BAMkids Film Festival short directed by Jerry Lee.

Tickets for the popular the BAMkids Film Festival go on sale January 7; a BAM spokesperson has informed Scooter. The festival, which is celebrating 15 years of delivering cinematographic excellence to an often under-appreciated demographic, will showcase some 76 films from 24 countries, several of which will be world premieres. The 2013 festival will take place at BAM Rose Cinemas in Fort Greene, Brooklyn over the weekend of February 2 and 3 and targets an audience ages 2-10 and their families.

"Watching movies shouldn't be a passive experience and at the BAMkids Film Festival, it isn't,” explained festival curator Nicole Dreiske. “The whole lobby, four cinemas, and BAMcafé become a festival ‘fun zone’ with activities and discussions designed to make the experience memorable and interactive for even the littlest cinephiles."

This year, organizers have confirmed the “Animation Extravaganza,” an all-animation program geared for ages 7-9 that will include six international features as well as two short film programs for toddlers.

Cinematic themes addressed in this season’s line-up range from fantasy to self-discovery and adventure. An interactive feature of the festival will be post-screening Q&As with the filmmakers where kids can ask anything about the films they just watched. Additionally, attendees can vote for their favorite movies in a variety of categories (best feature, best animated short, best live-action short and best short film for 2–5 year olds) for the 2013 BAMmies awards.

“Every year the quantity, quality, and diversity of the Festival’s films increases,” said Suzanne Youngerman, director of Education and Family Programs at BAM. “We are proud to offer this rich array of films that stimulate children’s imaginations, broaden their horizons, and appeal to adults as well. In addition to the films, we are also excited to present two of Brooklyn’s most beloved bands—The Deedle Deedle Dees and The Suzi Shelton Band. This year the Festival is part of a new expanded BAMfamily season of films, live performances, and workshops that will offer families a full slate of innovative programming.”

Tickets can be purchased at the BAM Rose Cinemas box office, online at BAM.org, or via phone at 718.777.FILM. Updates and a detailed schedule of events and pricing can be found at BAM.org/Family.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg talks with fifth graders during a tour of PS 262 with Cathleen Black. (GETTY)

Brooklyn is pretty much officially the borough of choice for bohemian families and competitive public (and private) schools. Combine that with fantastic realty options for nearly any lifestyle; the demand sizzles.

Noticing a need for more knowledge on how to navigate the daunting and complex process of selecting (or getting your kids into) the right Brooklyn school,  Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate is hosting a special seminar with New York City school search expert and founder of NYC School Help, Joyce Szuflita. At “Helping Families Understand the Brooklyn Elementary School System,” Ms. Szuflita will dish her expertise on better understanding Brooklyn Elementary Schools.

The event will take place at the Montauk Club on 8^th Avenue in Brooklyn from 6p.m. to 9p.m., free of charge, but with limited seating. Refreshments will be provided by DE Capital Mortgage. Interested parents can contact Catherine Witherwax for more information.

Ms. Szuflita is a 28-year Brooklyn resident and the mother of teenage twins and knows thing or two about educators, schools, and how to enroll children in public and private school successfully. Her advice has been profiled in the New York Times, Time Out NY Kids, NY Family – Brooklyn, achildgrowsinbrooklyn.com and nycprivateschoolsblog.com

The primary way organizers will attempt to do this is through a new partnership with the Children’s Museum of the Arts that will offer a wide-range of family art projects, free-form activities, media workshops, and exhibits themed around the DUMBO Waterfront.

Here is a list of a few added programs and events:

Cityscape Animation
A collaborative stop-motion animation project themed on the waterfront.

Theater by the Sea

Participants can build sets and a performance space with seats for a small audience.

Skyline String Installation

Collaborate on a string installation inspired by your surroundings.

Sewing Sea Monster      

Sew and construct different materials to create a large sea monster. Make your own finger puppets to take with you to perform at home.

Art Kits

Borrow an art-kit, complete with paper, watercolor, colored pencils and charcoal and go off and get inspired. Kids will be allowed to display what they have made in a special gallery area.

Bike Decorating Station                                                                                                                                                                                           Look to trick out your ride? Decorate your bike using colorful string, tissue paper, beads, bells, recycled materials and tape – or bring your own fun materials.

For those who want a glimpse of what went down at last year’s festival, here is an informing video.

Over 200,000 visitors participate in the festival, which features work from over 500 artists, 100 studios, 50 galleries and stages and 100 programming partners. The official Festival hours are Friday 6pm to 9pm, Saturday 12pm to 9pm, Sunday 12pm to 6pm and sundown to midnight all three nights for all outdoor projections, said organizers.

With its sleek, powder coated steel design and rubber seal, Ubbi prevents odor absorption, locks in the stank and is easy to clean. The chosen-one that gets to deal with diaper duty can use any tall kitchen bag on the Ubbi and a simple sliding lid means you don’t have to get too close or let too many aromas out into your space. Thankfully, the contraption is also childproof and locks so that pets and wee people can’t knock out the diaper pail’s contents.

Fresh to the market in 2012, Ubbi has already earned top ratings from parenting and lifestyle rags, as well as seen solid sales, reported a company representative at the trade show. Ubbi also sells eco-friendly pail liners, plastic bags and other diaper accessories—for those who want the works. It comes in eight colors and can be decorated to match you children’s room décor. Stench never looked so stylish!

Some 25,000 children attended the three-day festival in 2011, which saw over 500 artists, 100 studios and 50 galleries participate. Noticing a growing demand for creative programming geared towards kids, organizers have elected to expand aspects of the festival into a more family-friendly format.

“We’re extremely excited to bring our signature family programming across the East River to Brooklyn this fall,” said Dave Kaplan, Executive Director, CMA. “The festival’s spectacular line-up is sure to inspire, and CMA is especially thrilled to present workshops and experiences that engage young festival goers and help them harness their creativity.”

In addition to the numerous interactive art experiences, exhibitions and craft events, organizers have announced a special component of the festival that will focus on DUMBO’s waterfront. These activities will surround family hotspots such as Jane’s Carousel and Brooklyn Bridge Park.

“We are looking forward to offering a diverse range of programs that will inspire the next generation of festival artists," Lisa Kim, Director DUMBO Arts Festival told Scooter.

Kids can explore a stop-motion animation workshop based on DUMBO's layout, sculpt animals and figurines in the museum’s pop-up Clay Bar or keep it highbrow and browse the surrounding galleries.

More festival events will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

Believe it or not, a great family-friendly option is Coney Island’s Circus Sideshow. Running continually on Saturdays and Sundays from 1p.m. -8p.m. Adults tickets are $10, $5 for children under 12, and ticket sales end at 7 p.m.

The spectacle is great, traditional circus fun for all ages. By The Seashore theatre (1208 Surf Avenue, Coney Island, Brooklyn), the permanent home of the Coney Island Circus Sideshow, is the last place in the U.S. where you can experience the thrill of a ten-in-one circus sideshow--human wonders, curiosities and all.

Want to celebrate the magical realism of childhood in a more sophisticated fashion than your average Anne Geddes print? Of course you do - unless you really love grinning infants wearing pumpkin costumes. (I have always suspected those children are drugged). Kid-in’s take on childhood is thoroughly grown up.

If there is a child in a pumpkin costume on the site, you can be sure that it was intended as a wry and pointed commentary.

At Kid-in, an online platform on which a wide range of international and local designers and photographers focus their creative efforts on the subject of childhood, you’ll always find something fresh.

Updated fortnightly, the site features photos of children dressed in war paint, sitting like tiny tutu-ed dictators on thrones, and grimly dragging their toy trains. Meanwhile, toys like the Slinky lend themselves to the “platonic solids” series. The overall effect is more fashion editorial, less consciously cutesy. That is to say, the children in it still look like children – but they don’t look like they were posed to provoke squeals of delight from adults.

Alice Bertay and Stephanie Arpage, the two Brooklyn moms from France who founded the site, see childhood as more than simply adorable. Alice notes that she’s driven by “her love of spontaneity and the surreal” while Stephanie’s inspiration stems from the family attic and “the hours on end spent pilfering forgotten trunks of exotic fabrics and costume jewelry.” Perhaps those insights account for the stunning outfits seen on children to the site - or maybe that’s just good stylists at work. Regardless you can expect to see something brilliant and inventive - with very little kidding around.