Art&Seek Jr. is one mom‘s quest to find activities to end the seemingly endless chorus of the “I’m Bored Blues” while having fun herself.  Impossible you say? Check back on Tuesdays for kid-friendly events that are fun for adults, too.

We’re on the official countdown in our house to H-Day – that’s Halloween for you newbies. Since I come from a long-line of list makers, the planning includes a well thought out check list for the big day that goes something like this: House decorated from top to bottom with scary homemade ghosts and goblins (check). Ingredients for black-cat cookies purchased (check). Pumpkin carved and displayed prominently in window (check). Plastic Jack-O-Lantern bucket brought in from garage and dusted off (check). And, lastly, the most important item on the Halloween check list: costume conceived, confirmed and purchased (check, check, checkity-check)!

I'm suppose to be a bat - not vegetation.

Rose definitely inherited my “planning ahead” DNA, because she decided waaaaaay back in August that she wanted to be Annie for Halloween. Annie, as in, Annie from the 1984 musical of the same name – NOT Annie from the 1999 Disney musical of the same name. With those parameters in mind and credit card in hand I went online and ordered it. About now I can hear many of you saying, “Why a store bought costume? Don’t you have plenty of time to MAKE your child’s costume? After all, nothing says ‘mommy love’ like a homemade costume.”  As a new mother seven Halloweens ago I gleefully jumped on that bandwagon. It took a baby bat costume that cost upwards of $80 in materials and about 40 hours to construct to relieve me of the homemade costume making delusion. Planning I’m good at; costume making … not so much. Instead of a baby bat, Rose looked more like a fluffy, black tumbleweed. I vowed then and there that it would be store-bought costumes from now on.

So anyway, the costume arrived last week, and although the humongous curly wig makes Rose look more like Gilly from an SNL sketch than Annie, I can happily check that item off and move on to the next item on the list- making witches out of Clorox bottles.

And speaking of lists, the October Art&Seek calendar is jammed with tons of kids and family activities you’re going to love.

Denton Public Libraries are serving up some Halloween fun this month. On Oct. 17, the North Branch is hosting an after-school program on this month’s favorite night-time mammals – Bats! Kids 6 to 8 can read bat books, make bat crafts and enjoy all types of batty activities. Older kids (12 and up) can  prepare for the Zombie Apocalypse at Zombie Night on  Oct. 16 at the Emily Fowler Branch of the Denton Public Library. There will be zombie trivia and survival, zombie games, zombie snacks and zombie crafts. Also, don’t forget to dress like a zombie. It confuses the real zombies.

Halloween would be nothing without spooky music. Don’t believe me? Picture the shower scene in Psycho without the crazy violin music. It’s just not the same, right?  If you love iconic Halloween music, don’t miss the After Ghoul Special on Oct. 20 at the McKinney Performing Arts Center. It’s a chance for you and the kids to catch a spooktacular (sorry I couldn’t resist) concert of bewitching seasonal music put on by the McKinney Community Band.

Speaking of bats, check out LakeCities Ballet Theatre's production of Le Ballet de Dracula

Finally, this last event doesn’t technically fall into the kids and family category, because it might be overwhelming for some children. But if you have a kid who loves theatrics and scary stuff, I would urge you to check out Le Ballet de Dracula at the MCL Grand Theater this weekend. This critically acclaimed show is full of special events, amazing choreography and does for Halloween what The Nutcracker did for Christmas. Wear your spookiest tutu, because there is a costume contest at intermission.

Get your lists ready and meet me back here next week for more October fun.

Therese Powell is an Art&Seek calendar coordinator and KERA-TV producer.  She spends most of her free time seeking out adventures for her 7-year-old daughter, Rose.  Tell us about your quirky kid adventures by leaving a comment. Or e-mail Therese at [email protected].