Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco

The Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco is a great place to visit with children.  My son loved it, especially after reading the book, Larry Gets Lost in San Francisco.    

The garden includes a cafe for tea and treats.  We went on an overcast day and it ended up raining while we were having our tea! 

Address:

Japanese Tea Garden

7 Hagiwara Tea Gardens Drive

415-752-1171

"A World On Stage" at the Bay Area Discovery Museum

The Bay Area Discovery Museum is teaming up with World Arts West to present "A World on Stage!"  This is a great ethnic performance series:  Dance.  Music.  Folklore.  

Plus, shows are for children 6 months or up!  A great chance for babies and toddlers to see a live performance.

Shows are usually at 11 a.m.  Cost for members is $7.00.  General admission is $16.00.  Performances are at the Discovery Theater.  

Some of the upcoming shows include:

• Murphy Irish Dancers -- Saturday, Jan. 28

• Raices de Mi Tierra (celebrating Mexican cultural heritage) -- Saturday Feb. 4 

• Tehani Dance Studio (traditional and contemporary Polynesian dance) -- Saturday, Feb. 11

• Eastern European Folk Dance -- Saturday Feb. 18

• Chincese Performing Arts of America Youth Group -- Mon., Feb. 20

• Indian Folk and Tribal Dance -- Saturday Feb. 25th

Great Toys #1: Play Doh

As a kid, I remember spending many hours playing with Play Doh.  Sadly, I had totally forgotten about this toy -- until I spotted a ton of Play Doh at the Rockridge Kids toy store in Oakland.

Play Doh is fun.  It is creative.  It lets your kid get messy, but not TOO messy.  It teaches about color-blending (blue + yellow = green VERY quickly).  

And it isn't very expensive.  In fact, you can make a version of the stuff using household ingredients (though the home-made version never quite seems to have the same nice texture that the real Play Doh made by Hasbro has).  

I especially like the "Fun Factory" Play Doh set.  You stuff Play Doh into this plastic contraption.  You fit a shape on the end of it (a star, a series of circles, etc).  And then you press down on a plastic handle, squishing the Play Doh out the end of the contraption through the shape.

I have fond memories of my "Fun Factory" from when I was a kid.  I also remember applying too much pressure to the thing around the time I was 9 or 10 years old, busting it forever.  

But now I get to re-live it again with my 3-year old.  It is great.  We play with it together.  And we've made some fun stuff.  Here's one of our first creations:

You can buy Play Doh related stuff online from Hasbro.  But, since no one is paying us, we'd just as soon you support your local toy store or hobby shop if they sell it.  

--TC Daddy

Great Toys: The Series

In mid-December, I was trying to figure out what to get our son for the holidays.  There are a few very memorable gifts that I received for the holidays when I was a kid.  And I want to create that sort of memory for my son.

Of course, most of my memories date back to the point when I was between 7-12.  Those toys probably wouldn't be age appropriate, since my son is just 3.

So, what to get?

I figure this is a question that preoccupies tens of thousands of people every year during the holidays (and prior to birthdays).

So, my new "Great Toys" blog series is born!

More Ice Skating

I recently took my son ice skating near Sacramento.  We visited both the new ice arena in Rancho Cordova, which was fascinating for my son.  It includes a large ferris wheel and little train for children to ride.  We also visited the Westfield downtown plaza ice arena.  

Both arenas were great places for beginner ice skating.  The Rancho Cordova location even had plastic buckets that students could hang onto while they skate.

Here are details:

WESTFIELD GALLERIA IN ROSEVILLE

Ice skating at the Wesfield Galleria in  Roseville.  (1151 Galleria Blvd.  Roseville, CA)  www.twimmp.com.  They are open through Jan. 16th!

ICE SKATING IN RANCHO CORDOVA

For the first time, Rancho Cordova hosted a holiday ice rink this season.  The ice rink is open Nov. 11th through January 16th, 7 days a week from 10AM to 10PM.    The rink is 60 foot by 80 foot rink.  It is located in the capital village area off Hwy. 50 on Zinfandel Drive.

They also have buckets for new young skaters to hang on to when they are first learning!

WESTFIELD DOWTOWN PLAZA I|CE RINK

Open Nov. 14th through Jan. 16th.

On Jan. 16th there will be extended hours from 10AM to 10PM.

The ice arena is in downtown Sacramento at St. Rose of Lima Park at 7th and K Streets.

Last Weekend -- Ice Skating & Reindeer!

The holidays are receding into the past.  Folks may have already put away the ornaments.  Taken down the X-Mas trees.  Taken down the lights (though ours are still up for another day or two).

But although the hype of a frantic holiday season may be behind us, there are still a few festive things that you can do for one more weekend.

See the Reindeer at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco!  The Academy of Sciences is an amazing place to begin with.  But all season they have been advertising "Reindeer on the Roof."  It turns out the Reindeer aren't actually on the roof.  They are on the left side of the museum.  The Academy is also making snow (bubble-like snow).  Exhibits also feature an igloo.  And trees with different scents.  All of this ends ON MONDAY (Jan. 16th).  They are also offering a one-day pass that you can upgrade to a membership and get a free video.  Our son loved the winter exhibits; the antlers on the reindeer made a big impression.  If you're wondering what to do today, go out and see this before it is gone.

Go ice skating at Union Square.  Union Square is the center of holiday insanity in San Francisco.  Between Black Friday and Christmas the stores are packed.  As are the restaurants (including pretty good but very over priced "Burger Bar" in Macy's).  Events like the Tree Lighting (which we attended on Black Friday) are packed with humanity.

Now, things are calming down.  They're getting ready to take down the decorations.  Sanity has been restored to most of the stores, which aren't clogged with people.

And, until Monday Jan. 16th, the temporary ice skating rink at Union Square is still in operation.  This seems like a good time to go out and enjoy it -- without the hassle of massive holiday crowds.

TeachingCurve Store

We're experimenting with a brand new TeachingCurve Store (using Amazon).  The link is on the right side of the page.

We've started out by just including a few books -- nighttime books, potty books, and books that our toddler loves (a list that we'll expand over the next week).

Hope you like it!

More Ice Skating in the San Francisco Bay Area

Oakland also has a great ice skating facility.  Oakland Ice is run by "Sharks Ice," as in the San Jose Sharks.  They offer open skating three times a day, and also offer lessons.  It is worth a visit.

Ice Skating in the San Francisco Bay Area

During the holidays and into January, there are a number of outdoor venues for ice skating in the Bay Area.  These rinks tend to be small.  Depending on the weather, the ice conditions are typically not as good as at indoor rinks.

But, these places are festive.  They are out of the ordinary. And they can be a lot of fun.

One example is in Alameda.  For the first time, in 2011-12 (though January 29), "The Little Ice Rink" is set up outdoors on Park Street (which is the main drag through Alameda).  Hours in January are Monday-Thursday 3-10pm and Friday-Sunday noon-10pm.

A few tips:

Sessions last 1 1/2 hours.  You want to arrive at the start of a session to get the most out of your $15 (or $10 for kids).  When the session ends to clean the ice, you have to return your skates and then pay again if you want to continue.  Consult the schedule here.

The rink isn't too big.  It can get crowded.  Lots of kids.  And a small number of adults who don't have much experience on skates (I was one of them).

You get a small discount if you bring your own skates.  The skates at the Little Ice Rink are the kind with plastic bindings.  I like them, but then again I never could seem to lace my skates up right.

Kids love the little sleds shaped like a seal, which they can either push or sit on.  These things go really quickly, and they only have about 10 of them.  If you arrive at the start of a session, it shouldn't be too tough to secure one.  But if you arrive in the middle of a session, be prepared to wait for one on a waiting list for a fairly long time.

Here are a few pictures from our recent visit.

A blurry view of the rink:

 Lots of skaters:

A break between sessions to clean up the ice (keep in mind that temperatures have been in the high 50s/low 60s during the day):

 The very popular "seals," which toddlers and kids can either hold onto or ride on:

 A small movie screen just off of the rink shows old movies during sessions:

Hot chocolate available:

 This is self-explanatory (one of the downsides of a non-permanent facility):

The snack bar, where you can get hot chocolate and crepes:

Rink rules, rates, etc:

The rink will make you sign a waiver before you skate.

Ice Skating in the San Francisco Bay Area

The holidays are over.  2012 has begun.  Tis the season for winter sports.  But, there is no real snow up in the mountains, in stark contrast to the weekly blizzards of 2011.  What to do?

Try ice skating in the Bay Area.

San Francisco's Yerba Buena Garden has a great indoor rink.  It is large.  And they offer lessons for beginners and for kids (and adults) who want to do a bit more than skate around in a circle.  The rink is open every day, all year long.

Some pictures from mid-afternoon:

Happy New Year!

Wishing all of our past, present, and future readers a happy and healthy 2012!