Curious George is Coming

Curious George is Coming to Barnes & Noble (South Coast Plaza)


Saturday 4/4 2:00 PM

http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/277475254

I'm not sure exactly what this Curious George is going to look like. If a person in a ordinary monkey costume comes out and insist that we accept him/her as Curious George, I'm going to BOO.

I've been to couple of character visits at this B&N (Metro Pointe - South Coast Plaza) and they were pretty good. They give you enough time to take pictures with the character and they always have crafts. They usually have hot chocolate and little snacks for kids too.

They usually read character related books after the character comes out. The characters don't really do anything other than stand next to the reader. As I mentioned before if you have young children who will not sit through couple of books then try to arrive a little later than scheduled time then take some pictures.

One More for Older Kids

One More for Older Kids - Home Depot Kids' Workshop (Age 5 - 12)

I forgot to add this one to my previous posting about stuff for older kids.

ALL Home Depot has FREE Kids Workshop on first Saturday each month (9 AM - 12PM). Next one is on 4/4 and kids get to make "Window Birdhouse." Just please call your local store to confirm before you go.

The following description is from Home Depot homepage.

The Home Depot's Kids Workshops offer useful projects including the creation of toolboxes, fire trucks and mail organizers, as well as more educational projects, such as a window birdhouse, bughouse or Declaration of Independence frame kit.

The workshops teach children do-it-yourself skills and tool safety, while at the same time helping to instill a sense of accomplishment. Additionally, this fun time allows for quality one-on-one time between adults and children.

In addition to the newly constructed project kit, each child receives a kid-sized orange apron, similar to The Home Depot associates' aprons, and an achievement pin.

Stuff for older kids

Stuff for little older kids

Since my daughter is 3 years old, I usually concentrate on events that younger kids can enjoy. However, I do run into some fun stuff for little older kids. So here we go.

LEGO Rabbit (Age 6 - 12 only)

Tuesday, April 7, 5:00pm - 7:00pm

Lego store in Ahaneim near Disney has Monthly Mini Model Build. For April it is "LEGO Rabbit." You can learn how to build the mini model and get to take it home for FREE(one per child)! (Quantities are limited and offer is good while supplies last only and the models are NOT for sale)

http://stores.lego.com/en-us/Anaheim/events.aspx

Tall Mouse - School Project Clinic

At Tall Mouse in Laguna Niguel, they offer School Project Clinic evey Tuesday through Thursday from 4:00 to 8:30 PM regardless of project, age & skill level, time frame or stage. Ask for Vicki the Project Guru. Please call 949-360-5777 Tall Mouse Laguna Niguel for more information.

http://www.tallmouse.com/events/

Muzeo - Monsters and Beasts Exhibition

http://www.muzeo.org/home.php

Muzeo is a museum in Anaheim that has special exhibitions. They just started selling 50% off tickets online for admission. Monsters and Beasts Exhibition is going on. Muzeo unveils the secrets in “HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER: THE ART & TECHNOLOGY OF ANIMATRONICS.”

Academy Award Winning Studio - John Cox Creature Workshop takes you on an interactive and up-close, behind-the-scenes look at every stage of its monster-making magic.

A cast of over 30 creatures, including the towering Abominable Snowman, Gorilla from the hit Disney film comedy, “George of the Jungle,”, plus hands-on exhibition devices from movies such as Disney’s “Inspector Gadget 2”, the enormous Crocodile from the popular 2003 live-action film version of “Peter Pan”, plus the must-see Megalania, Australia’s largest prehistoric lizard — and even the mesmerizing x-ray eyes of Junior the Dinosaur.

Follow the mystery behind the Monsters — It’s art and artistry that’s fascinating for both kids and adults. Marvel as the monstrous ideas grow right before your eyes — from design and storyboard, to maquettes (models), and ultimately to full-sized creatures that are sculpted, molded, finished and animated.

Get inside the Monsters — See how animatronics components are designed and engineered to create bones and muscles that bring monsters to life. And if you have the skin for it, you could take the controls like an actual animatronics puppeteer.

Elmo's Green Thumb (presale)

Sesame Street Live - Elmo's Green Thumb

I just got a Sesame Street Live - Elmo's Green Thumb presale email. It's coming to LA, Long Beach and San Diego. The presale option is not valid for San Diego show yet.

http://www.ticketmaster.com/promo/j0xr00/?dma_id=324

To find out more about the show,

http://www.sesamestreetlive.com/

Pathetic Weekend

Where did we go last weekend?

Plan 1 – go to the free train rides at Fairview Park
What happened – The tired, sleep deprived, over-worked, mean mommy who lives in a “hasn’t been cleaned in who knows how long” house did not feel like getting up. So the not so tired, well slept, under-worked NICE daddy who lives in a “house that is maintained by the mean mommy” took Maddie for the train ride. Apparently they had fun.

Plan 2 – go to the Irvine McDonald’s grand opening that I wrote about
What happened – The reality finally hit the Fast Food King (my hubby). Dr. told him that he has high cholesterol and that he is borderline diabetic. Fast Food King (aka hotdog king to his friends) was actually SHOCKED. He told me that he thinks the BUBBLE GUM he chewed RIGHT BEFORE the blood test might have caused the bad blood test results. How do you say “I TOLD YOU SO” to a guy who suspects BUBBLE GUM? Yeah, BUBBLE GUM will do that to you….

Any ways, McDonald’s was out. You obviously can not bring a reforming fast food junkie to junk food capital, the McDonald’s.

Well, let me know if you've been to this Grand Opening at kmin@hotmail.com I would like to find out what I missed!

Plan 3 – go to Very Hungry Caterpillar birthday story time at Border’s.
What happened – NOTHING happened. We were the only ones at Border’s for this event. Nobody else showed up. The store staff read Very Hungry Caterpillar to Maddie in a very boring way and gave us bunch of caterpillar tattoos.

I should have remembered my own tips. DO NOT go to these bookstore “storytimes” unless you are in the area doing something else and just happen to be there. Not worth it to go there JUST for that.

However, the tattoos of the very hungry caterpillars are very cute and of good quality. We got quite a few. Let me know if you want some.

So my weekend was boring. No reviews to write about.

However, I did UPDATE the Event Calendar. I've found some new events. Don't forget to check it out!! Just to name a few....

4/14 - Creative Fun Family Day at Sawdust Festival
4/25 - Imagination Celebration - Ignite the Power of Art at Laguna Art Museum
5/9 - Rock, Paper, Scissors SUPERSTAR!
5/16 - 17th Annual Anaheim Children's Festival

REMINDER:
- If you are planning to go to Bubblefest at Discovery Science Center, you should buy tickets, NOW.

Borders - 50% OFF on all CDs & DVDs

Borders - 50% OFF on all CDs & DVDs

I happened to stop by at Borders at the District today during lunch time and found out that there is a 50% OFF Entire stock of CDs & DVDs. Apparently they are getting rid of their CD & DVD section. Hurry up!! There were lots of stuff. Among the DVDs were

Elmo, Backyardigans, Barney, Clifford, My Little Pony, Dora, Diego, Looney Toons, Pokemon, Enchanted, Sleeping Beauty, Bob the Builder, Handy Manny, and so forth, just to name a few.

Borders (The District)
2493 Park Ave.
Tustin, CA 92782
714.258.7955

If you sign up for their membership for free, you get lots of coupons in the email.

As far as I know this is the only Borders that is having this sales. The ones in South Coast Plaza and Newport Beach are not doing this.

McDonald’s Grand Opening

McDonald’s Grand Opening (Irvine) this weekend

Okay, I hate McDonald’s food. I certainly didn’t plan on getting Maddie hooked on the Big Yellow “M.” Unfortunately, I forgot about my other “big kid” who happens to be a fast food king. (He picked up 3 different kinds of fast foods on our wedding night before we went to our hotel – Yoshinoya, Taco Bell, and Carls Jr.) Yes, I’m talking about my hubby. So this “man child” that I forgot I had introduced Maddie to McDonald’s. When it started I did not object since these were usually on weekend mornings when I get to sleep little more while he takes Maddie out for breakfast. Now, whenever we ask Maddie what do you want to have for lunch/dinner, she says “MCDONALD’s.” Drat.

Fortunately it’s not the food she likes but the playground. The one we usually go to has a worn out outdoor playground. So when Julie (yes, it’s YOU) told me that a new McDonald’s opened at Orchard Hills Village Center in Irvine (Portola Pkwy & Culver), I decided try it out.

They have espresso drinks like latte, mocha, cappuccino, iced coffee and hot chocolates like McCafe. I tried their latte and it was good. So mommies, if you have to bring your kids to this McDonald’s, at least you get to enjoy a decent cup of coffee.

Their playground is brand new and it has a tree house like stairs/steps and then the usual slide. The good thing about this one is that it is indoors. The bad thing is that it is dark in the tree house stairs. I’ve seen many daddies being dragged into it by younger children because they were scared to climb it by themselves.

Another good point is that adults can join the kids. However, I would not recommend it. My hubby had a hard time climbing up the narrow steps and he didn’t even try to slide through the tube slide. I think he was afraid he would get stuck and upset the kids terribly.

Any ways, this McDonald’s is having a Grand Opening this weekend. This event has been added to my event calendar.

3/21 Saturday 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Ronald McDonald will be performing his magic show from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM including time for a meet and greet with our little customers. Goody bags for the first 500 guests under 12 years of age. For each Happy Meal ordered and paid, customers will receive a FREE raffle ticket. New raffles every thirty minutes. (Must be present to win)

3853 PORTOLA PARKWAY
IRVINE, CA 92620
(714)505-3300

My Plea

For those of you who have older kids,

1. If the sign says “only kids under 12 years old” PLEASE DO NOT send in your 14 year old kid to the playground. Your own kid will hate you, and the other parents will hate you.

2. Please WATCH your kids when they are playing in the playground. If you have to chat with your spouse or friends while your kids are playing, then at least tell them NOT TO CLIMB the slide since you are supposed to slide DOWN the slide. AND please tell them to MIND the little children. Believe me, as a parent I understand your urge to communicate with an adult whenever you get a chance, but you really should NOT do this on expense of other moms and younger children. Remember when your kid was a toddler? When you were worried that bigger kids might trample your kid? Please tell your kids what to do and what not to do before you send them into the playground.

For all parents,

1. When it says “NO SHOES” then it’s “NO SHOES.” Croc, slippers, princess slippers, shoes that look like socks, shoes with thin sole, shoes that does not look like shoes….. they are ALL SHOES.

2. When it says “NO FOOD” then “NO FOOD.” Again, ice cream, drinks, fries, fruit… they are ALL FOOD. Heck, if you can eat or drink it and digest it, it is FOOD.

Yes, I've been LAZY...

Okay, so I haven’t posted anything for quite a few days. I was busy and I was being LAZY. Seriously, had I known how much work “blogging” required, I don’t think I would have started doing it. When you are ignorant, you become brave.

Another thing is that I don’t get any form of feedback. Some of my friends tell me “oh, my co-workers love your blog” but how should I know? Do YOU like my blog? More importantly, do you ever get any useful/practical information out of it? Do you just come to my blog for the Event Calendar? I want to know!! Please leave me comments or write to me at kmin@hotmail.com I want to KNOW!

Last Weekend

Places I went last weekend

OC Great Park – My whole family went to the “Shamrock & Skate” event. Well, if you didn’t go, then it is YOUR LOSS. They had so many fun activities. There was snow ball fights, snowman making, sledding, skating, hockey related events, and couple of crafts. For us, sledding was the highlight of the day. It was SUPER FUN. You basically sled on a piece of giant plastic saucer down a small snow slope. Maddie wanted to go on it forever. We got a lot of freebies (2 adult baseball caps, 1 kid’s baseball cap, Chick-fil-a chicken, Chick-fil-a free kids meal coupons, jamba juice smoothies, cookies, kettle corn, bagels, coffee, hot chocolate, coin chocolate, child safety ID, and some other stuff that I probably forgot) Whenever there’s an event at OC Great Park, I try not to miss it because the quality of the event is really good.

I took Maddie to see “Moon between two houses” puppet show at Irvine Barclay Theater. It is a puppet show about two very different neighbors who became friends after they shared their fear about the darkness.

Cons – even though we had good seats we felt like we were sitting in the back since the puppets were not big. It was difficult to see the delicate movements of the puppets. Another thing is that the puppeteers were from Mexico and their pronunciation was not very clear. I had a hard time understanding the details of the storyline. Honestly, I still don’t know the name of one of the two main characters. The same company, Marionetas de la Esquina will be doing the “Emilio and the Enchanted Cow” at OC Performing Arts Center.

Pros – if all my “cons” are from adults' point of view, all the “pros” are from my kiddie’s point of view. Maddie and another 2 year old boy LOVED the show. They were MESMERIZED the whole time (1 hour). I think there’s something about a live show/performance that interests kids. Another good thing was that after the show they asked the kids to come up and touch the puppets and ask any questions. All the kids flocked to the stage as soon as the puppeteer said “please ask us anything about the puppets.” As long as the tickets are not expensive I would recommend taking your young children to live performances. Just make sure that it's a kid friendly show. Irvine Barclay Theater has a few of these including a Sleeping Beauty Ballet for children. http://www.thebarclay.org/calendar.asp

Michael’s – I went to the Michael’s in District to see what their birthday party program is going to be. They were advertising that they will have a birthday party promotion. I confirmed the event with the actual store couple of nights before and went. However, when I got there I found out that the person who was supposed to do the event was laid off and nobody knew what will happen to the whole program. I was disappointed. Anyways, according to Michael’s website, they will be hosting some family events and crafts. These are included in my event calendar. However, CALL your store before you go and confirm……. http://www.michaels.com/art/online/static?page=kids_events

Lango

Foreign Language Classes for kids - Lango


Okay here we go. Maddie and I’ve recently tried Spanish Lango class in Irvine. We went to their trial class. And NO, I’m not one of those moms who put their toddlers in every class imaginable hoping that one of those lessons will stick.

It all started with Dora the explorer. Maddie LOVES Dora & Diego. She became so obsessed with the characters that she started pretending to speak Spanish. She would count up to five in Spanish (because Dora does that often in the show) and then from six to ten she will make them up as she go (Dora usually doesn’t count from six to ten)

Mommy: What was that?
Maddie: I was counting in SPA~NISH. I speak SPA~NISH
Mommy: You just made up six, seven, eight, nine, and ten. That was NOT Spanish.
Maddie: It is SPA~NISH. YOU don’t speak SPA~NISH.

I swear she says “Spa~nish” with this “you(meaning ME) have no idea what I’m talking about” attitude. You see, I made the mistake of telling her that I actually don’t know Spanish.

Then I just happened to get an email from Lango for a free trial class. So we went.

It was a 10 AM Saturday class at some preschool location. The teacher was “Carla” and she was really good. She didn’t use English, she used only Spanish. It’s like a Spanish preschool with lots of games and songs. Maddie was a bit intimidated but eventually she warmed up and had lots of fun. We took the class about 2 weeks ago and today we still remember how to say, apple, watermelon, banana, orange, pear, up and down in Spanish.

However, I’ve decided not to take the classes. In my opinion the classes are bit pricy. There is a $50 registration fee and $74 per month for once a week class. By the way what is up with these so called “registration fees” every where? It takes up that much labor or materials just to “register” somebody?

Well, Lango is not for us but it could be worth going for some of you. Especially if you want your kids to speak Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish or French. So at least try the trial class for your self! Apparently they have scholarships for kids too.

To sign up for trial class, go to
http://www.langokids.com/

Apparently, they offer scholarship for babies too…..
http://themomblog.freedomblogging.com/2009/02/17/scholarships-for-babies-yes-you-read-that-right/12579/

A Whale of a Tale

A Whale of a Tale Children’s Bookshoppe




This is no ordinary bookstore. This unique bookstore in Irvine has many children book authors come in for autographs. Even the former first lady, Laura Bush has been here. I’ve been to Robin Preiss Glasser’s(the illustrator who is famous for Fancy Nancy book series) book signing with my baby. Since the event was for “Tea for Ruby” they had a little tea party before the signing. All these little Fancy Nancys showed up at the event all fancied up.

I’m sure you all know how important reading is to kids. Meeting an author of their favorite book and getting his/her autograph could be a great way to get your kids to be more interested in reading.

This cute children's bookstore is near UCI, in University Plaza which has In&Out and Trader Joe's.

For upcoming author events, please go to
http://www.awhaleofatale.com/documents/storeevents.pdf
(I'm waiting for Amy Krouse Rosenthal scheduled for 4/29. However she might just do school signing and not do the store signing.)

They also have the list of the winners of top children’s and teen literary awards.
http://www.awhaleofatale.com/documents/alexsnotes.pdf


My Tips

- This is really not a tip but a reminder. These book signing is only for books that you bought at A Whale of a Tale bookstore. I strongly suggest buying the book before the signing, save the receipt and show up for the book signing with the receipt as some of these events are crowded.

- Make sure you bring your kid to a book signing of an author/book that your kids know. If you want too bring your child to an event of an unknown author, please introduce your kid to the book before you go.

- You can also get the already autographed books but I don’t see the point of this. For me, the whole purpose of bringing kids to book signing is to get them more engaged & interested in reading by meeting the author. Some scribble with no face to match on a book is of absolutely no value to me, but they are there if you want them.

Shamrocks & Skates

Shamrocks & Skates this Saturday (3/14)

When OC Great Park started the ice rink they had schedueled a grand opening ceremony with all kinds of activities but the weather forecast was bad so they postponed the event. Well, now it's here as a "closing ceremony" as this weekend is the last weekend that the ice rink will be operated.

Saturday, March 14, 2009, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM at the OC Great Park
Free Parking & Admission

Say "Goodbye" to Winter and "Hello" to Spring! Bring the family out to the Great Park and enjoy cool, complimentary activities like ice skating (11:00 AM – 10 :00 PM), sledding, ice carving demonstrations, treasure hunting, snacks, and more!

THE GREAT SKATE

Open February 14, 2009 – March 15, 200911:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays Only(Sessions begin on the hour with 80 skaters per session)

PRICE AND SKATE EQUIPMENTAdmission and skate rentals are FREE to the public.
Helmets are available upon request at no charge.
Guests are welcome to bring their own skates and helmets.

This event has been added to my event calendar.

My Tips
- Please go to my previous posting to see my tips.

Musical Story Time

Pacific Symphony – Musical Story Time

I’m always looking for performances specifically targeted for young kids. The Musical Story Time by Pacific Symphony is a series of fun music classes. We haven’t been to one since Maddie’s only 3 and the recommended age group is 4-7. It sure looks fun though! For those of you who have this age group kids, please take a look.

Unfortunately, out of the four Musical Story Time, Cinderella and Adventures in the Forest classes have already taken place. There are two more classes left.

http://www.pacificsymphony.org/anypage.php?cpid=201

PLAY INSTRUMENTS! SING! DANCE!
Kids ages 4-7 and an accompanying adult learn together the joys of making music. Featuring early childhood music educator Joe Berarducci and musicians from Pacific Symphony and the Pacific Symphony Youth Ensembles.

Sat • Mar. 28, 2009

The Magic Pasta Pot
The enchanted pot of pasta is overflowing because we forgot the magic spell to make it stop! Come sing and dance as we act out this fun folktale!

Sat • Apr. 4, 2009

The Tortoise and the Hare
Slow and steady wins the race! Become a part of this beloved fable as we act out the story and listen to fun music played by our musicians.

TWO locations: Costa Mesa & Mission Viejo!

Saturday Mornings at 10:00am & 11:30am
Studio Performance Space-Dodge Education Center
Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
Orange County Performing Artscenter, Costa Mesa

Saturday Afternoons at 3:30pm
Sycamore Room
Norman P. Murray Community & Senior Center
24932 Veterans Way, Mission Viejo, CA 9269

Tickets: $15 per participant (per child and per adult)
Or order all Musical Storytime events for just $50 (per child and per adult)

Santa Ana Zoo

Santa Ana Zoo - perfect size zoo for toddlers

This is a great place for families with young children. The size of the zoo is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers to roam around. There are quite a few things you can do there.

Animals - There are lots of different kinds of monkeys. Birds. Turtles. Llamas. I can not remember the rest.
Playground – there are two playgrounds right next to the food concession area.

Food concession – they have kid menus and they are pretty good. The only thing is they don’t have lids and straws for drinks. They harm the animals so they don’t have them.

Train rides – the train ride goes through various parts of the zoo. Also the train station has a little model train going around near the ceiling.

Carousel – I heard that now they have an animal themed carousel, I have not gone to the zoo lately to see it.

When my daughter was 2, we had an annual family membership for $45 (now it went up a little) and we went to Santa Ana Zoo practically every weekend. There were animals to entertain her, playground for her to play in, food to eat and her favorite, the train ride!! The zoo has membership appreciation days where they let the members get free train rides. They also had member discount for Halloween events, picnics, and other special events. It was like a one stop shop for toddler. This was very well spent $45 in my opinion.

My Tips

- Get there early for train rides as these are very popular.

- Bring an empty sippy cup if you think your kid will spill without the lid and a straw.

- On membership appreciation days, they usually have free crafts for kids.

- If you are not sure, bring a stroller. You will need it.

Bowers Museum - Free first Sundays

Bowers Museum (Free first Sundays)

This is like my neighborhood museum for me. I go to Bowers museum quite often. They have a Target sponsored cultural festival first Sunday every month. (I love Target as a store and I love it more because of all these sponsoring of museum events. I think it’s great!)

So far, I’ve been to their Chinese, African, Mexican, Asian, Italian cultural festival. They usually have some crafts tables for kids. They are usually related to the theme of the cultural event. For example, at the Chinese Cultural Festival, we made a fan, Chinese paper mask, and a lantern.

Their exhibition is fun too. Maddie really likes this crystal/glass baby sculpture at Bowers Museum. I believe it is called “Great Wish.” Maddie absolutely refuses to leave until she gets to see the “Baby.”

In the back of the museum, there is a really cool courtyard. It has modern water fountain with pebbles and some sculptures.

The following are the list of cultural festivals. Please dont' forget to check out the Event Calendar in my blog.

Japanese Cherry Blossom Family Festival
Arpil 5, Noon–3:30 PM
Celebrate Japanese culture through its music, art, dance and food. Performances by Nippon Minyo Kenkyukai and Daion Taiko Troupe.

Latin America Family Festival
May 3, Noon-3:30 PM
ome on a journey of the Americas through music, dance, art and food. Featuring the exciting sounds of the very popular Mariachi Kids, and more!

Pacific Rim Family Festival
June 7, Noon-3:30 PM
Featuring entertainment and art from the diverse countries of the Pacific Rim. From Russia to Timor-Leste, this vast area offers a richness of cultural traditions. Join us in celebrating the dance, music, art and food of many nations.



My Tip

- What we usually do on first Sundays of the month is first we go to Kidseum by 11AM. We play there for an hour and then we have lunch at Kidseum picnic area. Then we walk over to Bowers museum for the cultural festival.

- Bring a bag to put all your kid's craft when he/she is done.

- Please tell your kids and other kids NOT to climb on the sculptures. Ask them if they would like it if somebody stepped or climbed on their crafts / art projects.

- If you can’t find parking, try Kidseum. You can easily walk to Bowers Museum. There is a huge tree near Kidseum parking where your car will be in the shade.

Borders vs. B&N

Borders vs. Barnes & Noble

I’m a bookworm. I LOVE books. I’m cheap about everything but books. Books, I have to buy. I feel same way about my books that some women feel about their shoes. I gotta have them. So you can imagine how many children’s books I buy.

We go to both Borders and Barnes & Noble often. I go to Borders in the District and Barnes & Noble in Tustin Market Place. We sometimes go to Barnes & Noble near South Coast Plaza for their costume character events.

I do prefer Borders for buying books but I definitely like Barnes & Noble’s costume character story times. If you want to know what B&N’s costume character story times are like go to my blog about Clifford the Big Red Dog event.

However, I probably do a lot of my book shopping at Costco and Amazon.com. Costco has great deals WHEN they have them and Amazon always have good price. Some of their 4 for 3 books deals are great.

Is Your Child Ready for Kindergarten?

School Readiness Program


Maddie is 3 years old. She was born in November 2005 so she will be going to Kindergarten in September of 2010, next year. The parents of children who has fall birthdays need to make a decision whether they are going to send their kids to school “little early” or “little late.” I’ve been told that usually the girls start school little early and boys tend to start late.

Well, I have some time before even thinking about Maddie going to school, but for some of you, it might be this year.

City of Irvine and Irvine Unified School District does these events called “Welcome to Kindergarten” for parents. It is a free informational session for parents who are sending their children to school for the first time. The one of the events already took place but there’s another one coming up on Wednesday March 11, at Irvine City Hall Council Chambers. They will give you a thick information packet and you will have time for Q&A.

If you can’t make it, there’s a video of the whole presentation available via website.
To view, just go to the following website and click on the “Welcome to Kindergarten” program.
http://www.cityofirvine.org/depts/citymanager/pio/ictv/special_programs.asp

www.iusd.org/WP/documents/Kinderiscoming.pdf

Irvine Unified School District has a School Readiness Program. If you go to this link you will find some classes you can take with your child to get ready for school.
Some of the classes are:

Preparing for Preschool
Get Ready for Kindergarten
Kindergarten Questions?
Solving Dinner Dilemmas

Go to following and click on "Spring Calendar 2009"
http://www.iusd.org/ECLC/ClassesEvents.html

The following are some links to other city School Readiness information.
School Readiness Coordinator Roster
www.orangecountychildcareassociation.org/School%20Readiness%20Roster%202008-09.pdf

Tustin Unified District
http://www.tustin.k12.ca.us/HTML/distprograms/kinder-readiness.htm

Newport-mesa Unified District
http://web.nmusd.us/cms/page_view?d=x&piid=&vpid=1223131339867

Saddleback Valley Unified District
http://www.adultedreg.com/saddleback/index.cfm?processtype=department&deptid=6298#ac_48264

Costume Character Event Today(Sat 3/7)

TODAY (Sat 3/7) Clifford the Big Red Dog – B&N


Maddie loves going to bookstores. Well, what’s there not to like? There are tons of books, some toys, story times, and coffee for mommies to enjoy.

Barnes & Noble – We usually go to the one in Tustin Market place since the children section is on the first floor. I don’t like going to the one in Irvine Spectrum because children’s section is on the second floor.

Most of them have story times on second Saturdays (call your local store to make sure) for kids and some B&Ns have characters come in for the story time. As far as I know, the only B&N that has these “character visits” near Irvine area is the one in South Coast Plaza (Metro Point). I’ve been to the “Winnie the Pooh” visit. They had the original Pooh character come in and had a story time. Maddie shouted “ Mommy, where is Pooh’s shirt?” Well, Pooh was naked because it was the original Pooh before Disney put on a red shirt on him. Nothing spectacular about the story time. They also had nice crafts, mini marshmallows and coffee.

I’ve noticed library and bookstore story times are not really “entertaining” because these are either librarians or store employees who are reading to the kids. If you want real story teller, you would have better luck with children’s store story teller events. Unfortunately for me, these are usually on a weekday morning. I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you are going to the store just for the story time, it is NOT worth it, unless you CAN NOT STAND reading to your child and desperately want somebody else to do it. If you happen to be in the area, then drop by.

Any ways, today CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG is coming to B&N (Metro Point) at 2PM!! This event is not listed on the internet, but I called and confirmed. They will have story time for kids, you can take pictures with Clifford and they will have little crafts for kids.

If you are looking for events at B&N near you home, check
http://storelocator.barnesandnoble.com/find_an_event.do


UPDATE - Saturday 3/7 10:35 PM





So we did go to the Clifford the Big Red Dog event today. It was fun. Maddie wanted to know where Emily Elizabeth was. The usual crafts (bookmarks), and cookies were there. We also got a Dr. Seuss hat/crown since it is his 100th anniversary(March 2nd). We also got Dr.Seuss coloring book. These character events are good for following people.




My Tips

- If you have younger children who will not sit through the story telling, arrive 15 - 20 minutes later than the event start time. You can just say hi to the chracter and do some crafts.


- If you want to make most of it, make sure your child is familiar with the "character." Otherwise, it is just some weirdo in a scary looking costume.


- Bring camera to take pictures.


- Save any coloring books or pages they give you. These might not look like much at the time but these could entertain your kids for a while when you are waiting for your food somewhere. Of course this means you always carry crayons around.

OC Great Park

OC Great Park

OC Great Park is a huge park that is being built. Meanwhile, they host lots of community events to promote it. If you drive around Irvine area, you probably have seen the huge orange balloon. The orange balloon ride is free and it is very popular. Right now they have a little ice rink and free ice skate rentals until March 15. They have some special events planned for the closing weekend, 3/14 & 3/15. Don’t miss it! Also they are making a big Community Quilt with old t-shirts. If you bring old t-shirts by 3/15, you just might see it as a part of this quilt.

I’ve been to couple of events at this park and they are great. I’ve been to their summer concert series. They had flamenco, Irish folk fiddle, dance lessons, and so forth. These were in the evening. People usually bring picnic baskets (I’ve seen little tables, chairs, wines, blankets, and whole bunch of other stuff, so don’t be shy), enjoy their meal while their kids are playing, see the concert and go home. I try to make all of their events since the quality of the events are pretty high. Also they usually have lots of giveaways. I’ve gotten Frisbees, grocery bags, pens, light bulbs, key chain, flash drive, fake hockey puck, drink bottles, and more.

My Tips
- Go early and adults can get in line for the skate and the balloon (separate). Meanwhile, the kids can do crafts right next to the ice rink.

- The Orange Balloon ride’s bottom is a DONUT shape and not a circle. If you are uncomfortable with heights, don’t go on it.

- This park has no playground or sand box. It is just the balloon ride, huge chunk of land and some green area. Bring bikes, kits, roller blades, books, picnic baskets/blanket and make it into a family picnic.

- There is a small “café” that sells snacks but not real food. Even that is not operating at the moment because of the ice skate rink. Pack a picnic basket for the whole family or plan to have lunch somewhere else.
If you have young children, make sure to bring stroller. The park is big and you will need it.