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

Weekend Roundup 8/8

August 06, 2009

Weekend Roundup

Traveling with the kids is such a chore, but remember that you are creating memories for them.  It's what you signed up for when you had kids, so you might as well accept that a vacation with them is not actually a vacation for you.  I learned that lesson again when my family went camping last weekend at Pismo Beach.  Read our story here.

For the next few weekends we'll be in Connecticut.  "Summering in Connecticut" as I like to say, even though it's only for most of August.  We'll enjoy the hot sticky weather there, and then come back to Los Angeles to cool off.  It's a dry heat. 

While we're away I will continue to highlight activities and ideas for you and your preschoolers.  Here are a few gems for this weekend:

TONIGHT - Thursday August 6
Summer Twilight Thursdays continue at Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge.  An Afro-Brazilian group sings, you recline on a blanket with a picnic dinner, the kids scamper about, chasing butterflies.  It's a pretty picture.

SATURDAY - August 8
Consider taking advantage of Katie's Cooking School's parent's night out.  Drop off at 6:30 - your kids make a yummy treat and get to play, then you pick them up at 10:30.  Everybody wins.

FRIDAY - SUNDAY

Free concerts continue in the evening at Levitt Pavilion in Pasadena

Check out this awesome list of water play areas around town, courtesy of LA Kidstuff

County Fairs:

We drove by the Ventura County Fair last weekend and if we weren't so exhausted we absolutely would have stopped.  It looked like a blast!

Ventura County Fair
Youth Day: Friday, August 7
All Fair Visitors 12 years of age and younger will be admitted free all day




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Sundays in the Garden of Water and Fragrance

March 09, 2009

This week's Being Savvy theme is green - not topic-of-the-moment "greening" of products and processes, but green things - urban farming, indoor gardens, farmers' markets, composting and the like.  Stuff you and your kids can use to really get your hands dirty.  I am taking this opportunity to tell you about a hidden wonder garden right here in the valley.

I've driven by the Japanese Garden on Woodley across from the eastern edge of Balboa Park countless times but I've never gone in.  I also recall that on the lawns outside the grounds there is a yearly Frisbee Football tournament, but I digress.  This week's theme reminded me that the Japanese Garden exists.  It is a 6.5 acre authentic Japanese Garden on the grounds of the Tillman Water Reclamation plant (also something I never knew was there!).  The garden was designed in the style of traditional Japanese strolling gardens, with carefully planned stone pathways, a log bridge, strategically placed stone lanterns, and a waterfall. 

There is also a traditional tea house and garden used for special Japanese ceremonies.   The grounds are landscaped with meticulous detail and feature native Japanese plants and traditional flora.

The garden is open for "strolling" Monday through Thursday 12:00 - 4:00 PM and on Sundays from 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM.  The fee is $3 for adults and $2 for children under ten.
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9 More Things To Do Before Your Kid Is Stuck in School All the Time

by Kim Tracy Prince

January 27, 2009

Last May, I started a series called Seize the Day: Top 99 Things To Do in Los Angeles Before Your Kids Grow Up. I only covered 10. It's about time for the next installment, because at this rate, it will take 8 years to get through it (here's hoping this site will still be around then!). When I took the preschool tour in December, one of my questions to the teachers was  Read more...

Weekend Roundup

by Kim Tracy Prince

September 12, 2008

This weekend our family is headed out to the Los Angeles County Fair . With two kids under 4, I am expecting a rough day for Mom and Dad, but I know it will be worth it for the memories the kids will take with them. Also, this weekend is our older boy's last Tiny Tots sports class with the L.A. Recreation and Parks department, so we are looking forward to more free time to check out cool  Read more...

Escape To the Valley 3: Hipster's Revenge

by Kim Tracy Prince

July 10, 2008

This morning, your mechanic calls your cell phone and says yes sir, your car will be ready tomorrow and you can head on your way. So you still have another day to explore sunny Southern California. But you don't want to just do what tourists do you want an authentic experience. And oh yeah, your kids are still with you, so they'll need to be entertained, fed, and nurtured as well.  Read more...

Seize the Day: Top 99 Things To Do in Los Angeles Before Your Kids Grow Up

by Kim Tracy Prince

May 29, 2008

They keep wanting to be fed, so they keep growing, despite your wish that they stay babies forever. And while the hours between naptime and bedtime seem to draaaag...the months pass so quickly you find yourself saying "how did he get to be five years old already?" Don't waste the chance to see city through your children's eyes while they're still children. Be a tourist in your own town. I'll  Read more...

Coming Up Roses

by Kim Tracy Prince

January 02, 2008

Well hello there and happy new year to you. Did you enjoy the Rose Parade from the comfort of your living room, like we did? Or did you (gasp) miss it altogether? Well, this weekend you can get up close and personal with the amazing floats of the Rose Parade at a viewing event all day Saturday . Little kids will be delighted that they don't have to wait for the floats to pass by them - they  Read more...