Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Washington, DC

Learning to sing the ABCs is something that children learn at a young age.  Being able to identify the letters in the alphabet, both uppercase and lowercase, comes a little later.  Then along come the alphabet books, or in our case an ABC guide to the DC Metro Area:

A-    Adams Morgan for ethnic dinner table destinations
B-    Beltway's infamous traffic.  Never be without a stack of CDs to sing your way through the gridlock
C-    Capitol Building has great steps for climbing to wear out little legs
D-    Department of Justics
E-    Engraving and Printing, Bureau of as the source for shredded money which is always novel!
F-    Fort McHenry as the inspiration for the Star Spangled Banner
G-    Georgetown for boats whether stepping back in time to ride a canal boat at the end of the C+O Canal or watching sleek hulls glide along the Potomac alongside Duck Boats
H-    Hot dogs at the infamous Ben's Chili Bowl
I-    Iwo Jima Memorial as a great place for watching 4th of July fireworks or cheering on the finishers of the Marine Corps Marathon
J-    Jefferson Monument
K-    Kennedy Center is a great place to introduce your child to the performing arts
L-    L???Enfant a famous architect and civil engineer who oversaw the planning and development of Washington DC
M-    Metro
N-    Newseum's wall of daily front pages from around the country and world is always impressive
O-    Old Post Office's elevator to the top allows you to see forever on a clear day
P-    Pentagon
Q-    Quantico, home of the largest Marine base
R-    Reflecting Pool
S-    Space shuttle at the Udvar Hazy Museuem
T-    Tien Tien, Mei Xiang, and not-so little Tai Shan, our beloved pandas  
U-    Union Station for catching a MARC train for a quick ride to Baltimore to satisfy your train buff
V-    Vietnam Memorial
W-    Washington Post
X-    Xando in DuPont Circle for tasty smores
Y-    Yurts in Glen Echo Park are the cupcake-like structures that how house craft workshops
Z-    Zoo as one of our family's free favorite places to spend a day running around and catching glimpses of animals