Fun With Kids in the Oakland and Berkeley
Do you need any more good reasons to go to the movies? Here are three great ones brought to you by the New Parkway Family Classics! The New Parkway theater in Oakland has great food, BEER, and room for kids to move around. Friday and Saturdays feature throwback movies — called the Family Classics — [...]
Designed to expose folks both to comic books as an art and entertainment form and also to their local independent comic book shops, Free Comic Book Day is being observed on May 4th by a handful of East Bay locations. The free books, designed especially for this promotion, will satisfy a variety of ages and [...]
The Cassoulet Saved Our Marriage is a collection of essays about eating and how we learn to do it, with and from our families. Several of the contributors are East Bay writers, including Berkeley native Phyllis Grant who has been featured here before. Mrs. Dalloway’s on College Avenue will host a free reading from the [...]
I was a lucky chaperone on a field trip to Alameda’s Crab Cove with a class of curious kindergartners. I learned about marine mammals (native critters), estuaries (fresh water + ocean water), and how often snacks and hugs are required to keep our energy up (lots!). What’s so special about Crab Cove? The Crab Cove [...]
Go Giants! Though I’m not much of a baseball fan, it’s pretty exciting having world champs in our backyard. Am I right? To get a taste of the action without paying for a ticket, you and your children can head down to the fan lot playground on non-game days. I learned this tip from San [...]
There really is something for everyone as UC Berkeley, AKA Cal, opens its doors to the families of the East Bay for Cal Day. My husband and second grader have their eyes on auditing another physics class while my kindergartner and toddler want to run around the grounds making slime and looking for doggies and [...]
The Kids Bowl Free program is nationwide, and our local independent bowling alley in Albany participates. Simply go to the website KidsBowlFree.com/albany to register your child. Every week, free bowling passes will arrive in email. Beginning April 15, your child can bowl twice per day, every day, all summer as long as he or she [...]
The Kids Skate Free program is nationwide, and our nearby independent roller skating rink in San Ramon participates. Kids 12 and under can skate for free during designated times with a printed letter from the kidsskatefree.com site. As of today, these are the dates and times: Friday 3:45 pm – 6:00 pm Sunday 12:45 pm [...]
Memorial Park in Albany is home to so many family-friendly resources and events, that all parents in communities north of Berkeley should know about it. While parking is plentiful, the streets surrounding Memorial Park are flat and relatively quiet, so biking there is inviting. An open playground for kids five and older offers big kid [...]
Andrea Scher is a mom of two boys and a photographer, coach, and storyteller. She shared her favorite spots in Berkeley with me. You can learn more about the classes she teaches at SuperHero Life. What’s your favorite playground? I started going to Totland when I was pregnant with my first son. I felt a [...]
My cousin texted me from across the Bay to ask if we should get our kids together on Monday, Feb 11, as her child’s school was closed to honor Lunar New Year. “We’ve got school today,” I told her, “but let’s hang out on Malcolm X Day,” I joked, as Berkeley Unified observes the birthday [...]
Thanks to Felicity at Encore Hand-me-down Baby Registry for urging us all to check out the improvements at Emeryville Market. Not that you need an excuse to let someone else make you dinner, but it sounds like a terrific solution for busy families with little ones. I went to Public Market in Emeryville on Friday [...]
As a single lady, I loved venturing to the usually-rainy evening parade through San Francisco’s Chinatown (this year Feb 23). As a parent, we’ve had much more success with Fourth Street and their laissez-faire easy-access demonstrations and festivities. I asked others in their parent posse what’s been fun for them. Fourth St Whitney, Cara, and [...]
If you’re near Hayward, their shoreline “Interpretive Center” has countless events coming up for kids to do hands-on science. Friday will be Toddler time! Long winter or short? I know which one I’m wishing for. Regardless, there will be Groundhog Day-themed fun at Playland Not-at-the-Beach (Saturday & Sunday!) Preview a Kindermusik class in Montclair for [...]
The Tilden Regional Parks Botanic Garden, an enchanted, not-so-secret garden, is a magical place for visitors of all ages at no cost. The garden is full of California native plants, rare and endangered including flowers, ferns, trees and even flowering cactus. You don’t have to be a botanist to enjoy the space, just a lover [...]
My husband grew up in a college town where attending sporting events was the obvious answer to any family’s need for cheap, wholesome entertainment. Since our kids have passed through the toddling stage, he’s enlightened me on the value of the Cal athletic department in our own backyard; my 5-year old and 8-year old have [...]
This past Saturday I discovered a great activity to do with my son. Not only was it great– it was free. Score! The Junior Center for Art and Science is a wonderful gem located next to the bird sanctuary at Lake Merritt, fit with amazing views of Oakland and all the beautiful wildlife that lives [...]
