ROBINSON CENTER Thursday, SEPTEMBER 10 • 6:30 PM
CELEBRITYATTRACTIONS.com • 501.244.8800
hvk 2 • Family favorite for 35 years
❧
Find where she belongs.
JOIN GIRL SCOUTS TODAY Find more at KidCentralAR.com • 3 www.GirlScoutsDiamonds.org/join
OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS ACH Nutrition-Expecting Mothers................................ 25
WIN UP TO
Ballet Arkansas.............................................................. 19 Barksdale Federal Credit Union......................................4 Celebrity Attractions.........................................................2 Central AR Pediatric Dentistry..........................................8 Dancers' Corner...............................................................5
OFF AUTO LOAN June 1 - September 30
Girl Scouts........................................................................3 Hillcrest Family Music......................................................9 Jacksonville Parks..................................................... 9, 21 Jax's Gym...................................................................... 20 Little Rock Zoo............................................................... 32 Riff's Notes.................................................................... 31
HAPPY
BIRTHDAY
River City Gymnastics................................................... 11 Salon Jadore................................................................. 30 School of Rock............................................................... 10 The Muddy Pig.................................................................7 The Painted Pig................................................................6
bfcu.org | 800-647-2328 Federally Insured by NCUA. No purchase necessary. For contest rules go to bfcu.org
PLUS Fall Festivals and Family Favorites..........................12-19 When Learning Looks Diferent: Learning Disabilities and ADHD..............................22-24 Conversation That Can Save A Life...........................26-29 Who Are Family Favorites For Central Arkansas..................................................... 25
Published by Kid’s Directory, LLC
A Kat Daniels Company (501) 975-6776 | kat@kidcentralar.com KidCentralAR.com
This Directory is copyrighted and no part may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.
4 • Family favorite for 35 years
Ages 2 & 3
Parent - Child Class: Creative Movement, Ballet & Tap
Register Now! Fall - Spring Begins September 8
Ages 3 & Up Ballet,Tap, Jazz All Skill Levels
Dance Company Ages 10 & Up Ballet, Tap, Jazz Contemporary & Pointe
Adult Classes Beginner Ballet Experienced Ballet & Pointe All Level Tap
B a l l e t | P o i n t e | Ta p | J a z z | C o n t e m p o r a r y
Find more at KidCentralAR.com • 5
6 • Family favorite for 35 years
Find more at KidCentralAR.com • 7
30• •Family Find more at KidCentralAR.com 8 favorite for 35 years
Find more at KidCentralAR.com • 43
Find more at KidCentralAR.com • 9
10 • Family favorite for 35 years
Find more at KidCentralAR.com • 11
FALL FAVORITES:
Festivals & Fun
Fall in Arkansas brings families out looking for things to do and plan their weekend around. From county fairgrounds to downtown street festivals, sports activities to arts and culture, there's a reason to load up the family almost every weekend this September and October. Here's our FALL FAVORITES for enjoying the best Arkansas has to offer.
Find more at KidCentralAR.com • 13
Festivals & Fun Saline County Fair & Rodeo Kicks things off September 8 through 12 at the Saline County Fairgrounds in Benton. Expect a rodeo, carnival rides, and the kind of county fair pageantry that's been a Benton tradition for generations. Gate admission is free.
Garland County Fair Runs September 10 through 19 at the fairgrounds on Malvern Avenue in Hot Springs, with carnival rides, livestock shows, and a full week and a half to catch it all.
Lonoke County Fair & Livestock Show (86th annual) Runs its fair week September 19 through 26 in Lonoke, with the carnival midway rolling September 23 through 26, the county parade on Thursday, September 24, and rodeo nights Friday and Saturday, September 25 and 26. Lawnmower races, mutton bustin', and livestock shows round out one of the county's oldest traditions.
Downtown Little Rock Food Truck Festival Takes over the 30 Crossing Green Space on September 20, drawing tens of thousands of families for a free, dog-friendly afternoon of food trucks and live music. Arrive early, parking fills fast.
Faulkner County Fair & Parade (88th annual) Celebrates its 88th year September 22 through 26 in Conway, opening with a parade before the fairgrounds fill with midway rides, livestock, and a pageant. Gate admission is free, with a small parking fee.
CabotFest (48th year) Marks its 48th year October 8 through 10 in downtown Cabot, with the vendor and carnival day landing Saturday, October 10. Expect roughly 140 vendor booths, a dedicated kids zone, food trucks, and the always-popular cricket-spitting championship.
Bryant Fall Fest (38th annual) Brings its 38th year to Bishop Park on October 10, with free admission and parking, local business booths, school groups, and a Kids Land area.
Arkansas State Fair Runs October 16 through 25 at the fairgrounds in Little Rock. It's the state's largest family event, with a carnival midway, rodeo, livestock competitions, and daily live entertainment. Weekday gate admission is free from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Hillcrest HarvestFest (32nd year) Returns Saturday, October 17, taking over Kavanaugh Boulevard in Little Rock's historic Hillcrest neighborhood. One of Central Arkansas' biggest one-day festivals draws tens of thousands for live music, more than 110 vendors, food trucks, a kids' entertainment zone, and the beloved costume dog show, with proceeds benefiting The Allen School's work with special-needs children.
Find more at KidCentralAR.com • 15
Festivals & Fun For The Active Family If your family is more likely to lace up sneakers than browse an art market, Central Arkansas has real options this fall, and a few of them are built specifically with families in mind.
Big Dam Bridge 100 Returns September 26, and it's not just for serious cyclists. Central Arkansas' largest cycling tour offers routes from 15 to 105 miles, including a dedicated family-friendly 15-mile route with aid stations along the way. Starts at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock and finishes in Argenta.
North Little Rock Airshow Takes over the skies October 3 and 4, built, in the organizers' own words, “with families at the heart of everything we do.”
Rock, Paper, Run 5K Hosted by the Central Arkansas Library System and North Little Rock Public Library System, celebrating Library Card Sign-up Month with a family fun run/walk connecting the two library systems, costume contest included. Watch KidCentralAR.com for the confirmed date.
16 • Family favorite for 35 years
Little Rock Zoo Howl-O-Ween Programming runs October 24 and 31, a daytime, costume-friendly way to enjoy the zoo with a Halloween twist. Looking ahead: student athletes in middle and high school can start prepping for the Arkansas Mountain Bike Interscholastic League's Central Regional Championship, coming to Central Arkansas November 7 and 8.
For The Arts & Culture Family Fall isn't just fairs and carnivals. Central Arkansas has a genuinely strong arts and culture season this time of year, and a lot of it is free or low-cost.
AMFA Art Market Opens the season September 11 through 13 at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock, turning the museum into a weekend marketplace featuring contemporary artists from across the country. Free to browse.
Fiesta en SoMa Hispanic Heritage Month runs September 15 through October 15, and Little Rock's South Main district marks it with Fiesta en SoMa on October 2, a free evening of live music, Latin food, and family activities from 4 to 10 p.m.
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (35th annual) Celebrates its 35th year October 9 through 17, the longest-running nonfiction film festival in North America. It leans toward older kids and teens, but it's a genuine cultural landmark worth knowing about, right in our backyard.
Find more at KidCentralAR.com • 17
Festivals & Fun Bridge St. LIVE!
Brings a free family block party to downtown Hot Springs every Thursday in October, 5 to 10 p.m., with live music, food trucks, games, and a costume contest with cash prizes. Between these events, fall is a strong season to introduce kids to art, music, and culture close to home, no big trip required.
Pick Your Pumpkin: Central Arkansas Patch Guide Every county in our coverage area has a pumpkin patch within an easy drive, and most open the last weekend of September. Get everyone together and go make some fall memories with one or all of these pumpkin patch farm families.
Motley's Pumpkin Patch (Little Rock) — a Central Arkansas tradition since 2008, with pig races, hayrides, a mega slide, farm animals, and a pick-your-own patch. Opens September 26 through early November, Thursday through Sunday.
BoBrook Farms (Roland) — pick-your-own pumpkins, hayrides, mazes, farm animals, and pig races every Saturday and Sunday, near Pinnacle Mountain. Open October 1, for all the fun; admission covers all activities.
Roseberry Farms (Benton) — a 56-acre farm run by three brothers, with a pick-your-own patch, hayrides, The Big Slide, and a tractor-pulled barrel ride. Opens September 26 and has new things ready to enjoy. 18 • Family favorite for 35 years
Hicks Family Farms (Cabot) — a century-old family farm with a corn maze that changes every year, a hay maze, a zipline, and hayrides. Opens October 3, weekends only and taking class trips and homeschool groups.
Schaefers & Collins Farm (Mayflower) — Faulkner County's homegrown patch, typically open late September through the start of November.
Also add to your calendar: Hot Springs' Arts & Crafts Fair (October 3-4) and the Little Rock Zoo's Howl-O-Ween programming (October 24 and 31) round out a packed two months.
FALL PRODUCTIONS NOW ON SALE!
THE GREAT GATSBY OCT 23-25
SCHOOL FOR DANCE NOW ENROLLING!
NUTCRACKER SPECTACULAR DEC 11-13
BALLETARKANSAS.ORG/TICKETS
Official School of Ballet Arkansas Classes for Children & Adults Various Disciplines Expert Faculty Affordable Tuition with Discounts Scholarship Assistance State-of-the-art Facilities YAGP Program Flexible Schedules Year-Round Performance Opportunities BALLETARKANSAS.ORG/ENROLLED-CLASSES
Find more at KidCentralAR.com • 19
20,000 Sq. Ft. • Parent Viewing Areas • Pro Shop • Birthday Parties • Kid’s Fun Nights (501)985-1818 • 613 North First St. • Jacksonville • www.jaxgymathnp.com
Recreational & Competitive Gymnastics • Dance Trampoline & Tumbling plus Preschool Gym
Find more at KidCentralAR.com • 21
When Learning Looks Different:
A Parent's Guide to Learning Disabilities and ADHD 22 • Family favorite for 35 years
October is Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, and ADHD Awareness Month, and if that feels like a month made for somebody else's family, consider this: national advocacy groups estimate that about one in five students has a learning or attention difference. That's a handful of kids in every classroom in Central Arkansas. These are children with average or above-average intelligence whose brains simply process information differently, and the earlier a family understands what's happening, the better school gets for everyone.
Signs Worth Paying Attention To No single sign means a child has a learning disability or ADHD. What matters is a pattern that sticks around. Parents and teachers often notice things like: • Reading well below grade level, or avoiding reading out loud • Letter and number reversals that continue past the early grades • Trouble following directions with more than one or two steps • Homework that takes hours longer than it should, night after night • Strong verbal skills but a real struggle getting thoughts onto paper teacher comments about focus, sitting still, or finishing work • Big emotions around school: dread, meltdowns, or calling themselves dumb That last one matters most. Kids with undiagnosed learning differences often decide the problem is them. It isn't. It's information the adults haven't been given yet.
Your Right to Ask: The School Evaluation Here's what many Arkansas parents don't know: you can request a school evaluation, in writing, at any time, at no cost to you. Federal special education law requires public schools to identify and evaluate students who may need support. You don't need a doctor's referral to start, and you don't need to wait for the school to bring it up first. Arkansas schools are also required to screen young students for markers of dyslexia, so if your child has been flagged, that's a door opening, not a verdict.
Find more at KidCentralAR.com • 23
Put the request in a dated letter or email to your school's principal or special education coordinator, describe what you're seeing, and ask for an evaluation for special education services. The school must respond within a defined timeline.
504 Plan or IEP? The Two-Minute Version These two terms get thrown around constantly and confused just as often.
• An IEP (Individualized Education Program) provides specialized instruction, actual changes to how your child is taught, with written, measurable goals reviewed every year. It falls under federal special education law. • A 504 Plan provides accommodations, changes to the learning environment, like extended test time, preferential seating, or movement breaks, without changing the instruction itself. A rough shorthand: an IEP changes what and how a child is taught. A 504 changes the conditions around the learning. Many kids with ADHD do well with a 504; kids with dyslexia or other learning disabilities often need the specialized instruction an IEP provides. The evaluation determines which fits.
What to Do This Month If something in this article sounded like your kitchen table, start with two conversations: one with your child's teacher, asking what they see, and one with your pediatrician, who can rule out things like vision and hearing and refer you toward evaluation if needed. Neither conversation commits you to anything. Both give you information. And information is the whole game.
Where to Learn More Understood.org — plain-language guides to learning differences, evaluations, IEPs, and 504s CHADD.org — the national ADHD organization for families Arkansas Department of Education Special Education Unit — your rights and the evaluation process in Arkansas Your school's special education coordinator — the starting point for any evaluation request
Find more at KidCentralAR.com • 25
The Conversation
That Can Save a Life
26 • Family favorite for 34 years
September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and this is the article we'd rather not need to write. We're writing it anyway, because the research is clear on one thing: talking about suicide, directly and calmly, does not put the idea in a young person's head. Decades of studies, cited by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the National Institute of Mental Health, show the opposite. Asking opens a door. Silence keeps it shut.
What to Watch For The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention groups warning signs into three categories: what a person says, how they act, and how they seem to feel. In kids and teens, that can look like: • Talking about being a burden, feeling trapped, or having no reason to go on • Pulling away from friends, family, and activities they used to love • Giving away things that matter to them • Big changes in sleep, eating, or mood that don't let up • Increased risk-taking, or a sudden, unexplained calm after a long stretch of despair One sign alone is not a crisis. A cluster of them, especially after a loss, a breakup, a move, or a period of bullying, is a reason to lean in, not wait it out.
How to Open the Conversation You don't need perfect words. You need honest ones. Pick a calm moment, not mid-argument, and say what you see: “You've seemed really down lately, and I've been thinking about you. Are you okay?” If the answer worries you, it's okay to ask directly: “Are you thinking about hurting yourself?” Then do the hard part: listen. Don't argue them out of their feelings, don't panic out loud, and don't promise to keep it secret, that's one promise a loving parent shouldn't make. What a struggling kid needs most in that moment is to know they've been heard and they're not carrying it alone anymore.
When to Get Help, and Where If your child talks about suicide, take it seriously every time. Call or text 988, the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, together if your child is willing. It's free, confidential, and staffed around the clock, and Arkansas calls are answered by trained Arkansans through the state's own Lifeline call center. Counselors there can also talk with you, the parent, about next steps, including how to make your home safer during a difficult stretch.
28 • Family favorite for 35 years
And here's a local fact worth knowing: the Arkansas Crisis Center, the state's crisis line that also answers text messages, reports that roughly seven out of ten of its crisis texts come from Arkansans under 18. Our kids are already reaching out. The job for the adults is making sure they know where, and knowing it ourselves. This is not a conversation any parent hopes to have. But it's one every parent can have. And having it, imperfectly, awkwardly, lovingly, is one of the most protective things you can do.
Get Help Now 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988, free and confidential, 24/7 Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741 Arkansas Crisis Center — ARcrisis.org, the state's crisis line answering calls and texts If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 Find more at KidCentralAR.com • 29
30 • Family favorite for 35 years
Find more at KidCentralAR.com • 31