Your Kids Will Love Miss Nelson is Missing

Thank you to the South Carolina Children’s Theatre for sponsoring Kidding Around Greenville.

Once again, the kids in room 207 are out of control! What will Miss Nelson do to get them to stop misbehaving and learn their lessons? Find out at South Carolina Children’s Theater’s production of Miss Nelson is Missing.

The Story

The kids in room 207 were misbehaving again! Spitballs stuck to the ceiling. Paper planes whizzing through the air. They were the worst-behaved class in the whole school. Until Miss Nelson goes missing that is. Will they be able to trick their substitute? Be careful what you wish for in this hilarious musical that has sold out shows all over the country.

Dates & Times

March 23, 2018
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
*this show is SOLD OUT

March 24, 2018
11:00 am – 12:00 pm

March 24, 2018
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

March 24, 2018
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

*All seats are $9.50. Click here for tickets.

Location

The Salvation Army Kroc Center
424 Westfield Street
Greenville, SC 29601

Giveaway!

One lucky Kidding Around Greenville reader is going to win a pair of tickets to see Miss Nelson is Missing on Friday, March 23rd at 6 pm!

This giveaway starts now and ends on March 15th.

You must be 18 or older and live in the USA to enter this giveaway.
You must use a valid email address to enter this giveaway.
One entry per person per day.
We will contact the winner via the email address provided within three [3] days of the giveaway ending. The winner will have three [3] days (72 hours) to respond via email. If the winner does not respond within the three [3] days (72 hours), the prize will be forfeited and another winner chosen. Directions for claiming the prize will be given via email. A valid photo ID and/or mailing address may be required.
For a complete list of Kidding Around Greenville SC’s giveaway policies and terms and conditions, see the Kidding Around Greenville SC policy page. By entering this giveaway, you agree to comply with Kidding Around Greenville SC’s terms and conditions.

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Have you ever taken your kids to see a SCCT production?

Summer Camp Guide: Giggles Drop-In Childcare

Kids Won’t Want to Leave Open Art Studios

Have you seen Open Art Studios on Main Street in Greenville? Right in the heart of downtown Greenville, this local studio offers classes for kids and grown-ups, as well as birthday parties and special events.

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Shannon Forest Christian School Provides An Exceptional Education for Students in K3 – 12th Grade

Thank you to Shannon Forest Christian School for sponsoring this content.

Choosing how to educate your child involves making important decisions. Thankfully there are many options available which can make these decisions even more overwhelming.

While there are a multitude of stellar schools in the Upstate, Shannon Forest Christian School (SFCS) is one that stands out for their academics, athletics, and the encouraging atmosphere of a Christian education experience. Shannon Forest is always near the top of any list of reader-recommended schools that Kidding Around Greenville has compiled. Families truly love this school.

Academic Environment

SFCS offers Shannon Beginnings for K3 and K4, in both full and half day options for the smaller ones. The program helps to prepare young children for an easy transition to Kindergarten which includes lots of guided play and nurturing care from loving teachers.

If some children are not ready for Kindergarten, Shannon Forest offers a unique Transitional Kindergarten Program. The Lower School includes Kindergarten 5 through 5th Grade. Students also enjoy time in the Innovations STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Lab.

Entering the 6th Grade can be a difficult transition for many students. SFCS conducts a specially designed Crusader Crossroads program to ease students through this big step, plus classes, study sessions and one-on-one tutoring options are targeted at student success.

The Upper School at SFCS encompasses students in 7th-12th Grade and focuses on Math, Science, Hstory and English. Several Advanced Placement (AP) courses like English, Calculus, U.S. History, European Biology, Music Theory and Biology are available for qualified students. The SFCS Director of College Counseling assists students and their families as they apply for college and explore career options.

Learning How to Pay for College

Higher education is not cheap, even for state schools. Some families will send a child to college next year, while others may have 12 years to plan. SFCS is offering a one-night workshop on Tuesday, March 13th from 6:00 – 8:00 pm entitled “Little Known Secrets of Paying for College.” Parents will learn ways to send their child to the college of their dreams without breaking the bank!

Parents will also discover strategies that may enable to them to qualify for financial aid, sources for scholarships, and strategies for maximizing your wealth and minimizing your tax exposure, giving you greater cash flow for funding a college education.

It’s free, open to the public and for families of ALL ages! The workshop takes place at Eastside Presbyterian Church Sanctuary, 829 Garlington Road, Greenville. Register here.

Athletics and The Arts

On the athletic field, students in 6th through 12th Grade are able to participate in a variety of sports teams including soccer, volleyball, cross country, basketball, cheerleading, soccer, golf, baseball, and track & field.

The school has no shortage of creative outlets for the students. SFCS offers Foreign Language, Drama, Choir, Yearbook and Visual Arts. They also perform concerts and theatrical productions for the school and community.

Christ-Centered Values

Shannon Forest is unapologetic about its worldview; it is distinctly Christian and rooted in discipleship. Every member of our faculty and staff understands that their calling, as teachers, is to teach in a way that is Christ-centered, academically excellent, and designed to move students into higher categorical thinking. They also understand that teaching is discipleship, by its very nature. Words like concern, family, love and truth sit at the heart of what your student and family will experience once you set foot on the Shannon Forest campus.

SFCS develops these role models by requiring a certain number of service hours from each student where they are able to demonstrate their Christian faith and values in the real world.

The Vision and Mission of the school are:

Vision: Educating and equipping students to pursue excellence and impact the world for Jesus Christ.

Mission: We are a Christian community providing a comprehensive college-preparatory education rooted in the truth of a Biblical worldview and marked by wisdom, excellence, and purpose.

Take a Tour

Interested in Shannon Forest Christian School and want to learn more? The school offers Tour Tuesdays on February 20th, 7th, March 6th, 13th, 20th, April 3rd, 10th, 17th, and May 1st. No reservations are needed for any of the Tour Tuesdays. If you’d like a different time and date, email or call the Director of Admissions, Candace Kurtz at ckurtz@shannonforest.com or call 864.678.5113.

Shannon Forest Christian School
829 Garlington Road
Greenville, SC
Main number: 864.678.5107

Would Shannon Forest Christian School be a good fit for your child?

PRESCHOOL: Disciples CDC

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Piney Mountain Bike Lounge Has a Pump Track Out Back

Local mom Liene reviews Piney Mountain Bike Lounge in Greenville, SC. This unique bicycle shop and taproom should be on your summer bucket list!

There is one spot that definitely needs to be on your bucket list this summer if you live in Greenville and have kids who enjoy riding bikes – Piney Mountain Bike Lounge!

Piney Mountain Bike Lounge is a cross between a bicycle shop and a taproom, complete with a pump track out back! Located between downtown and Paris Mountain, the Lounge caters to mountain bikers on their way to and from the mountains. It has also become a gathering spot for the local community to come together and share their love for riding – or share their love for craft beer while their kids are busy wearing themselves out on the dirt bike course!

Why we love Piney Mountain Bike Lounge

Our most recent visit was a weekday. The boys were all still running full steam, wearing on my last nerve. We still had several hours of daylight, and so we loaded up three kids, three bikes and three helmets and headed to Piney Mountain Road.

Although the exterior looks much like it did when it was the Landscapers Supply, the interior has been completely revamped. On one side is the bar, serving up craft beer alongside what is the bicycle repair space. On the other side is a lounge, complete with couches, a foosball table and handlebars in the place of mounted trophies. The center is filled with all the latest cycling gear and bicycles, trail maps on the walls of favorite dirt biking destinations in the area. Finally, in the back you’ll find the former loading dock, converted to outdoor patio. Full of picnic tables, the space overlooks the pump track, a small, looping trail system that you can ideally ride continuously without pedaling.

Since their grand opening in March, Piney Mountain has settled in with a rotation of food trucks to make the Lounge truly a one-stop evening hot-spot. Including Upstate favorites such as Automatic Taco, Ellada Kouzina and Chuck Truck, for the current schedule check the website or follow Piney Mountain Bike Lounge on Facebook. For the beer enthusiasts, a list of the 14 regional and local craft beers on tap can be found here. The pump track is closed when it’s wet for safety reasons as well as to protect the track, and a waiver must be signed before use. Usually one of us will take the boys & bikes around to the track and get them set up, while the other orders food and beer and gets settled in at one of the tables by the track – then it’s just a matter of shouting out a few encouraging words to keep them circling the track while we enjoy our meal.

Piney Mountain offers a variety of tune-up and service options as well as a demo option if you’re looking to buy a bicycle but not quite ready to commit. For those with kids in middle or high school that might be interested in a mountain biking team, NICA (the National Interscholastic Cycling association) is coming to Greenville and often meets with Piney Mountain – check out Upstate Composite on Facebook for more info.

When it comes down to it, I’m really more of a Swamp Rabbit Trail gal than a Paris Mountain cyclist, but Piney Mountain is a great addition to the cycling scene in the Upstate. Whether you’re looking to get your bike ready for the season, catch up with friends after a day at Paris Mountain, or just ‘cycle’ through some of that energy in the kids on these long days, make sure to swing by the Lounge this summer!

Plan your own trip to Piney Mountain Bike Lounge

20 Piney Mountain Road, Greenville
864.603.2453

For more information about Piney Mountain Bike Lounge visit their website. They can also be found on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook

See Liene’s original post on her blog, Femme au Foyer, here.

Does your family love to bike together? Don’t miss our list of places to ride your bike in Greenville.

Would your family love Piney Mountain Bike Lounge as much as mine does?

Meet Liene

Mother of three young boys, Liene is constantly on the move since returning to Greenville in 2012. Whether she’s exploring the state parks and natural areas of the Carolinas or teaming up with other moms to organize activities for the kids, she’s always searching for the next adventure in the Upstate. For everything from hiking, travel, cooking and crafts to multicultural & global education posts, visit her blog, Femme au Foyer.

Shoeless Joe Jackson Memorial Park

Liene reviews Shoeless Joe Jackson Memorial Park in Greenville, SC. For more reviews of local parks see our Park Guide to Greenville, SC.

When he was 13 years old, Joe Jackson earned a position on the Brandon Mill Baseball team. Historically, the mills played a large role in the evolution of baseball at the time; on Saturday afternoons when the whistles blew, the mill workers would swarm from the workplace to the local baseball fields, where they would practice for their games against mill leagues across Greenville County. Many communities such as Brandon Mill were brought together through their love of the sport, and more than one legendary player emerged from these mill teams, including Joe Jackson, Champ Osteen and Red Barbary.

Photo credit to Charles M. Conlon

Shoeless Joe

Joseph Jefferson Jackson earned the nickname “Shoeless Joe” during a mill game when the blisters from a new pair of cleats resulted in the player taking off his shoes off before his turn at bat. Legend goes that as he was rounding third base in his socks a fan yelled out “You shoeless son of a gun, you!” and the resulting nickname stuck through the rest of his career. In 1919 he was indicted in the Black Sox Scandal in which members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox participated in a conspiracy to fix the World Series. Although he was acquitted in 1921, he was still banned from playing baseball for the remainder of his career. Nevertheless, Shoeless Joe has one of the highest career batting averages in major league history (he hit .408 in 1911), and Babe Ruth is said to have modeled his batting technique after Jackson’s square stance.

The park

The historic Brandon Mill Community on Greenville’s Westside is now home to the 8-acre Shoeless Joe Jackson Memorial Park, the baseball field where Jackson first played baseball. The park is split in two by Brushy Creek, which continues on through Greenville until it empties into the Reedy River in Lake Conestee Nature Park; due to the historic pollution caused by the mills and ongoing hazards from urban runoff, it is not advised to play in the water.

On one side of the creek is the lighted baseball field with a small parking lot that is open when a game is on. On the other side of the creek are the playground, picnic shelter and parking. The two sides are connected by a small bridge on the very backside of the park, and informational placards on the park and Shoeless Joe can be found next to the concessions building on the backside of the baseball diamond – this is where you’ll find the answer to the 2017 Park Hop clues!

Nearby attractions

When you’re park hopping through the Greenville County Parks this summer, make sure to stop by nearby Freetown Community Center for more Park Hop fun. The Community Center and playground is just 5 blocks away, making it an easy two-base hit!

Greenville is also home to the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum and Library, Shoeless Joe Jackson Plaza at the gates of Fluor Field (where a life-size bronze statue of Joe stands on a base made of bricks from the old Comiskey Ball Park in Chicago), and the site of Joe Jackson’s grave where visitors leave baseballs, photos, notes and other mementos.

Have you explored the Shoeless Joe Jackson Memorial Park?

Shoeless Joe Jackson Memorial Park is one of the parks in the 2017 Park Hop passport. To learn more about how you can earn prizes this summer by visiting local parks read our Ultimate Guide to Park Hop.

Meet Liene

Story Time Is the Perfect Downtown Saturday Activity!

Downtown Greenville is the perfect place to hang out on Saturdays especially once the Farmer’s Market kicks off in May, but there is a weekly event that you might not know about already–storytime at M. Judson bookstore. This fun event takes place in the children’s nook inside M. Judson bookstore, and it’s the perfect way to kick off your weekend downtown.

My first visit to story time at M. Judson

My mom and I took Preston to M. Judson’s Story Time. Believe it or not, I had not been. I’ve been to the bookstore many times. In fact, it’s one of our favorite places to relax. The atmosphere is appealing with its high ceilings and homey décor. Free Wifi accompanied by coffee and a small snack from the quaint café, The Chocolate Moose, is also a plus. You’ll want to check out the children’s nook in the back of the store. Our kids love to chill by themselves while we stroll through the adult titles.

Although the event does not begin until 10:30 am, we arrived downtown around 9:30 am. The Farmer’s Market is on Main Street every Saturday morning starting in May, so parking can be tricky. Personally, I am partial to the garages. There are several located within close proximity to the bookstore, although walking is part of the charm of a cool morning on Main.

There is a garage directly behind the Poinsett Hotel (beside M. Judson). Most of the parking garages have free weekend parking but (even though the cost is minimal) this is not one of them. The garages that offer free parking have a sign at the entrance – if there is no sign, only the first hour is free.

Okay, on to story time

As the group made their way inside the first thing I noticed was the age range of the children. This is one thing you want to keep in mind when planning your visit to Storytime. It is definitely geared to a preschool audience. Thankfully, I didn’t make JP (who is 10) come with us. The majority, and by majority I mean all, of the crowd was 3 years and under.

I encourage you to check the M. Judson Booksellers & Storytellers website for a list of really cool activities for older children. They have plenty!

An employee of the store set up in the children’s nook to read. She began reading promptly at 10:30 am and wrapped things up at 11:00 am on the nose. I imagine I’m not the only parent who appreciated their respect of time. The storyteller was sensitive to the attention span of all the little wiggle worms.

Story time was a nice addition to our Saturday morning in town. The best part is, it’s thirty minutes that someone else is reading to your child!

After story time a small cupcake treat is often provided for all the little ones, thanks to The Chocolate Moose!

Have you taken your kids to story time on the steps at M. Judson yet?