Bugly Bugs

    Talking Hands Theatre will spin a tale of insects and what makes each one unique in “The Bugaboo Revue” on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre in Sag Harbor. The show is geared to children between the ages of 2 and 7. Tickets cost $10, $9 for members and grandparents, and $5 for children under 3.

Anybody Hungry?

    Children will learn about the feeding habits of creatures of a different sort on Saturday at 10 a.m. during feeding time at the South Fork Natural History Museum. Kids have been invited to help the museum staff in their duties, while also getting a lesson on strategies the museum’s animals have developed to survive. Advance registration with the museum, which is on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton, has been requested.

Move Baby, Move

    Music Together by the Dunes is bringing early-childhood music and movement programs to the East Hampton Methodist Church and the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton.

    The program is for newborns through 5-year-olds with a parent or caregiver and includes singing, dancing, rhythmic chants, and instrument play, with a songbook, CDs, and a parent guide DVD included with tuition, which is $195 for a 10-week session, $140 for an extra sibling, plus a $15 registration fee.

    The East Hampton classes, which began on Tuesday and yesterday, will continue on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. and Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. The Bridgehampton classes start tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. for babies and at 10:30 a.m. for a mixed-age group. Registration is online at mtbythedunes.com or by e-mail to Ina Ferrara at [email protected].

Tennis, Anyone?

    The Ross School Tennis Center will give kids 6 to 9 a chance to learn or improve tennis, soccer, and basketball skills during Saturday sports clinics starting this week from 4 to 6 p.m. Joao Casagrande will coach the sessions, which will run for 10 weeks and include clinics and games.

    Participants must be members of the Ross Tennis Center. The cost is $75 for drop-ins, $500 for all 10 weeks. Registration is at [email protected].

Father Doesn’t Know Best

    When Mother Goose takes the day off, Father Goose has to step in to fill her shoes, but his version of popular stories isn’t quite right in Nappy’s Puppets’ production “Father Goose’s Tales,” coming to the Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre in Sag Harbor on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tickets for the show cost $10, $9 for grandparents and theater members, and $5 for children under 3. The theater is on East Union Street.

Making Tracks

    Kids curious about footprints they may have spotted in the recent snow can learn more about animal tracks and tracking on Saturday at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton. Crystal Possehl, a nature educator, and her puppet Lodo the River Otter will share a story about some mysterious tracks in the snow, then make their own “tracks” inside at the museum before heading outside to see whose footprints they can find.

    The program, which begins at 10 a.m., is for children 4 to 6. Advance registration is required.

After-School Theater Classes

    Do you suffer from “Glee” envy? Do you dream of being a Broadway star or one day standing onstage to accept a best actor or best screenplay Oscar? After-school singing or theater arts classes at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor might be a good first step.

    The theater will offer eight-week classes for kids 8 to 12 and teenagers starting on Jan. 16 and 17, both taught by Susan Galardi, a professional actor and singer. A theater arts class and showcase on Wednesdays will guide students as they develop, rehearse, and perform original theatrical pieces for the stage. Participants can focus on acting, playwriting, or both. In a vocal performance class on Thursdays called Sing the Song! young singers at all levels will work on songs of their choosing with a professional vocal coach and live accompaniment by Karen Hochstedler, a pianist.

    “The goal,” Ms. Galardi said in a release, “is to take songs the kids love to the highest performance level.” Every student will sing in every class, and at the end they’ll showcase their talents in a concert. The course will cover vocal warm-ups, basic singing exercises, choosing the right song, finding the right key, and various vocal techniques.

    The theater class and the vocal class will run from 4:15 to 5:45 p.m. for kids 8 to 12, and from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. for teenagers. The cost is $275 per person. Class size is limited and registration is required in advance through the theater.

Happy New Year!

    Ten, nine, eight. . . . Children and their parents can do their own countdown to the new year 12 hours early when the Children’s Museum of the East End hosts a “ball drop” on Monday.  To prepare, kids can make holiday noisemakers that day at 11:30 a.m. At noon partygoers will be showered with confetti and toast 2013 with sparkling juice. The event costs $10 and is free to CMEE members. The museum will close for the holiday at 1 p.m.

    Parents looking to escape the house with the kids might find what they’re looking for during drop-in workshops at the museum today and tomorrow at 10 a.m. Today, children will make dog treats for animal visitors from the South Fork Animal Shelter. Tomorrow, they will create borax crystal snowflakes. The cost is $23, $10 for members. A solarplate printmaking class for kids 4 to 8 will be offered today and tomorrow, also at 10 a.m. It is free for members, $10 for others. Advance reservations are requested for all programs. The museum is on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton.

Early Countdown

    The John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor will also help kids get into the New Year’s Eve spirit during an early countdown on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. There will be snacks and party games. Advance registration has been requested.

Lizards and Party Poppers

    Reindeer are so two days ago. Now on to other exciting creatures.

    On Saturday at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton, kids of all ages can see, touch, and learn about snakes, lizards, turtles, tree frogs, toads, salamanders, and an American alligator, as well as several other species during “Erik’s Reptile Edventures Live Animal Show.” The one-hour show begins at 11 a.m. The library has asked for registration in advance. Children in seventh grade and above can try their hands at no-sew fleece pillow crafts through Monday during library hours. Tomorrow, from 11 a.m. to noon, kids 8 to 12 can get ready for New Year’s Eve by making party poppers.

Make Your Own

    With no puppet shows at the Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre in Sag Harbor until January, kids experiencing puppet withdrawal can make their own festive puppets tomorrow at the East Hampton Library. The program runs from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Reservations have been requested.

    Students in the Project MOST after-school program at the John M. Marshall Elementary School received a visit from State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle and Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. on Dec. 6.

    The two lawmakers visited the program, which also serves students in Springs and Wainscott, in recognition of a state grant awarded to it. They learned how Project MOST supports students academically and visited students doing various enrichment activities, from storytelling to dance and movement to computer technology and cooperative games.

    The program has received $2 million in state funding since its inception in 2001, and is also supported by East Hampton Town, the school districts, parents, and private foundations.

    Joining Mr. LaValle and Mr. Thiele on the tour were Richard Burns, the district superintendent, East Hampton Town Councilmen Dominick Stanzione and Peter Van Scoyoc, Robert Tymann, the assistant superintendent, Gina Kraus, the John Marshall principal, and Christina DeSanti, a school board member.

For the Birds

    Kids and their families can give the birds a holiday treat on Saturday at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton. Museum staff will work with visitors to make bird-friendly decorations for a holiday tree using seeds, suet, and dried fruit. Children have been asked to take a shoe box so that they can safely carry their decorations home for their own yards.

    The program begins at 10 a.m. and costs $4 per child. Reservations are required.

Little Red in Sag

    The Barefoot Puppets will wrap two tales into one when they present “Little Red and the Gingerbread Man” on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre in Sag Harbor. In this production, with a cameo by the Big Bad Wolf, Little Red chases a troublesome gingerbread cookie through the woods to Grandma’s house.

    Tickets cost $10, $9 for members and grandparents, and $5 for children under 3. The theater is on East Union Street.

Snowmen, Cupcakes, Puppets

    Kids (and parents) looking to get out of the house after Christmas will find a number of workshops to keep them busy at the East Hampton Library next week. Children will use recycled materials to make their own “bottle-body snowmen” on Wednesday. A workshop for kids 5 to 7 with an adult will run from 1:30 to 2:15 p.m. Children 8 and older will get started at 3:30 p.m.

    Next Thursday, kids can put their creativity to work in cupcake-decorating workshops. The session for 5 to 7-year-olds runs from 1:30 to 2:15 p.m. The 8-and-over session begins at 3:30 p.m. Children 4 and older with an adult can make festive puppets on Friday, Dec. 28, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Reservations have been requested for all programs.

Art at the Parrish

    Young artists can find an outlet for their talents at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill next week. Painting will be the focus of workshops on Wednesday, and collage will rule the day on Friday, Dec. 28. Sessions for kids 4 and 5 run from 10 a.m. to noon. Those for kids 6 and up run from 1 to 3 p.m. Space is limited and advance registration is required for all workshops.

   Project MOST’s Earthsavers Club, a program on the environment run in partnership with the Group for the East End, had fourth graders in the Project MOST after-school program at Springs and the John M. Marshall Elementary School learning about the digestive systems and diets of owls last week. Students dissected owl pellets to find the fur and bones of small animals like voles and mice.

   Fourth and fifth graders at John Marshall have also been involved in knitting circles with Robin Keslonsky Jahoda, who has been teaching small groups about finger knitting and traditional knitting.

Can You Hear Me, Major Tom?

    Is there life on Mars? Joe Malave, a teacher and Mars researcher, will discuss NASA’s mission to the Red Planet with kids in third grade and above today at the Amagansett Library, then offer a look through the library’s telescope. The program will begin at 3:30 p.m. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served.

    Following a carousel story time on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., families will make their own carousel mobiles to take home. Reservations are required for both programs.

Consider Yourself

    Stages, a Children’s Theatre Workshop, will present “Oliver” on Saturday and Sunday at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor. The musical, based on the Charles Dickens classic, is directed and choreographed by Helene Leonard. Amanda Jones and James Benard provide musical accompaniment for the young actors.

    The play will be staged on Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $15 and can be purchased at the Bay Street box office or online at baystreet.org.

Not Even a Mouse

    The Mouse family figures prominently in Liz Joyce’s adaptation of “The Night Before Christmas,” to be performed on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre in Sag Harbor. The 30-minute puppet show is aimed at kids 2 to 7 and includes some sing-along opportunities. Tickets cost $10, $9 for members and grandparents, $5 for children under 3. The theater is on East Union Street.

Gingerbread and Lollipops

    A veritable city of gingerbread houses will be made on Saturday during three workshops at the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton. Children 4 and older and their families will decorate the delectable houses at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. The cost is $38, which includes materials and museum admission, or $25 for members.

    Also that day, kids can make felt lollipop ornaments during workshops at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 2 p.m. The cost is $18, $5 for members. Reservations in advance have been requested for all programs.

Builders Wanted!

    Families have been invited to build their own gingerbread houses, with tips from some pros, on Saturday at noon at Guild Hall. The cost is $35 per house, or $30 for members. Advance registration is required, as space is limited.

Library Fun

    Local libraries are offering up a number of holiday craft programs this week, just in time to decorate the tree or make the house feel festive. In Sag Harbor on Saturday, the John Jermain Memorial Library will host a decoration workshop for kids of all ages at 10:30 a.m. Registration is not necessary.

    The East Hampton Library will have a holiday story time and craft program for children 4 to 6 with an adult on Monday from 4 to 5 p.m. Next Thursday, kids in kindergarten through second grade can enjoy hot cocoa while listening to a story and making penguin pals to take home. The program runs from 4 to 5 p.m. Advance registration has been requested for both events.

    On Tuesday from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton, children 8 to 12 will make ornaments with a special paper that shrinks when baked. Advance registration has been requested.

Erosion Lab

    Why does the beach look different after a storm? Kids 6 to 8 can learn the answer and more during a sand and erosion lab on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton.

    Also on Saturday at 10 a.m., Crystal Possehl will introduce kids 3 to 6 years old to local birds during a nature walk near the museum. Reservations are required for both programs.

   An energy performance audit, and implementation of recommended renewable and efficient energy systems, would greatly benefit the district, representatives of a Patchogue-based architectural firm told the Amagansett School Board at its meeting on Tuesday.

    Fred Seeba and Jim Weydig of Burton, Behrendt, and Smith delivered an early-morning presentation that stressed both the financial and educational advantages of such an audit and resulting action. A comprehensive energy system conversion would pay for itself within 18 years, they said.

    By implementing efficient energy strategies — which could involve lighting and lighting controls, oil burner replacement and burner control system upgrades, solar panels, wind generation, roof insulation or replacement, wireless clocks, and computer controllers — the district would be investing money normally paid to the Long Island Power Authority and National Grid into the school, Mr. Seeba said.

    A preliminary audit, should the district choose to hire the firm, would look at the school’s energy expenses and provide recommendations. It would then prepare a request for proposals tailored to the district’s needs.

    “It’s a nice vehicle to make buildings more efficient and not burden taxpayers,” Mr. Seeba said. The firm’s fees are typically 3 to 4 percent of a project’s cost, he added, and such a project could be completed in the summer of 2014.

    Another major benefit, Mr. Seeba said, would be as a teaching tool. “That’s the way a lot of schools look at it,” he said.

    Eleanor Tritt, the district superintendent, agreed that such an effort could be a kind of science project for students.

    John Hossenlopp, the board’s president, advised Mr. Seeba and Mr. Weydig that the board would consult with and possibly visit a district that has implemented the suggested actions.

    The board also considered the makeup of school days lost to Hurricane Sandy. The school was closed from Oct. 29, the day the storm struck the South Fork, through Nov. 2. In order to meet the 184-day schedule as stipulated in the Amagansett Teachers Association contract, the board approved a resolution stating that the school will be open Tuesday through Thursday during the previously scheduled spring recess. Should snow days occur, the Monday and Friday would also be school days, as necessary.

    Two ballet troupes will present Tchaikovsky’s holiday classic “The Nutcracker” this weekend.

    The Hampton Ballet Theatre School’s will take the production to Guild Hall in East Hampton, while the Conservatory of Ballet and Danse Arts will perform at the Southampton High School.

    Both schools are based in Bridgehampton, with many young dancers from points east of there. This year, two new principal dancers will debut as the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Danse Arts production. Julia Talasko of East Hampton and Cornelia O’Connor of Southampton will take turns in the leading role, partnering with Leonel Linares, a professional dancer from New York.

    The Danse Arts Nutcracker is choreographed by Betteanne Terrell and Megan Cancellieri. Show times will be tomorrow at 7 p.m., Saturday at 5 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Children will be invited onstage following each performance for photographs with the dancers, and on Sunday at 1 p.m. there will be a visit from Santa Claus before the 2 p.m. show.

    Tickets cost $15 for adults and $10 for children under 16 and those over 60. They can be purchased online at dansearts.com or by e-mail: [email protected]. Children under 2 will be admitted for free.

    The Hampton Ballet Theatre School’s production is choreographed by Sara Jo Strickland, the theater’s director, and includes costumes designed and sewn by Yuka Silvera, with lighting design by Sebastian Paczynski. Guest artists will dance the Sugar Plum Fairy’s and the Cavalier’s Grand Pas de Deux.

    The Guild Hall performances will be tonight at 7 p.m., Saturday at 1 and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.

    Tickets cost $20 in advance for adults, $15 for children under 12. They can be purchased online at hamptonballettheaterschool.com or at 888-933-4287.

All Aboard!

    Kids of all ages can hop aboard “The Polar Express” tonight at the East Hampton Library — departure time, 5 p.m. Children have been invited to arrive at the library in pajamas to watch the animated movie, which stars Tom Hanks. Refreshments will be served and each child will receive a small gift.

    On Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon, teens can create festive beaded earrings for themselves or to give as a gift during a workshop with Jackie Dunn, a jewelry designer.

    From 1:30 to 2:15 p.m. that day, kids 3 and older with an adult can listen to a sweet story, then make a batch of oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookie batter to pop in the oven at home.

    Young gift givers 9 and older could cross someone off their list on Monday, when the library offers a workshop on making pumpkin spice hand and body sugar scrub. Kids will also have the chance to decorate a jar for the body scrub during the program, which runs from 4 to 5 p.m.

    Teens interested in astrology may want to mark their calendars, lunar and otherwise, for Tuesday and next Thursday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., when the library offers a two-part workshop on creating astrological mandalas. The workshop will introduce the 12 houses in astrology. There will be materials and poetry to inspire the creative process.

    Reservations are requested for all programs.

Lion and Mouse at the Goat

    The Crabgrass Puppet Theatre will take children on a puppet-led journey around the globe to find stories about the weak overcoming the strong and making their mark, on Saturday at 11 and 3 p.m. at the Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre in Sag Harbor.

    “The Lion and the Mouse” includes tales that hail from Africa, Asia, and Europe, designed to delight children of all sizes. Tickets cost $10, $9 for members and grandparents, and $5 for children under 3. The theater is on East Union Street.

High School Playwrights Festival

    The Young American Writers Project will present its annual High School Playwrights Festival on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Stony Brook Southampton’s Avram Theater.

    Featuring six short plays written and performed by high school students from Bridgehampton, Pierson, Southampton, Eastport-South Manor, and Westhampton Beach schools and staged by professional directors, the festival is a collaboration between the student participants and professionals affiliated with Stony Brook Southampton’s M.F.A. program in creative writing and literature.

    The plays grew out of two-month playwriting residencies at each of the high schools this fall. The program’s executive director is Emma Walton Hamilton, the children’s book author, editor, and arts educator who is director of the Southampton Children’s Literature Conference and a founder and former artistic director of the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor. The program director is Will Chandler, an American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowship screenwriter, who also served as education director and a teaching artist for Bay Street Theatre.

    Tickets for the festival are free and can be reserved by e-mailing [email protected].