ever ventured over to the Kemper despite having visited its stately neighbor, the Nelson-Atkins Museum, on many occasions. So, last Saturday, we headed to Scavenger Saturday.

It was a gray, cold day – so we moved like a herd of turtles on the way out of the house that morning. Made it to the Plaza in time for lunch. After a quick bite to eat at the Plaza Winstead’s, we zipped up the hill.

I generally take only my older kids on museum-y adventures but, on this day, I had back-up (my husband) so we bravely brought the 3-year-old twins with us.

Parking was close-by and free. We hustled through the cold and entered the museum. The woman at the front door knew exactly why we were there (What? you don’t get many 3-year-olds on a normal day?) and handed us the scavenger hunt directions.

The directions pointed by older kids (1st and 2nd graders) to about five different pieces of art. I was a bit surprised at how small the gallery space is in the Kemper – very nicely done but small. As they discovered each work, they read about it on their information sheet and considered the questions listed about each piece. It was a nice and fun way to get the kids to really look at and consider the art.

We followed the scavenger hunt directions through the museum and then, when we were finished (it only took about 15 or 20 minutes), looped back around to take in some piecees that they especially liked or had missed the first time through.

Although I personally was a little disappointed by the small size of the museum’s galleries (my expectations were a bit out of whack), it turned out to be a good thing – the 3-year-olds had about all they could handle after about a half hour. On our way out, the kids received a paper bag which contained a new box of Crayola markers and an art project in line with the theme of the scavenger hunt (which was “time”).

I wouldn’t say that any of us were knocked out by this little outing – but everyone enjoyed it, for sure. The little ones liked playing with the water fountains as much as anything else – but that probably shouldn’t be too surprising! All in all, it was a nice, relatively calm activity for a cold, yucky winter day.

There are Scavenger Saturdays already on the schedule for March and April. You might also want to check out their Family Fun Day on March 27th or their artREACH workshops for kids.

*The other is the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art on the campus of Johnson County Community College. They offer children’s classes on Saturdays throughout the academic year.