Wondering what to do with your kids next week, when half of Champaign-Urbana leaves town for Spring Break?

If it's beautiful, we plan to spend lots of time (at last) outdoors. But given that the forecast looks a bit wet and chilly, I'm compiling a rainy-day list.

So I was thrilled to see that the Urbana Free Library's "Princess Party" is Tuesday afternoon. Children get to dress up as their favorite princess (or prince) and enjoy stories, songs and princess-related crafts.

My daughter went last year with some friends and loved it, though it was a bit crowded. She actually slumped her shoulders in disappointment when she found out the Daddy-Daughter Princess Ball was not, in fact, "that thing at the library we went to last year."

It's scheduled for 2 to 3 p.m. in the Auditorium of the library, 210 W. Green St., U.  Admission is free, and it's open to "children of all ages." For information, call Children's Services at 367-4069.

Here are some other fun free or low-cost activities:

-- Develop their green thumb! Your child can learn how to start plants -- and take some home -- at a Kids Garden Club from 10 to 11:30 a.m. this Saturday (March 20) at the Champaign County Forest Preserve's Lake of the Woods Museum, 600 N. Lombard, Mahomet (off Illinois Route 47).

Naturalist and garden specialist Ralph Bonati will teach kids about the parts of a seeds, why plants have them, and how they work. They'll have a chance to plant seeds, including organic radishes, carrots, Swiss chard and "some cool-looking" lemon chiffon sunflowers, which are shorter and lighter yellow than regular sunflowers. And they get to keep the plants.

No weather worries: the session will be inside the greenhouse in the Discovery Garden behind the museum, Bonati says.

The session costs $5 per child, and registration is required. For information, call 586-2612, or email Bonati at email rbonati@ccfpd.org.

-- Looking for a cultural event? The Urbana library's Middle East Story Time from 2 to 3 p.m. this Saturday (March 20) will focus on Yemen. Angela Williams from the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Program will present stories, music and cultural activities. The program is held every third Saturday, with a different country featured each month.

--  Going to the dogs: Your school-age child can read to a friend  -- the four-legged, furry kind -- at the Urbana library's popular "Ruff! Read" event from 4 to 4:45 p.m. Thursday. The Champaign County Humane Society brings over several dogs -- well-trained ones on leashes, I'm told --  to listen to stories read by children.

-- Nature play:  The Anita Purves Nature Center, 1505 N. Broadway Ave., U, will host a "Play Date at the Nature Center" from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday. You and your child can explore the field station, check out the habitat gardens from the Wildlife Observation Room, or meet one of the education animals at 3:30 p.m.  Call 384-4062, or check www.urbanaparks.org.

-- Discover Early America: The Lake of the Woods Museum is open from 1 to 5 p.m. daily. The Discovery Room includes a riverboat experience, where kids can try out a canoe; a wigwam with Native American activities; Fun at the Hearth, where they can turn a butter churn and set the table for a pioneer family; and Zay Wright's bedroom, which is based on descriptions from the diary of a young girl from that era that was found in west Champaign.

The children's collections on display are always a hit -- my son was entranced with one featuring about 100  Buzz Lightyear figures a few years ago.  (Moms of girls beware: One current display features Kit, the American Girl doll.)

And Museum Director Cheryl Kennedy said "blue boxes" with activities for kids -- scavenger hunts, word finds, etc.  are set up throughout the museum to help them explore other exhbiits.

"A family can go through the museum together," she said.

For more ideas, check out the online calendar listings on our home page, www.news-gazette.com.

Photo: A sunflower in the Discovery Garden at the Early American Museum in Mahomet. By  Robin Scholz /The News-Gazette

Photos: