Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Have a Water Balloon Fight - Fun Stuff to Do Anywhere
While most kids are probably back to school by now, there is still enough summer heat around for this one. Take an afternoon, or weekend day - maybe when they're all hot after soccer practice - and start a water balloon fight in the backyard. It's the kind of fun memory you'll all look back on fondly.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Make a Fort with Blankets and Chairs - Fun Stuff to Do Anywhere
I remember the first time I helped my daughter make a fort out of the kitchen table and a blanket. She thought I was a genius. It surprised me that she needed me to show her how to do it. I guess I thought all kids were born knowing how fun making forts is. They're not.
If your kids have never built a fort from sheets and furniture, show them how. Get in there with them. If they have, help them make a new one today.
Have fun!
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Fun Stuff To Do For Kids Anywhere
To help fill in some of the lag time between posts, I'm starting a new feature of "Fun Stuff To Do For Kids Anywhere" that will not be about a specific Bay Area location or attraction. Instead it will be an idea for something families or kids can do for fun at home (or near home).
Maybe it will be a craft project, or a game, or an activity that isn't location dependent. It won't always be something exciting, or even all that original. It'll probably be something you could have thought of yourself. Just something to get kids and families doing fun stuff together. Because that is important to me. And sometimes we just don't want to have to go someplace to do it.
Today's suggestion: Build something with Legos together.
Put on some fun music and dump your legos on the floor (or other building block things if you don't have legos) and build with your kids. This is fun for toddlers (with toddler safe blocks obviously) up through teens and adults. I remember my dad giving me a small $6 set of legos when I was 28, and we still had fun putting it together together.
Have Fun!
Maybe it will be a craft project, or a game, or an activity that isn't location dependent. It won't always be something exciting, or even all that original. It'll probably be something you could have thought of yourself. Just something to get kids and families doing fun stuff together. Because that is important to me. And sometimes we just don't want to have to go someplace to do it.
Today's suggestion: Build something with Legos together.
Have Fun!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Matteo's Dream Playground in Concord
This special playground was designed for a boy named Matteo who is blind and wheelchair bound, and other's like him. It is intended to be accessible to children of all levels and abilities. While I doubt all children could utilize all the features, there does seem to be something for everyone here. There are traditional swings, climbing structures, and stairs, but also a lot of ramps, and musical pipes to bang, and some open space.
One feature to note is a sprinkler area that children activate by pushing a button. This caught me off guard at our first visit, but now I know to bring along a towel, or cut the kids off from the water areas enough ahead of time for them to dry out before we leave. On hot summer days though, the water can be wonderful for cooling off.
There is one large covered picnic area that is available for reservation and several other tables that circle the play area. A low fence surrounds the play area and separates it from the tables, although the playground is still visible from the tables. There is also a restroom available.
Matteo's Dream Playground is located in Hillcrest Park at 2050 Olivera Road.
One feature to note is a sprinkler area that children activate by pushing a button. This caught me off guard at our first visit, but now I know to bring along a towel, or cut the kids off from the water areas enough ahead of time for them to dry out before we leave. On hot summer days though, the water can be wonderful for cooling off.
There is one large covered picnic area that is available for reservation and several other tables that circle the play area. A low fence surrounds the play area and separates it from the tables, although the playground is still visible from the tables. There is also a restroom available.
Matteo's Dream Playground is located in Hillcrest Park at 2050 Olivera Road.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Alpha Phonics, How My Kids Learned to Read
Sticking with the reading theme, since it's time now for Summer Reading Programs, I thought it was past time for a review of the Alpha Phonics reading book. I used Alpha Phonics to teach both my kids to read the summer before they began kindergarten.
Originally, I didn't think I needed a formal reading instruction book. We are big readers in our family. They kids were read to from before birth. Bedtime stories are a ritual, and we read together throughout the daytime as well. Once they knew their letters, and letter sounds, I tried just starting in on some of the very early reader books, like the "Bob Books", and other similar phonics early readers. I believe we were on the third Bob book when I realized that my daughter was not actually reading. She'd been fooling me. She'd look at the pictures, then the first letter or so of the word, and make a good guess. She made it through 2 books perfectly that way. What tripped her up was the word "rag". She read it as "blanket" based on the picture.
That was when I started researching reading programs. So many of them seemed so complicated, with games, and videos, and songs, and. . .oh yes, at last books too. There were some darn pricey ones too. I chose Alpha Phonics in the end because it was simple, and reasonably priced. The Alpha Phonics website offered the first several lessons for free. We used those first, and they went very well. My daughter gained confidence, and since there are no pictures, I knew she could really sound out her words.
The Alpha Phonics book has been everything I wanted in a program for learning to read. Simple, and organized. There is no preparation or extra work I need to do. We just open the book up to where we left off, and work through the next lesson. There are some lessons that are very long in the beginning, and new sounds are repeated over and over for the child to get a good grasp on them. There were usually more than my kids wanted to deal with in a day, so we didn't always do one lesson a day - when we hit those big ones, we just worked thought one page a day instead. We still made great progress, but with less stress.
I still strongly believe that in order to raise kids who love to read, they must live in a house that loves to read. Parents who read to them often, and just as importantly, read for their own pleasure, and let their kids seem them reading do a lot for the child's attitude toward books. But Alpha Phonics has helped us so much too. it made the process of learning to read smooth, natural, and painless. Despite the rather dull appearance of the book, with no flashy colors, and no pictures at all, both of my kids lit up when I pulled it out, ready to work through the next lesson. Although, in all honesty, they both were more resistant in the very beginning, maybe up to around lesson 10 to 15 or so. By then, thought, they had the hang of the program, then knew how it worked, and more importantly, they knew they could do it. It built that sort of confidence in them. It is a program that I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn to read, or to help someone else learn.
Originally, I didn't think I needed a formal reading instruction book. We are big readers in our family. They kids were read to from before birth. Bedtime stories are a ritual, and we read together throughout the daytime as well. Once they knew their letters, and letter sounds, I tried just starting in on some of the very early reader books, like the "Bob Books", and other similar phonics early readers. I believe we were on the third Bob book when I realized that my daughter was not actually reading. She'd been fooling me. She'd look at the pictures, then the first letter or so of the word, and make a good guess. She made it through 2 books perfectly that way. What tripped her up was the word "rag". She read it as "blanket" based on the picture.
That was when I started researching reading programs. So many of them seemed so complicated, with games, and videos, and songs, and. . .oh yes, at last books too. There were some darn pricey ones too. I chose Alpha Phonics in the end because it was simple, and reasonably priced. The Alpha Phonics website offered the first several lessons for free. We used those first, and they went very well. My daughter gained confidence, and since there are no pictures, I knew she could really sound out her words.
The Alpha Phonics book has been everything I wanted in a program for learning to read. Simple, and organized. There is no preparation or extra work I need to do. We just open the book up to where we left off, and work through the next lesson. There are some lessons that are very long in the beginning, and new sounds are repeated over and over for the child to get a good grasp on them. There were usually more than my kids wanted to deal with in a day, so we didn't always do one lesson a day - when we hit those big ones, we just worked thought one page a day instead. We still made great progress, but with less stress.
I still strongly believe that in order to raise kids who love to read, they must live in a house that loves to read. Parents who read to them often, and just as importantly, read for their own pleasure, and let their kids seem them reading do a lot for the child's attitude toward books. But Alpha Phonics has helped us so much too. it made the process of learning to read smooth, natural, and painless. Despite the rather dull appearance of the book, with no flashy colors, and no pictures at all, both of my kids lit up when I pulled it out, ready to work through the next lesson. Although, in all honesty, they both were more resistant in the very beginning, maybe up to around lesson 10 to 15 or so. By then, thought, they had the hang of the program, then knew how it worked, and more importantly, they knew they could do it. It built that sort of confidence in them. It is a program that I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn to read, or to help someone else learn.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Summer Reading Programs 2012
As the school year begins to draw to a close, libraries, and bookstores begin their summer reading programs. Your kids can earn free books, and other prizes, and keep up their reading skills over the summer. Win, win!
The first place to check out, for summer reading programs, is your local library. They always have a summer program, and in addition to prizes for reading, they usually offer other fun summer programs, like special guests or show, or storytimes.
In Contra Costa County Library, the summer reading program begins June 9th.
Alameda County Library's program begins June 11th.
San Francisco Library's program begins June 1st.
San Mateo County's Library Program runs June thru August.
Marin County Library has many Summer Reading Program launch parities scheduled for this and next week.
Solano County Library's runs from June 11th to Aug. 11th.
The bookstores are sponsoring their usual summer reading programs as well:
At Barnes and Noble, kids can earn a free book (from a pre-selected list) for reading 8 books over the summer.
Half-Priced Books is offering kids a $5.oo gift certificate to kids who read for 300 minutes.
The first place to check out, for summer reading programs, is your local library. They always have a summer program, and in addition to prizes for reading, they usually offer other fun summer programs, like special guests or show, or storytimes.
In Contra Costa County Library, the summer reading program begins June 9th.
Alameda County Library's program begins June 11th.
San Francisco Library's program begins June 1st.
San Mateo County's Library Program runs June thru August.
Marin County Library has many Summer Reading Program launch parities scheduled for this and next week.
Solano County Library's runs from June 11th to Aug. 11th.
The bookstores are sponsoring their usual summer reading programs as well:
At Barnes and Noble, kids can earn a free book (from a pre-selected list) for reading 8 books over the summer.
Half-Priced Books is offering kids a $5.oo gift certificate to kids who read for 300 minutes.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Low Cost Summer Movies 2012
It's almost time again for the great second-run summer
movies. The information I've tracked down so far for theaters in the Bay Area
include:
Century Theaters Cinemark Summer Movie Clubhouse, including the theaters in Danville, Pleasant Hill, San Jose, Woodland, Napa,
Walnut Creek and many more - 10 weeks of movies, that vary slightly from
theater to theater. They cost $1.00 each, or you can pre-pay for a 10-movie
pass for only $5.00. Each of the individual theater links I clicked on also had
a coupon for a discounted child concession pack. Check the link for your local
theaters to see which movies are offered which days. It looks to me as though
Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the most common days offered, with some theaters
offering two discount days, and some theaters offering one. The movies start at
10:00 am
The other theaters that have offered free or low cost summer movies in the past so far do not have any mention of a 2012 program on their websites, but I will keep checking, and update this post if more option appear. Most theaters don't start their summer movies until mid June, so there is still time.
UPDATE -
Regal theaters have released their list of participating theaters and movies. You can see if the theater near you is hosting $1.00 summer movies at their website, here.
Also Rave theaters are offering FREE summer movies. Their online schedule is harder to follow, and it looks like Brentwood is the only bay area theater participating, but you can check it out at the link above.
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