Kennedy Krieger Institute , a hospital in Baltimore that specializes in treating children with special needs, is working with the Parents' Choice Foundation to set up a national resource for testing, certification and labeling of toys for children of different abilities.

Growing dahlias for show is a fine hobby, but the practice of devoting whole beds to jumbo-size blooms has grated against those who see a gentler and more integrated role for this tender New World perennial.

This 11-day festival includes 62 films from 20 countries, shown at the AFI Silver Theatre and venues in the District. Stars of the films include Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toni Collette and Patrick Swayze. The festival kicks off at the AFI with the visually innovative "Camera Obscura," above, about an...

Dec. 3 "THE NUTCRACKER" The Puppet Co. Playhouse presents the classic holiday tale for age 5 and older. Thursday-Friday at 10 and 11:30 a.m., Saturday-Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Glen Echo Park, Puppet Co. Playhouse, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo. 301-634-5380. http://www.thepuppetco.org ....

The Nov. 26 Going Out Guide gave the wrong price and omitted the times of the Winter Display and Train Exhibit at the Brookside Gardens Conservatory in Wheaton. Through Friday, the Train Exhibit is open with admission to the Garden of Lights ($15-$20) from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Starting Saturday, the...

Tucked away in the hills around Sugarloaf Mountain are the Countryside Artisans, 14 art studios that will be open to the public this weekend and next for free self-guided tours. These painters, potters, sculptors, soap makers, woodworkers, glassblowers, printers and weavers will give demonstrations...

Cranium Hullabaloo. Sharpen listening as well as motor skills with the game that comes with pads of different shapes, colors and themes that you scatter around the room. A voice module then calls out instructions (spin to a musical instrument, for example) and tells you to freeze when the round is...

This is the time of year to overwinter favorite varieties of dahlia. The tubers are lifted after the frost kills the top growth, but take care not to nick or bruise them.

Q: For the past two summers I've been dealing with cicada-killer wasps. I discovered that they almost never sting and all they want to do is catch cicadas, and they really don't know they're scaring the pants off you.

Q: My antique bed, which I really love, needs a new mattress. I can remember when there were several local companies that made mattresses to order. Now I can't find one. Can you help?

G Street Fabrics is holding its annual holiday sale at its stores in Centreville and Falls Church and at its new flagship location in Rockville.

These sales were recorded in Montgomery County and supplied to The Washington Post by Spatial Systems Associates, the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation and the Maryland Office of Planning. To find sale and assessment records for homes in Montgomery and other Washington areas, visit...

Aleader in the national effort to raise the achievement of low-income children once told me how she became, to her amused surprise, one of those rare suburban Washington parents who pay tuition to send their children to D.C. public schools.

Here is an edited excerpt from The Post's On Parenting blog. Read the latest posts at http://voices.washingtonpost.com/parenting.

Montgomery County Humane Society has hundreds of dogs, cats, small mammals, birds, reptiles and livestock available for adoption at the Montgomery County Animal Shelter, 14645 Rothgeb Dr., Rockville. Animals can be seen at the shelter from noon to 7 p.m. weekdays, except Wednesday, and noon to 5...

These were among the cases received by the Montgomery County Animal Services Division. For recorded information on Montgomery County Animal Shelter hours and location, adoption and licensing procedures, rabies clinics and low-cost neutering, call 240-773-5960.

Staff Sgt. Larry McMillan has jumped out of airplanes, slogged through swamps in enemy territory and counted himself among the elite members of the U.S. military for 20 years.

A clinic for those who need medical attention and are unable to afford it has had a steady stream of clients since it opened last month in downtown Rockville.

The gang shooting that erupted outside the Westfield Wheaton mall two days before last Christmas terrified last-minute shoppers.

"ARTFUL EXPRESSIONS," watercolors, acrylics, oils and mixed media by Irene Glaser, Galina Kolosovskaya, Jane Preece and Martin Silverstein. Ratner Museum, 10001 Old Georgetown Rd., Bethesda. 301-897-1518.

Holy Family Anglican Church , 26130 Frederick Rd., Hyattstown, will host an Advent open house from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. It will include cookies, hot chocolate, punch, children's activities, raffles and live Christmas music. 240-491-2209.

The following organizations need volunteer help for a day, a week or on a regular basis.

These were among incidents reported by Montgomery County police. For information, call 240-773-5030.

These food establishments were closed because of health code violations. The list, compiled from health department reports, reflects actions taken by the departments.

With childhood obesity rates nearly tripling in the past 30 years, many parents are wondering what they can do to inspire their kids to be more active, especially during the winter.

A mild and wet November prompted the rapid germination and flowering of persistent winter weeds that will soon set seed unless they are removed.

Three St. John's College High School girls' basketball players entered a campus dining room on a recent afternoon for a mock college signing, each in a school-sanctioned skirt but one wearing a Harvard sweat shirt, one a Dartmouth sweat shirt and one a Cornell sweat shirt.

Whether you're just starting or just finishing your holiday shopping, we've got you covered. Here are our picks for some of the best gift ideas in town.

Nobody wants to unwrap a book about dieting, right?

"This space needs to remain functional, but needs to be brightened up and beautified."

Dear Dr. Fox: We have lost two precious, beautiful German shepherds. Both had crippling hind-leg deterioration. The strength in their hind legs and lower back appeared to simply give out. One of them finally couldn't walk at all.

Spread healthy holiday cheer with exercise gear. Here are goodies for every active elf on your shopping list.

You don't often think of air as fertilizer, but I recently opened a book called "Soil Aeration and Its Role for Plants," by Jan Glinski and Witold Stepniewski, and this was its first line:

You survived the Thanksgiving trek. Now it's time to get ready for the December holidays. Traffic history tells us this month's getaways will not match November's road agony. Only at Thanksgiving do so many pack so much travel into so few days.

Their most recent adoption was in June. That's when Gary and Vickie Ferko officially brought their 14-year-old son, Jesse, into the family fold. The teen had been living with them as a foster child for five years.