Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in greater los angeles, CA

Preschoolers Like to "Work" Too: Jobs Around the House for the Little One

May 12, 2009

Five jobs you can give your preschooler for imagination exercise:

1.  "Office."  What could be easier or more fun than to pretend he is "working" on a "project" or he has to "check his email just for a sec" before he can play with you?  I can't imagine where a child would hear such a line...  If you don't have old keyboards and phones and computers laying around the house, they are easy enough to obtain for free through Craigslist or Freecycle.  Wipe everything down with disinfectant, then let them play and pretend with pencils and paper and you can even dress them up in little office attire.

2.  Chef.  Even if they don't make something edible, children love to pretend they are cooking.  We have set up a makeshift stove on a plant stand using a plastic strainer and some small toys and a wooden spoon.  For the older children, have them help you roll out pizza dough and spread sauce and cheese on it, then point out what you are doing when you put the pizza in the oven and set the timer.  They will love to see the finished product and maybe they will even eat it.  Bonus if you use whole wheat dough and organic toppings.

3.  Astronaut.  Settle a child down inside a box that is bigger than her body and she can draw dials and monitors and cut a hole out for the window.  Dress her up in a costume and tell her to fly off and explore faraway planets and galaxies and report back to you what she has found and even draw pictures of what she saw.

4.  Gardener:  Whether you have a yard or not, helping plants grow is a job preschoolers are made for.  Their little hands are small and love to get dirty.  Have them water the plants or the garden, give them things to carry to and from your work area, and get them started early on weeding.  Not only do you have his imagination engaged when you talk about what the growing plant will look like with love and care, but you also have a helper!

5.  Professional organizer:  It's a growing population of professionals with a national association and a big job:  Americans are clutter hoarders.  People who are good at purging and keeping the level of stuff in their homes are few and far between and teach us all lessons.  Show your child how to sort his toys into bins, give him a clipboard and a list and a pencil to make check marks, and set him to it.  This will help instill good habits in him, and someday he can come back to dig you out of the warrens of clutter you are living in with your cats.  Read more...

Weekend Roundup - Spring!

March 19, 2009

SATURDAY

Car seat installation check, courtesy of LAPD:  The hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Councilman Zine's office, 19040 Vanowen Street, Reseda, CA 91335.  Call Jessica at (818)756-8848 for a reservation. Each car takes ~30 minutes.

Beatles Tribute Band Imagine, concert at Descanso Gardens - 11am for crafts, 1pm for concert.  Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Dr., b/t Foothill & Verdugo Blvds., La Cañada Flintridge (818-949-4200).

SUNDAY

Tomato-growing class:  Laura Taylor has been growing heirloom tomatoes for over 15 years and is presenting a class at 10 am. The class will cover preparing your soil or containers, choosing plants, how to feed and water your tomatoes and what to do when ugly "hornworms" arrive.  The address is 4343 Natoma Avenue, Woodland Hills. The cost is $10 for handouts and a tomato plant. RSVP is required to (818) 716-7130 or westport11@aol.com

 

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Four Places To Get a Taste of Farm Life

March 10, 2009

1.  Orange Grove at Cal State Northridge:  Driving east or west on Nordhoff Avenue between Lindley and Zelzah, look north and you will see the Orange Grove of CSUN.  The oranges are not harvested, but university inherited the trees when it took over the tract of land in 1956, according to the school's publication, The Daily Sundial.  As the old orange groves in the valley were decimated to make way for building development, CSUN's grove has remained a citrus oasis in our ever growing desert of stone and brick.  Now that the university has relocated its koi pond and installed a lighted pathway through the grove, this stand of orange trees is an even nicer pocket of green and a good place for children to run and explore.

2.  There is a house on the west side of Louise Ave. just north of Victory whose front yard is decorated with rusting antique farm equipment.  It is on a shady stretch of the street and would make an interesting stop on your way to or from somewhere else to marvel at the oddities in the front yard.

3.  Pierce College has agriculture and veterinary programs and every spring they open up the doors and gates for the community to come see what they are working on.  This year the event, called Pierce College Farm Walk, will be held on Sunday, April 19 from 9 to 5.  Local blogger Aprilbaby has pretty pictures of last year's event.

4.  Tapia Brothers farm in Encino has been there for so long that it's a multi-generational valley tradition.  Visit every season for a different specialty, including the upcoming Tomatomania on March 27.  Read more...

Warm Days Mean Fresh Veggies!

by Kim Tracy Prince

January 29, 2009

Anything over 8 degrees F feels warm to me after spending a cold week on the east coast. Now that that's established, let's take a moment to turn our faces up to the sun and enjoy its goodness and light. After all, that's why we live here, right? Beautiful weather, most of the time? With the days turning warm again for a little while at least, we can venture back out into the  Read more...

I Love a Parade

by Kim Tracy Prince

January 16, 2009

This holiday weekend is full of parades, which couldn't make me happier. Except that I'm not in town, so I'll miss them. Rats. The Pasadena Doo Dah Parade is Sunday, January 18. Sort of the anti-Rose Parade, the Doo Dah celebrates all things wacky and whimsical. It "is expected to draw an estimated 45,000 fun-lovers from all over Southern California and parts unknown. Since 1978, Doo Dah  Read more...