Woopsie Daisy Toys, downtown Livermore, CA

Yesterday I discovered Woopsie Daisy toys when my son and I were in downtown Livermore.  It is locally and independently which I always prefer, and they are really friendly!  There is also a salon connected to the toy store, called All About Me Salon, which specializes in children's haircuts, of course they also can cut the hair of other members of the family.  There is a train table in the salon to keep children busy while mama gets a haircut.

I couldn't resist getting William one toy, and then I got one for my work and one karaoke car book for an upcoming car trip we are doing.

I would highly recommend checking out this place, it is so much fun!  I even enjoyed hanging out there!  some big box toy stores honestly make me nervous and stressed, yet this place was manageable and they have a fine selection of handpicked toys.

I took a look at the website this morning and I appreciated the way you can click and age level such as 0-1 year, 1-2 year, 2-3 year, 3-6 year, 6-8 year, and 8 and up, and it will give you toy selections for those age levels. t

My son selected a Melissa and Doug Police Officer role play set, and he has been playing with it since he got home!  These role playing kits are perfect for the 3 and 4 year old set, probably even older!  It included jacket, cap, whistle, handcuffs, badge, walkie-talkie with sound effects, and a ticket and name tag.  I think my son will be enjoying role play sets like this for quite awhile!

For me, I picked up All American Car-I-Oke, a book and CD plus 3 lyric books for backseat singers.  What I didn't realize when I purchased this book is that the songs do not have words, and since I am actually driving and William can't read yet, it wasn't as much fun as I anticipated!  I would recommend this book for families with older children who are good readers, such as those with at least one 3rd, 4th and 5th graders.

Professionally, I work with some students with special needs so I picked up the book, Point to be Happy, a book for kids on the autism spectrum.  It includes a pointer so children can respond to the reader with another modality other than just speaking.  I was impressed by this book, and I think it may be fun for any child!  Children love gadgets!  I'll write more about this book after I share it with my son!


Resources:

Woopsie Daisy Toys
woopsiedaisytoys.com
156 S. J Street
Livermore, CA  94551

All About Me Kids Salon
156 S. J Street
Livermore, CA  94551
925-443-2887

Point to Be Happy
Miriam Smith and Afton Fraser
Workman Publishing Company
New York, NY
ISBN # 978-0-7611-5715-1

All American CAR*I*OKE
By David Schiller
Workman Publishing
New York, NY
ISBN # 0-7611-3068-3

Lizzie Fountain, Livermore

I haven't spent time in downtown Livermore for years.  Yesterday my son were on our way to Del Valle Park and stopped along the way when we saw the Lizzie Fountain in downtown Livermore at the corner of N. Livermore and 1st Avenue.  The huge clocktower is a landmark if you want to meet friends there for a playdate and chat (which plenty of families where doing while we were there yesterday.)  My son thoroughly loved the spray ground and was laughing hysterically at the antics of the other children!
Well, we never ended up going to Del Valle as my son didn't want to leave!   Livermore is such a family friendly town!  I could actually live there based on what I saw yesterday!

After playing at the spray park for a few hours we went to 1st Street Yogurt which is locally owned and has really yummy yogurt!

We also visited a local recommendation of Woopsie Daisy Toys which is on J street, see next blog for more details about this fabulous toy store and kids salon.

If you are shopping for furniture or are expecting a child soon, take a look at Bill Jeffers Valey Furniture on First Street.  He has a great rocker from Sunny Designs which is all wood with leather for support.  I sat in it and rocked for awhile and imagined how much I would have loved it when I was pregnant with my son or when he was a baby.  He wanted to sat in it also and as he rocked he got a big smile on his face and sighed!  I would actually get it now but we just don't have room in the living room.  The store was super friendly for my son, he ran around like he owned the place and Bill just laughed and shared how local children walk by and beg to come in the store and play!

Resources:

Lizzie Fountain
corner of N. Livermore and 1st Street

Valley Furniture
2193 First Street
Livermore, CA  94550
Owner:  Bill Jeffers

Dutch Village, Michigan

Last summer we went to Holland, Michigan.  When I asked my son what we should write about today, he said, "Write about the place with the shoe slide!"  My son loved to run along the path leading to Mother Hubbard's  yellow wooden shoe slide.   There is an antique carousel, and for older children and teens, a high flying dutch slide.  Here's the shoe-slide:

I loved the petting farm with the baby goats, if you ask,  you may even be able to take one for a walk.  Basically, there are enough family activities, demonstrations, farm animals, and rides to keep a family busy for several hours.   I honestly wanted to take a baby pot belly pig home, really!  I fell in love with one at Dutch Village!  I can't remember the exact kind of pot belly pig I hugged, but I will research and blog about that soon.  Here's a photo of the pig:

Special Education Mediation

When parents and schools disagree on special education programs for students with learning disabilities or even other disabilities or needs, the ability to reach a resolution may be difficult.  In many of these situations parents may decide to consider hiring a mediator.  A mediator can be an asset if parents want an impartial person to manage communication and to ensure everyone is civil and heard.

One mediator I recommend is kyungah "Kay" Suk, who is an attorney at law, mediator, and facilitator.  She is also patient, kind, caring,  and has experience working with school districts.

Resources:

Kyungah "Kay" Suk
Attorney At Law, Mediator, Facilitator
KYUNGAHSUK@YAHOO.COM
415-602-7892

Bloom retreat- children's yoga- Walnut Creek

I am sitting at Bloom retreat, a retreat for mothers and their children, in Walnut Creek, CA.   I just took my son to the Monday kids yoga (with mama), ages 2-4.  The teacher was Jillian, and she was awesome with the children and mamas.  She also introduced me to a children's book about yoga called, ABC's of Yoga, by Teresa Anne Power.  I'm going to order it, as it is also wonderful for learning the alphabet through whole body yoga movement.  During class my son showed off the monkey pose that he had learned at his preschool last year.  Since this was my son's first time doing yoga here, I chose to do the family yoga class.

The Bloom retreat also offers Vinyasa yoga (all levels) that the owner, Michelle teaches.  Their is childcare for the children while the mamas do yoga. I tried out the yoga class with Michelle and was surprised how gentle and fun the class was.

There is also childcare available Monday through Friday from 9:30-1:30PM.  As it says in the brochure, "curl up with a good book, catch up on e-mail, or chat with a friend."

There is a Toddler playgroup for children 18 Mos- up to 3.  It is Monday and Wednesday at 3:30PM.
A kids yoga is also offered at Bloom for children ages 4-8.

There is a 3-class introductory package available for $30.00 which is valid for one month after you use the first class.  I took advantage of this offer.  A family membership costs $99.00 and this offers many perks.

I highly recommend trying this place out!  Warning, it may take some time for your child to feel comfortable going to the childcare.  Yet, I believe it is worth the time and investment!  This place is truly a retreat and gets better each time you arrive!

Bloom also has other services such as massage, therapy, and nutritional counseling.

Resources:

Bloom Retreat
1444 South Main Street
Walnut Creek, CA  94596

925-939-6262

www.bloomretreat.com

Healdsburg Memorial Beach, Healdsburg, CA

A beach I'd like to visit with my son this week is Healdsburg Memorial Beach in Healdsburg, CA.  According to a friend of mine it is cleaner than some other spots along the Russian River.  There is a small beach and an area roped off for children.  When I visit I'll write more about this sweet spot.

Mocha art museum, Oakland, CA

Yesterday I took my son to the Mocha art museum in Oakland's historical district.  We started out having breakfast at the caffe 817.  My son loved this caffe with the tables by the window, yummy hot chocolate, and lots of people to look at and charm!  After the caffe, we headed over to the murmer and we noticed many children on break from summer camp (I researched this and discovered that children need to be at least 6 to attend one of their camps.  They have a nice sized art gallery space where you can paint, glue, etc.  It is a fun place to spend a few hours!  "Paint, paste, build, sculpt....with our help children can take their first important steps toward a lifetime of creativity. "

Resources for Mocha

www.mocha.org

510-465-8770

Mocha drop in hours, Wednes. - Friday 10am-3pm and Sat. and Sun. noon-4PM

dance classes for preschool boys

I've been looking for a dance class for my preschool son for awhile now.  It is so easy to find preschool girls ballet, tap, and even modern dance classes, yet nearly impossible to find classes for boys.  Why?  Everyone knows that ladies love to dance and since my son will likely have a girlfriend or marry someday it seems somehow cruel to not teach him how to dance.  He loves music and even sways when he hears a catchy tune!

Finally, I discovered a dance studio in the San Francisco Bay Area which offers modern dance classes just for preschool boys, it is called Shawl Anderson and is located at 2704 Alcatraz Avenue between College avenue and Lewiston.  In the fall 2012, these are the classes that are available:

Modern Dance for Boys  ages 4-5  Fridays, 3:45- 4:00PM  $215.00

Modern Dance for Boys  ages 6-8  Fridays, 4:00-5:00PM   $215.00

Resources:

Shawl Anderson Dance Studio
2704 Alcatraz Avenue
Berkeley, CA  94705

www.shawl-anderson.org/classesYOUTH.htm