http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/arts/spare-times-for-children-for-dec-5-dec-11.html 2014-12-05 17:22:18 Spare Times for Children for Dec. 5-Dec. 11 A selected guide to cultural events for children, teenagers and families in New York City. === Brooklyn Botanic Garden Few plants flourish in an icy Northeastern winter. But one variety proliferates as soon as the weather gets cold: the couch potato. And that’s true of small fries as well as big spuds. Don’t expect the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to cultivate them, however. “We wanted to do a number of things with outdoor walks and explorations,” said Anita Jacobs, the garden’s director of public programs, explaining its latest family activities. “We also wanted to do things that involved movement, because I think people are feeling a little stir-crazy in the wintertime, especially children.” This weekend, those young visitors can energize their bodies and spirits through dance. On Saturday at noon and 2 p.m., American Ballet Theater will visit the garden with While Ballet Theater’s workshop introduces classical ballet, and Spoke the Hub’s is “more kapow and kicking in the air,” the programs use many of the same principles, Ms. Jacobs said. Mark Lamb, a Spoke the Hub teaching artist, developed Action Heroes to lure boys, she explained, who “don’t realize that they’re actually learning dance techniques.” At the garden, girls can also join the class, whose students often come in capes to leap over tall buildings (towers of soft blocks). Although the dance workshops will be indoors, Sunday’s programs, part of Those wishing to stay inside — but not as couch potatoes — can pot paperwhite bulbs or make crafts like animal track art and pine-needle pillows (1 to 3 p.m.). A Victorian Toy Parlor (1 to 4 p.m.) will beckon with vintage-style wood playthings, like (At 990 Washington Avenue, near Eastern Parkway, Prospect Heights, 718-623-7200, ‘The Amazing Adventures of Harvey and the Princess’ ‘The Amazing Max’ ‘Archaeology Zone: Discovering Treasures From Playgrounds to Palaces’ ‘Baby Got Bach’ Blessing of the Animals ‘A Christmas Carol, Oy! Hanukkah, Merry Kwanzaa’ Cirque Zíva ‘Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical’ ‘Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas’ Film Forum Jr.: ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’ ‘El Gato con Botas (Puss in Boots)’ ‘The Gazillion Bubble Show: The Next Generation’ ‘Great White Shark’ ‘Into the Third Dimension: 3-D Printing for Young Artists’ ‘Jazzed! The Changing Beat of 125th Street’ Josh & the Jamtones ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ ‘Monday Night Magic’ Reading Into History Book Club: ‘Crow,’ by Barbara Wright ‘Seven in One Blow, or the Brave Little Kid’ ‘Somebody Come and Play: 45 Years of “Sesame Street” Helping Kids Grow Smarter, Stronger, and Kinder’ Sundays in SoHo: William Wegman ‘Swamp Juice’ ‘Tunes With Tina’ ‘A Voyage Through Jewish History’ Winter Family Day