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Not Just for Kids
 Ahoy Mates!
by Martha Blume
Sailboats are coming to Annapolis to strut their stuff this week, followed by powerboats next week. Check them out at Ego Alley. But sailors have their own language, and you’ll need to speak it to navigate this foreign country. What does a sailor mean by these words?
1. Boom
a) the sound of fireworks over the Bay;
b) the horizontal pole supporting the bottom of a sail;
c) the sound a boat makes when it hits the dock.
 2. Bow
a) an acknowledgment actors make at the end of a play;
b) an ornament worn in hair;
c) the front of a boat
3. Deck
a) 52 playing cards;
b) the floor of a boat;
c) to put up Christmas decorations
4. Fall off
a) what you don’t want to do on a boat;
b) to turn away from the wind;
c) to leave the dock
5. Head
a) the boat’s bathroom;
b) the object between your ears;
c) the person who sits up front
6. Port
a) a kind of wine;
b) a city at the head of a bay;
c) the left side of a boat
7. Sheet
a) a line or rope;
b) a cover you pull over your toes at night;
c) a sail
8. Trim
a) what you are after you diet;
b) to take in or let out;
c) to cut a bit off
Grab a pen and paper and jot down the answers. When you're done, click here for the answer key.
 Musical Life Jackets
Safe boating is fun boating. Try this:
You’ll need a group of friends and enough life jackets for all but one. This game is played almost like musical chairs. Kids sit in a circle. When the music plays, everyone stays in their seat but passes the life jackets around the circle. When the music stops, if you are caught without a life jacket, you’re dead.
Don’t be caught without a life jacket. Did you know that in Maryland all kids under seven must wear a lifejacket while underway in a boat less than 21 feet? Don’t get caught unprepared.
Learn to boat safely from Maryland Natural Resource Police, who offer free boating safety classes for all ages: www.dnr.state.md.us/boating.
Kids’ Stuff This Week
Thursday, October 9
Fall into Stories
Ages 3-6 celebrate its fall w/a seasonal story. Then make an autumn craft to take home. 7pm @ Severna Park Library, 45 McKinsey Rd. free: 410/222-6290.
Monday, October 13
Family Nights
Ages 2-6 gather for bedtime stories, fingerplays and crafts. The family’s welcome. 7pm @ Edgewater Public Library, 25 Stephneys Ln. Edgewater. free: 410/222-1538.
Thursday, October 16
Tiny Tot Trot
Kids ages 2-3, does a mouse live in your house? She must not be a welcome guest. Come listen to what the puppets have to say and make a craft to take home. 10:30am @ Battle Creek Cypress Swamp, Gray’s Rd. off Sixes Rd., Prince Frederick. $3 w/discounts; rsvp: 410/535-5327.
Plan Ahead
Pumpkin Painting Contest
Deadline: Oct. 17–Ages 2-5 bring your own pumpkin to paint. Paints and decorations supplied. Prizes awarded to top pumpkins. Pumpkin painting Oct. 24. 10-11am @ Southern Community Center,Appeal Ln. (off Rt. 765), Lusby. $2; rsvp: 410/586-1101.
King of Comedy
Nov. 1–All ages enjoy author, musician and comedian Barry Louis Polisar’s side-splitting act. Winner of 4 Parent’s Choice awards, he’s guaranteed to make you laugh. 3pm @ Calvert High School Auditorium, Dares Beach Rd., Prince Frederick. $5: 410/535-0291.
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