The Great Outdoors: Introducing the Kids to Camping

Growing up on the East Coast, nothing was more thrilling than a summer night spent under the stars, sitting around a campfire scorching my marshmallows and sleeping in the cozy confines of a tent. As I've fallen into grown- up, urban malaise, the camping experience has dropped to the bottom of my activities list-until now. Now, the idea of spending the evening under the starry sky with my son and his Dad seems extremely appealing. The question then remains, where to go? The Bay Area has so many family friendly campsites it's staggering. So I've listed but a few and invite you to add any you may know of.

Angel Island has always beckoned me from across the stretch of the Bay. An island accessible by ferry that offers overnights with advance reservations. See their website for views of each campground.

The Kirby Cove Campground is a popular place for those in the know. Located in the Marin Headlands, the cove looks out over the bay and offers spectacular views of San Francisco. Like many of the campsites, there are restrictions on building fires and bringing pets. Please check restrictions beforehand.

Berkeley Echo Lake Camp located in the Lake Tahoe region is a campground run by the city of Berkeley for the enjoyment of Berkleyites and anyone else. The site is very family friendly and offers cozy tent cabins, bath houses and laundry facilities.

The Del Valle Regional Park in Livermore offers not only camping but the opportunity to swim during the warmer seasons as well. The flat, open expanse is serene and campsites look out over a lake where sailboats drift by.

For more information including best times to book campsites and what restrictions may apply check out the California State Parks page which has a wealth of information.

Play, Don't Spray, In The Bay

The recent news that citywide spraying would take place this summer has put my Mom radar on alert. This is an issue we should all be very concerned about but particularly in regards to the more vulnerable members of our society, the very young and the elderly, who could be most affected by the residual effects of spraying. Moms around the Bay Area have formed a united front to say an emphatic "NO" to the scheduled spray. I won't rehash the stats or go on at length about the debates already in progress-better to be read and understood personally. As a new mom I know it concerns me that we have so little information on the possible long term effects of spraying over heavily populated communities. So I'm providing a list of organizations and local groups dedicated to fighting for our rights to overturn a dangerous and risky proposition.

Play Not Spray is a coalition of concerned SF parents and others who object strongly to the scheduled spray-look on their site for facts, meetings and hearings at City Hall.

Stop the Spray is a site full of information, past news stories on the issue and a calendar of upcoming meetings.

Here's an informative article by the Chronicle that touches on the coalition of Moms that have formed to protest the spray.

Feeling Gruppy?? Alternative Fun With Your Kids

The term Grup has been thrown around enough and yet, the idea behind it doesn't seem to want to go away. Today's parents really aren't interested in completely turning over their time and identities to Barney and Friends or Thomas the Train simply because they have decided to have children. The question then remains: what family-friendly things can we do with our kids where we both have fun? This is not to say that compromises shouldn't be made on behalf of one's kid-yes, we will need to watch the occasional puppet show and yes, we will be going to the Bay Area Discovery Museum on free day along with every other family in the Bay Area, that's not to say we can't introduce our kids to the unusual, not mundane entertainment options available.

If Easter Sunday is a sacred event in your home, good for you for creating a sense of tradition. If however, you are ready to get out of the house or are looking for an Easter alternative, the Annual BYOBW ( Bring Your Own Big Wheel) event may be for you. Before you get the kids all worked up, keep in mind that this is an adults only downhill race, traditionally held on Lombard Street, but moved in 2008 to the equally perilous, Vermont Street. "Racers" dressed in costumes of their choosing, careen down hillsides on their trusty child size trikes. Goofy, irreverent and fun for spectators and drivers alike, this is an eye full for kids of all ages.

How Berkeley Can You Be?? A question that opens itself, with a true sense of humor to many interpretations. The long running parade and festival is a chance for true Berkeley-ites and their fans to don a costume, create a float, play some music while doing all three...the choice is yours and kids will love the activities geared towards them while parents can relax and enjoy music, food and art.

Another Berkeley plug yes, but who can resist the lure of one kite if not hundreds? The Berkeley Kite Festival is one such event that will bring everyone together under the big, blue sky. Whether you are in the event or simply looking on, there is no end to the beauty and marvel of the technique and artistry of the kites in action.

Giving Dads Thier Due: Bay Area Dads Groups

Let me be the first to admit that when I think of connecting to other parents, I usually think in terms of other moms. It is a bias based on numbers and experience-the playground connections with Dads are the rarity and unfortunately, for many Dads out there who have taken on the role of SAHD, making connections to other moms is made more difficult by preconceptions and gender bias which is an unspoken but insidious truth. But the reality in the Bay Area is that there are many Dads who have made the choice to be the sole caretaker in their relationships and who seek the same sort of sense of community that moms find, more often in moms groups. As a response to this, Dads groups have cropped up all around the Bay Area and often you can see the numbers present at the playground or parks when they meet. Here are a few that I found:

East Bay Dads is a group of Dads and their kids that meet as least twice a week to explore cool (usually outdoor) pockets of the Bay Area. Almost every Thursday they go hiking. Some are full-time SAHD, others are working flexible hours to spend more time at home. The group has been active since 1998.

Grateful Dads also began in 1998, by founding member, Jonathan Marks who was looking for a way to incorporate his love for the outdoors with his new role of dad. Members meet up for hikes around the Bay and plan to expand activities to include rock climbing, kayaking and camping.

Meetup.com is an interesting way to streamline your interests and activities and find groups that meet your needs. There is a chapter, The San Francisco Gay Dads Meetup which is steadily growing. For gay dad's looking for something more than circle time, this is a great way to meet other dads.

I'm always for promoting other parent related blogs and found this, At-Home Dad, while browsing for dad's groups. While it extends beyond the Bay Area, it's unique perspective will no doubt be of interest to dads looking for content that doesn't include Mommy in the title!



photo credit: Flickr meemal

More Than Fingerpaints: Introducing Your Kids to Artmaking

When it comes to our son's future, my husband and I are biased; we don't wish for a doctor or lawyer- no, really we hope that he follows in his father's footsteps and becomes an artist. Whether he will enjoy artmaking is really an unknown. We can surround him with stamps and paper, chalk and finger paint;the introductory tools. But, regardless of whether he someday is a RISDI grad or not, right now, the process of artmaking can open up new skill sets to him and visual expression. Having an easel set up at home or simply paper taped to the fridge is fine for rainy day activities, but a class can really act as a motivator with other budding artists all learning social skills as they learn smearing, sparkling and sticky paper skills as well...

Precita Eyes Mural Center in San Francisco has long been a champion of creating and preserving the vivid, beautiful murals that adorn the buildings of the city. But they also offer classes for toddlers, 18 months to 5 years. For 5 years and up, there's an introduction to mural making art class.

Across the bridge in Larkspur is Busy Little Hands, an arts and crafts studio just for the short set. Classes are held in a charming, sunny studio space with classes that range from printmaking to sculpting. Classes are age appropriate, parents can work side by side with the truly young or shadow their older kids who are confident to explore on their own.

The Monart School in Alameda is good for the older end of the spectrum, kids 4-5 that might be ready for a more directed approach to art making. The school does have a definite philosophy based on the teachings of educator Mona Brooks, so if you are looking for something more freeform, this may not be an ideal class setting.

The aptly named Purple Crayon in San Francisco not only does good things for kids wanting to make art, they create opportunities to bring art to the schools and organizations in the Bay Area that need it the most, through their foundation. Check out their calendar for age appropriate classes , where getting messy is more than okay, it's expected.




photo credit: Flickr Moriza

Suggested Readings

As an avid reader pre-labor, I was more than a little dismayed by my utter lack of mental focus after coming home from the hospital and months afterwards. To plow through books as I once did became an impossible task and really, at the forefront of my mind was not the fate of a fictionalized heroine, but the nuts & bolts of raising a kid! Escapism, Out. Memorization and fact finding, In. So I came down off that rigorous self tutorial on parenting after about 10 months and found I could lay off the giant tomes put out by Dr. Sears and turn to lighter parental fare. Here are a few I've stumbled across, some are magazines which clearly aren't literature but can satisfy the need to feel informed but also indulgent. Other favorite reads are online and in print so take your pick, which you prefer. And some of my favorite Mom reads are older books that my mom found at a yard sale and brought to me. A few favorites:

Salon had a fantastic column Mothers Who Think in the late 90's which, to my dismay, was discontinued. Featuring writers like the inimitable Anne Lamott, Susie Bright, Ariel Gore and others. Luckily, through the magic of technology, we can still read the archives. Or, if you are a bookish person, as I am, they published an anthology of some of the best essays from the site.

Cookie Magazine, as the title implies is a guilty pleasure. While it is chock full of solid parenting advice, it doesn't forget the product loving, consumer Mom that wants to pore over the latest in lipsticks, fragrances and home decor. While I have a harder and harder time justifying buying a Vogue magazine, Cookie feels like a small indulgence that's a little hipper than many of the other parenting magazines out there.

Bay Area Moms, Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile were so changed by becoming Moms and saw so much pressure amongst their friends striving to be Perfect Moms that they wrote a book about it: I Was A Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids, despite the tongue-in-cheek title, the book surprised me with its straightforward yet humorous tone. Using interviews from other Moms, the book is broken into sections. Topics like letting go of guilt and losing judgment over our choices and more importantly, those of other moms are really key. Funny, poignant and never preachy it's a good bedside read especially when you've had a challenging day.

When I first came home from the hospital and spent a good deal of time lolling about marveling at my newfound role of Mom, my own mother brought me a wonderful, gently used book that I treasure; The Little Big Book For Moms. Created by Lena Tabori and Alice Wong, both moms, this hefty, little tome is a collection of old fashioned nursery rhymes, fairy tales, finger play (a mystery term to me before motherhood), and recipes for rainy, indoor days-all this juxtaposed against beautiful, turn-of -the century illustrations from children's books.




photo credit Flickr malais

Into The Wild Blue Yonder: Travelling With Kids

Whether you are flying for the first time as a new parent or gearing up for your families annual trip back to see the folks, you are no doubt well aware that flying with kids adds a whole new layer to what can already be a hectic experience. With some research and the right goodies on hand, New Moms can make the flight for their babes and themselves a much smoother adventure overall. There are a few articles on the subject that are good to preview if you are planning a trip-You'll no doubt get great advice if you let any other Mom know your plans. There are the old standbys of kid flying:

• Bring a bottle or nurse the wee one upon take off and landing, to ease the pressure on the ears as the plane ascends or descends. You & the older kids can enjoy the sugary pleasure of chewing gum to alleviate the pressure. Or engage the kids in a yawning contest to help those ears pop!
• Bring new toys that remain hidden in a separate goodie bag until take off. Babies are obviously easier on this front-but for the older kids, draw out the experience by wrapping gifts in comic paper to heighten the sense of anticipation-this way a pack of crayons and stickers go a long way.
• Did I mention stickers?

• Most definitely bring one good ol' familiar toy such a s a soft toy or a favorite book to bring comfort to unfamiliar surroundings.

A few articles for quick reference that I thought were smart and to the point-key, when you are reading them right before bed, with your eyes at half-mast:

Fodors has this heartening and humorous take on flying with kids.

No surprise that the topic of flying with children would inspire a blog-this one, written by a former flight attendant and mother is lengthy but thorough and gives an insider's view. Plus, it features an excellent checklist of things to bring with you.

This Salon article is both funny and frank in its depiction of one Mom's first experience flying internationally with two kids.

Check out the SFO website for special family friendly areas of entertainment for flight delays.

Oakland International doesn't seem to have anything in their site about family areas, but they smartly include this nifty link for printable activity pages and airplane cutouts for the little airplane enthusiast!

Ultimately, the key is to have a sense of humor ( as much as you can) about anything that might happen. Put on your social blinders with the other passengers ( you'll never see any of them again, you spend a lifetime with the kids) and make sure you are organized and prepared for life's little mishaps. As Hunter S. Thompson used to say, " Buy the ticket, take the ride"



photo credit Flickr J. Engstrom