This weekend we’re excited to visit the Wexner Center during the Zoom Family Film Festival.  The sixth annual festival features films from the U.S., Belgium, India, France, and Germany. We’re kicking off the weekend with What’s on Your Plate? and we’re also excited to see Tahaan, but there are so many other great films to see, too. Visit their site for a complete list of films, including trailers.

Here is some info about What’s on Your Plate? from the Wexner Center’s site:

“What’s a Funyon!!?,” a young girl asks. Come along as two 11-year-old girls explore food from a kid’s-eye point of view. Inspired by an Ohio summer vacation from their home in Manhattan, the girls follow a trail of information seeking facts and exploding myths about food by interviewing a variety of people from doctors to farmers to chefs. Farming, school lunches, distribution, ingredients, diet, health, and global politics are among the topics they address with fresh questions and sassy humor. The girls’ unfiltered honesty and curiosity bring a welcome sense of authentic inquiry to this engaging documentary about a topic of clear relevance to all of us.

And Tahaan:

Tahaan is an 8-year-old boy who lives in the conflict-torn Kashmir valley of Pakistan. When his family’s donkey is sold by his mother to repay debts, Tahaan sets off on a quest to recover his beloved animal friend. He must decide whether to trust strangers or keep secrets from his mother, and after he is recruited by militants to throw a grenade into an army compound, he faces a crucial choice about how far he’s willing to go to achieve his goal. More than a war story, this is a film about yearning, finding your purpose in life, understanding right and wrong and, ultimately, about choosing peace. Fable-like and beautifully shot, Tahaan captures the scintillating colors, textures, sounds, and smells of a beautiful and ancient land now characterized by border checkpoints, sniper fire, corrupt money lenders, and “disappeared” fathers.

While we’re there, we’re going to check out The Box, where we can see animations, dramatic narratives, and experimental projects by young (age 8-18) Ohio filmmakers and video artists which were chosen to be included in the youth division of the 2009 Ohio Short Film and Video Showcase.

The Zoom Family Film Festival also includes some free family activities:

• Art Projects and Tours
• Video Game Land
• Saturday Morning Cereal and Pajama Party
• Ice Cream Social

P.S. A family membership to the Wexner Center makes a great Christmas gift.

A bunch of our Kids Know Stuff kids performed their awesome breakdancing routine at KidzArtz: An Art Show for Kids, which is put on by the wonderful Mother Artists at Work. So many talented kids, so many different media: paintings, drawings, movies, collage, photography, crafts, cooking, storytelling, Irish dancing, and, of course, breakdancing!

*image from Mother Artists at Work

The Speaking Spelling Bee is a really fun handheld game that helps you spell and kids who like spelling bee games should get it. I mostly like it when I do the hard words I’ve never spelled before. And you can hook it up to the TV and play it! It’s pretty cool. You can have a tournament against other people, or you can play by yourself.

Flip Words 2 is another word game and it’s kind of like hangman. Lots of fun! Oh, and here’s a code for 40% off at Brighter Minds! It’s KIDS40.

We also have some computer software that’s fun to use. Corel Painter Essentials 4 is digital art. It lets you turn photos into paintings or sketches. It’s pretty cool for bigger kids and adults.

If you like to do art and learn about art, you should try Creativity Express. It has games and it teaches you art basics and about artists and famous paintings.

Don’t forget about our cookbook and headphones giveaway!

Liberty