Just a quick reminder that this is the last week to sign up for the Leapfrog Leapster 2 giveaway. Remember, all you have to do to enter is take 30 seconds to sign up for our forums. Good luck all of you who’ve already done the deed. We’ll let you know who the lucky winner is early next week.

We’ve made no secret of how much we love the Brooklyn Wine Exchange, a happy neighborhood wine and spirits shop that opened next to trader Joe’s last December. But now we have even more emotion springing forth as it announces the opening of its Learning Center, which will be the venue for an array of scheduled classes each month including seminars hosted by top chefs, sommeliers, importers and wine makers.
The Learning Center, tucked into the back of the store, holds a maximum of 40 people and its classes are an unpretentious, fun and educational place to learn about wine, spirits and food pairing. Best of all? It’s free!! To reserve space in a first come, first serve basis or to inquire about private events, contact Brooklyn Wine Exchange at 718-855-WINE (9463).
Classes have been planned through May 2010, with upcoming seminar highlights including:
• Old World vs New World
• The “Ubernatural” Wine Club – exploring natural, organic and biodynamic wines
• Spicy Spanish wine exploration
• An Around the World wine club – focused on a different region each month
• Sake and Cheese Pairing
• The entire month of May will be dedicated to exploring local New York wineries
including the very local Red Hook winery

Here’s the February Schedule
Saturday, February 20th 4pm:
Wine 101 with Patrick Watson, proprietor Brooklyn Wine Exchange.
Down to the wine basics with our first class. Taste a variety of grapes from different regions around the world. We’ll get deep talking about the process of winemaking from fermentation to bottling.
Saturday, February 27th 4pm:
Big Reds with Ari Form, beverage director/proprietor The JakeWalk
Whether or not the good ole Groundhog sees his shadow, we’re honoring a selection of warm winter reds to heat you up. We’ll delve into both old world and new world styles, cover the basics, and get down to the details. These wines will carry you straight through until springtime really starts!

Think all that loud music has made you a little hard of hearing? Now’s the time to test that theory by heading to LICH for a free hearing screening. As adults and parents, we tend to forget about checking ourselves out for the things we test our kids for. Hearing definitely falls into that category–especially with the amount of time we stuff our ears with headphones, headsets and earpieces. The screenings are for adults and will be available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday throughout the month of February. Registration is required, but there is no charge. Call (718) 780-1755 to make an appointment.

Charlie-n-Diamond, a fairly new boutique that opened on Atlantic Ave. between Hicks and Henry last December wants to help you find a little somethin’ somethin’ this Valentine’s Day. On Sunday, they’ll be hosting a party featuring a Trunk show with fashions by Ryann, a locally made, sustainable clothing line (featured in Lucky and Nylon mags) and a raffle (one prize is a haircut at Boy Luv Girl Salon). All accessories will also be 20% off.

Sure, Jacques Torres is heaven for chocolate lovers, but no doubt it’s also a little high-minded for the little ones. Enter Dewey’s Candy, a new sweets store in Dumbo on 141 Front St between Pearl and Jay Sts. According to TONY Kids, the store is the brain-child of Alison “Dewey” Oblonsky, a veteran of Victoria’s Secret and Donna Karan, and can rival candy-mainstay Dylan’s on Lexington. There’s even a private space you can reserve for parties in back. Follow the store on Twitter and you’ll be alerted to specials on sweets.

I’ve got a son who’s eligible for preschool next year at PS 29 and I had a lot of questions about the application process. So I went to the orientation and checked the websites for the Department of Education and PS 29 (which is the school we’re zoned for). Through this combination, I found out when I had to apply and how many spots there were for preschoolers (that would be 54, with siblings getting first dibs). But I was still clueless about the rumours I had heard about how to apply for other schools if my son didn’t get in. So I called Roseann Giglio, the Pre-K Family Worker at the school and asked her a few questions.
She told me firstly that you can pick up a hardcover booklet on the NYC public school pre-k application process at any public school on 1 March. That will include the application and what you need to bring with you. The application will also be online on that same date. She then told me that although it’s not written in stone (things do change from year to year) last year’s booklet had space for parents to write in their top 12 choices, in order, for schools other than the one they’re zoned for. Of course, most schools in this area are just as full, so I’m not sure how helpful that’s going to be–but it certainly pays to try.
Roseann also mentioned something to me about CBO’s, which are Community-Based Options. She said that these are private institutions that get funds to take the overflow of the public school pre-k students. I was then told to give someone else at the school a call to find out more about these and haven’t heard back yet. I wanted to get this up to help any other parents who might be confused with all this, but promise to get back to these CBO’s when I learn more about them.