Music for Infants and Children

I recently posted about music you can listen to with your kids to have a dance party at home. But exposure to music, both listening and participating in creating it, is essential to growth and development. When children are engaged in music they are developing their motor skills, concentration, perception, memory, language, speech and much more.

There are so many ways to enrich your child's life with music. Musical toys are everywhere - keep a set in your home and give your child access to play with their instruments whenever they feel like making noise. The Parents Bee Bop Band Play & Learn Drum comes with a removable lid to store the other 4 musical instruments inside the drum.

Make musical instruments with your child. The plastic resealable baby food tubs and glass jars make wonderful noise when you add a few beans, beads or coins and seal the container shut. I used the plastic baby food tubs to do this with my infant son, and to eliminate the choking hazard I wrapped the tub with duct tape. Mine was original, but you can get duct tape in amazing patterns these days so you can choose something more appealing than basic gray if you want to add a visual element to the homemade instrument. Need inspiration? Pinterest and Google are swarming with homemade musical instrument projects.

Turn household objects into musical instruments. Use your pots and pans and wooden spoons and shoe boxes and pine cones and get groovin'. See how your child expresses himself and concentrates and laughs when he's given the opportunity to make music freely.

Finally, take a music class with your child. If you have a preschool aged child participate in a parent and child class together. Let your older child take a fun class where they'll play music and engage with other kids their age. Parks and recreation departments often have classes for kids of all ages. If you are in the Orange County area, Dancing Keys Music Studio offers Simply Music Rhapsody classes for children as young as 3 months.  For 4- to 6-year olds, Play-A-Story classes are an introduction to music and piano, allowing children to play improvisationally to build a foundation for learning. Other programs are also available. Contact Dancing Keys Music Studio to find out more at www.Dancingkeys.com, 949-734-DKMS (3567) or info@dancingkeys.com.

I received a free introductory class from Dancing Keys that I attended with my 2-year old daughter and she loved it. Her favorite part was making thunder on the drum!

 

 

 

Mother's Beach Marina Del Rey

As a writer, I get to take my family with me to do my research now and then. For my current project, I am exploring neighborhoods in Los Angeles County, and we are lucky enough to stumble upon some fun locations that we never would have found otherwise. This past weekend, we found Mother's Beach in Marina Del Rey. The sandy beach sits just behind The Cheesecake Factory and offers views of the Marina, volleyball courts, calm waters for splashing and a super fun playground complete with a pirate ship.

There is a self-pay parking lot next door to the Cheesecake Factory where you can pull in, pay for your time there at the machine, and place a ticket on the dashboard. The machine accepts cash and debit/credit cards. If we lived closer, this would be a great spot for family dinner night, then head out to the beach for play time.

Mother's Beach Marina Del Rey is located at 4101 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
For more information call (310) 578-0478

They Might Love A Dance Party!

You might know them from one of their adult albums or from the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song - either way, They Might Be Giants will get you moving. They've released more than ten albums, four of them for children. Their first family-friendly album was No! and was mostly recorded to provide music for Malcolm in the Middle. Since then they've released the Grammy winning Here Come the 123s, Here Come the ABCs, and the Grammy nominated CD/DVD set Here Comes Science. Their tunes are educational and super fun to listen to.

As the weather cools down and gets a little soggy (or icy, depending on where you live), us parents start looking for indoor activities that keep kids entertained and provide some physical fitness. Have a dance party to get kids moving, and with tunes like Photosynthesis, Fake Believe, and The Secret Life of Six, they'll also be learning about letters, numbers, science and more.

Playing with your kids doesn't have to be expensive or complicated. Just turn on the music and have fun together!

 

 

Orange County Coastkeeper Gardens

Located behind Santiago Canyon College near Jamboree and Santiago Canyon Road is a fantastic little place called the Coastkeeper Gardens. Opened in the late Spring of 2013, the demonstration garden displays a selection of vignettes featuring native, drought tolerant plants and irrigation applications. The Coastkeeper Garden was developed with the hope that visitors will become educated about ways to landscape their own homes with the intent to preserve the native plant species and wildlife of Orange County, reduce urban runoff, and conserve water with drought-tolerant plants.

In addition to the beautifully displayed vignettes, there is a natural playground area for kids. You'll find archways with treestump paths, (currently dry) river beds, bridges, a tube that tunnels through the hillside, a "mountain climbing" area with large rocks to navigate through, old fallen tree trunks to climb and so much more. When we visited we had the place to ourselves, and both my 2-year old girl and 5-year old boy got sweaty and dirty exploring all the nooks and crannies of this adventure-inspiring environment. There is so much fun to be had in nature and the Coastkeeper Gardens do a fantastic job of proving that. Every neighborhood should have a location like this!

Some of the children's play area is rocky and rough, but there is a packed-dirt pedestrian path that is easily walkable, and stroller and wheelchair accessible. There was one port-a-potty near the greenhouse, but no other restrooms were available. If you live in the Orange County area this is a great location to take advantage of. Parking and entry is free but there is a donation box on the shed near the entrance for visitors - please make a contribution to help keep this fantastic park open to the public.

The Coastkeeper Garden is open Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The entrance is a small driveway near the corner of Jamboree and Santiago Canyon Road. The driveway is under construction and is marked by a banner on the fence pointing to the garden. I did not find any parking available on the college campus that conveniently accesses the garden.

The Coastkeeper Garden is in need of volunteers so please contact them if you are interested!

For more information, visit their website or call 714-850-1965.

Fullerton Arboretum

When I took the kids to the Fullerton Arboretum, I didn't go with soaring expectations. I went because it looked spacious and I wanted to explore a new nature center-type location. So when I was greeted with a gorgeous waterfall that pooled into a stream that swept quickly through a shady Woodlands Collection that included buckeye, cedar, juniper, pine, bamboo and countless other specimens, I was ecstatic. You can only imagine my excitement when I found the redwoods. A perfect bench sat quietly overlooking the stream as it rushed over shiny pebbles. The kids played stream-side on the banks and tried to pick the seashells out of the packed mud.

The parking lot was nearly full when we arrived, but there was rarely another group within speaking distance. Even with the occasional passerby, it felt like we had the place to ourselves. I noticed a few other groups with children lingering by the pond and the lake watching the ducks, turtles, tadpoles and fish - someone asked about feeding the ducks but signs are clearly posted here that feeding the wildlife is not allowed. We made our own lakeside stop and the ducks and turtles quickly approached. I'm sure they were hoping for a treat but they were not aggressive with us and seemed to be content just hanging out with the kids.

In addition to the Woodlands Collection you can explore the Desert Collection, the Mediterranean Collection and the gardens. You'll find a beautiful arbor draped with wisteria, a community garden area, a rare fruit garden and a children's garden complete with a hollow tree stump replica for play, a giant watering can and shovel, and my personal favorite, the gourd arbor. I've never seen anything quite like it and I must say, I felt like a kid again walking through that magical hall of gourds.

Fullerton Arboretum is definitely worth a trip. Parking and admission are free but there is a donation station at the entrance that suggests $3 per person. Please consider the suggested donation so this amazing place can keep its doors open to the public. Also, the Arboretum offers classes for adults and children like Yoga in the Garden, Thursdays in the Kitchen, and Arts in the Garden. Visit the Classes and Programs section and the Calendar of Events for more information.

If you go: Take plenty of water and wear sunblock. There's plenty of shade, but lots of sunny, open space as well. Pack a lunch or a substantial snack supply. There's a lot to explore here so you may want to stay a while. Almost all trails are dirt and stroller accessible. There are clean restrooms at the nature center, but there are no changing tables, so bring a blanket for changes on the grass. Please dispose of trash properly so others can enjoy this beautiful location.

Fullerton Arboretum is open daily from 8:00 to 4:30.

 

100 Years of Natural History

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles opened its doors 100 years ago. On June 9th, they'll reopen their doors for their Centennial Celebration showcasing updated favorite exhibits and new and exciting features both indoors and out. The 63-foot fin whale skeleton now hangs mid dive from the glass cube housing the new Otis Booth Pavilion, complete with a sound system that sends out whale calls at different frequencies and thousands of programmable LED lights to simulate waves, shadows and other undersea images. Three and a half acres of the Museum lawn have been transformed into walking paths and nature gardens for learning and interactivity. Listen to water move through tree cells at the Listening Tree, explore soil, compost and roots in the Get Dirty Zone and see plant and bug life in action at the Living Wall. The dioramas and many other popular exhibits are still intact, but thanks to generous time and money, nearly 60% of the museum has benefited from the renovations. In 1913, the Natural History Museum was a very different place than it is today. The inclusion of updated technology and new exhibits that explore the growth and evolution of the city of Los Angeles make this Centennial Celebration a milestone not to be missed. The Museum will be closed on June 8th in preparation for Sunday's celebration.

For more information follow the link below to visit the Natural History Museum's website.

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007
Phone: (213) 763-DINO

The Front Lawn, pre-renovation.

Support the Long Beach Police K-9 Unit!

The K-9 Unit is an important component to the Long Beach Police Department offering assistance in everything from sniffing out drugs to protecting high-profile visitors to tracking down bad guys who almost got away.

The majority of the fees incurred by the K-9 Unit are not paid for by the City of Long Beach. They are paid for by dues paying members, generous donors, and citizens of the community who believe in the great benefit that the K-9 Unit brings to our Police Department.
Back when the K-9 Unit started, a handful of guys pooled $10 each a month to cover food and medical care for the dogs. With limited resources, they got creative and wrapped newspapers around their arms as stand-ins for bite sleeves. But in 1982, paperwork was filed and the official nonprofit Long Beach K-9 Officers Association (LBK9OA) was born.

The LBK9OA provides funding to purchase replacement dogs and provide lifetime off duty medical care and treatment for them. They also contribute funding for seminars, competitions and other activities designed to further the goals and objectives of the K-9 Unit. Currently, the association supports eleven handlers and fourteen service dogs.

Today, dogs for the K-9 unit cost about $12,000. First time handlers are required to pay $3,000 out of their own pocket for their first dog and the Association covers the remaining balance. The Association also pays for regular medical care and treatment for the K-9’s with one exception: The City of Long Beach covers all medical expenses for treatment of on-duty injuries or illnesses.

The Long Beach K-9 handler course has been recognized as the most respected in the state.

The Association holds an annual Benefit Car Show to raise funds. This year’s event is coming up next weekend on May 11, 2013 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. It will be held on the grass at Long Beach Police Officers Association Park behind Lowe's and Wal Mart at the Long Beach Town Center.

The event is free for spectators and will feature classic cars from 1973 and earlier, live music, food, raffles, a helicopter and a live demonstration by members of the Long Beach K-9 Unit. They'll be there rain or shine! Bring the family to enjoy the festivities and support this hardworking group of officers.

LBK9OA Benefit Flyer

LBK9OA Website

Corporal Greg Manis and Jhonny

Officer Wooldridge and Basco

PlaySpaces eBook: FREE Downloads through April 26th!

PlaySpaces: 20 of OC's Best Places to Play and Explore with Kids is full of fun and educational locations that offer families the opportunity to create great memories together. From hiking the trails at Bolsa Chica to fishing in the lakes at Mile Square and Ralph B. Clark to getting to know the animals at Centennial Farm, you'll find something here.

Each location features all the important know-before-you-go information: parking fees, restrooms, stroller accessibility and more!

 

Are you new to the Southern California area, a new parent looking for someplace to enjoy an afternoon out in the fresh air, or an experienced parent looking to find a new favorite hangout for you and the kids? PlaySpaces has something for everyone.

Download your FREE copy today to your smart phone, Kindle, tablet or PC! Click on the picture below, or the link above for your free download.

 

 

 

 

Sunday at the Mission

Sunday morning I decided to get the kids outside to explore someplace new. Being that it was Sunday, and I don't dare take a 1-year old and a 4-year old to church by myself, I thought we should head south and explore Mission San Juan Capistrano.

The grounds here are beautiful, with lots of paths winding through gardens. And the mission living quarters are open for walk throughs so you can experience how the space was being used when it was occupied. There are several fountains around the grounds, one with lots of koi for the kids to watch. The fish seem to enjoy the company, often coming to the surface to make faces at little ones hovering over the water. Koi feedings are daily at 12:45.

An activity center is set up in one of the rooms for educational purposes. No one was there to discuss the activities that take place there on our visit, but it looks like it offers plenty of educational information about the mission and serves as an area for students to take part in crafts or other mission-related activities while on field trips.

To the left of the entrance they had panning for gold and adobe brick making for kids. They charge $3 for each activity, or you can do both for $5. This was a winner for our group. We each made bricks, which are still outside curing. They said to leave the brick in the sun for two days. And even though we paid for the activity, we feel a little richer having two dixie cups with gold on the bottom sitting on our counter.

On California's central coast, you can visit Mission Santa Cruz. A few miles north is a fantastic place called Wilder Ranch. We visited these locations often when we lived in the area and learned that Wilder Ranch was once a working ranch that supplied the mission with all of the food and resources it needed for the mission occupants. I am interested in finding out how Mission San Juan Capistrano was supplied, and if there is still an existing rancho from which the mission once received its goods. If you have any information about this topic please feel free to contact me by leaving a comment below, or by emailing me directly at heidideal711@gmail.com.

Exploring Mission San Juan Capistrano is a great family activity that offers an educational and historical element not to be missed. Admission is $9 for adults, $6 for kids 4-11 and children 3 and under are free. The Mission is open daily from 9:00 to 5:00. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, and closes at noon on Good Friday and Christmas Eve. Check the Mission Calendar of Events to plan your visit.

Also worth mentioning is the gift shop. They have an amazing selection of beautiful crosses and rosaries here as well as books and other gifts available for purchase.

Play in the Dirt for National Garden Month

April is National Garden Month. What a perfect reason to get outside and get your hands dirty with the kids. Gardening and growing healthy food with your children is a great opportunity for enrichment in so many areas. It offers physical activity, helps improve motor skills and problem solving skills, and teaches children how to nurture and care for something. It gives them the opportunity to be proud of something they accomplish, and it introduces them to a selection of healthy foods, which they are more likely to eat because they helped grow it.

Try a themed garden, like a pizza garden, and grow all the veggies you might need to top your favorite pizza. Or a pasta primavera garden - toss all of your garden goodies with fresh pasta and enjoy!

My family recently began a new garden. A few weeks ago, my husband and I took the kids to get some seeds and we chose carrots, peas and cherry tomatoes. We have a patio so we started the seeds in a Pellet Greenhouse Kit. It comes with 20 discs of soil to which you add your seeds. My husband and the kids took great care to mist the seeds to keep them moist, and soon they had 20 sprouts! The kids were so excited every day to see the changes that were taking place with the plants, and looked forward to caring for them.

Today, they transferred their plants to fresh potting soil in planter pots on our patio. The kids got to get a little messy in the soil and helped set up the stakes for the peas to grow on. Then they helped to put the plants in the soil. My 4-year-old son asks questions everyday about why the plants look a certain way or why they are changing. What started out as a small garden turned into an everyday activity that provides an ongoing opportunity to teach that involves everyone in the family.

Fun ideas: 101 Ways to Celebrate National Garden Month

For more great ideas about gardening with kids: Kidsgardening.org

For tons of garden Information: National Gardening Association




Enjoying the tomatoes from the garden a bit early!

Our newly planted peas.

Orange Empire Railway Museum

When you have children, people don't tell you that you will at some point be parenting a miniature conductor who blows whistles, "choo-choo's" around the living room and is obsessed with all things trains. It must be an unspoken rite of passage that all children will experience train-mania at some point during their toddler or preschool years.

Recently, my family and I went to Perris to visit the 90-acre site of the Orange Empire Railway Museum (OERM). A perfect spot for train lovers of all ages. Upon arrival, we stopped to take a few pictures of the ticket booths and old fashioned lamp posts that transported us back a few decades, removing us for a moment from our busy modern lives.

The ticket booths serve as an entry way, but there are no ticketing agents here. Admission to the site is free. Once you cross the tracks you'll find the Pinacate Station Reception Center. This is where you will find visitor's information, the gift shop and purchase train tickets. All day passes are $12 for 12 and over, $8 for kids 5-11, and free for kids under 5.

The gift shop had an enormous selection of train-related books, toys and memorabilia. I fell in love with the little pink conductors set for little girls, complete with hat, scarf and whistle.

OERM rotates the trains and trolleys they use. Some of the trains include Pacific Electric Red Cars, Santa Fe Railway passenger cars, Southern Pacific diesel locomotives, a selection of train cars from Union Pacific and lots more. There are generally 3 trains to ride. The train parked directly in front of the reception center does a loop around the grounds and the other two trains do a short out and back trip down a straight track path.

When you aren't riding the trains, there is plenty to explore. Lots of carhouses hold historic train cars to explore. Kids can explore the interior of some cars, while others are viewable only from the outside. The grounds are open for you to explore at your leisure, just be careful when crossing the tracks and wear comfortable walking shoes when you visit.

Pack a lunch or plenty of snacks when you go. Food and drinks here are limited to sodas and waters and light snacks available for purchase in the museum store.

Trains only run on weekends and some holidays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Grounds are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the reception store is open from 9:30 to 4:30 on weekdays and 9:30 to 5:00 on weekends. Physical address is 2201 S. "A" St., Perris CA 92570.

OERM also hosts a variety of events like the upcoming Bunny Train, Day out With Thomas and swap meets. For more information and to plan your trip, visit their website: http://www.oerm.org/.

A Golden Opportunity for Family Fun

I like getting my kids out to the park, but I get tired of going to the same one. And every now and then, it's nice to find a place to go where you get more out of your park trip than just a few minutes of fun on the play equipment. If you live in or near Huntington Beach, California, Golden View Elementary School has just what you need to add a little life to your ordinary playtime.

Located just outside of Golden View Elementary is Golden View Park. It offers a 2-structure playground with sand and a field for playing tag or soccer. But venture on-campus, just past the basketball courts and you’ll find another play structure, a field, and a 2-acre fenced farm, the Student Environmental Learning Facility (SELF). You won’t be able to go inside like a petting zoo, but the magical moment when you and your kids are approached by 20-plus curious bunnies sniffing inquisitively at your fingers through the chain-link fence will definitely give you the giggles. And then you’ll meet a multitude of chickens, musical geese, and the monstrously large turkey you just can’t look away from. Be careful with fingers though. The animals seem friendly thanks to the interaction they get from the kids who attend school there, but they may still nibble and peck which can hurt if you’re not careful! 

The SELF is home to birds, sheep, goats, chickens, pigs, turkeys, ducks, geese, turtles and rabbits and holds a garden bed for each classroom. The teachers include trips to the farm in their curriculum where students get a hands-on opportunity to care for plants and animals and learn about planting and caring for their gardens throughout the seasons.

Golden View Park and Elementary School is a great place to have fun with your family but visit on a weekend or holiday so that you won’t be in the way of the students when class is in session.

Golden View Park and Elementary School are located at 17251 Golden View Lane, Huntington Beach, CA.

 

 

 

 

**Reprinted from Heidi Deal's Yahoo! Voices Contributor Page**

 

 

The Children's Museum at La Habra

There’s something about a good children’s museum that puts a child-like spark in the heart of every playful parent. The Children’s Museum at La Habra is able to do that before you even step foot inside. From the parking lot, you pass the historic train-depot-turned-theatre building that looks mostly abandoned, a few old train cars including a caboose from 1942 and giant dinosaur topiaries along the entry path.

Once you get inside, the bright colors and stimulating patterns beckon you to run, touch and play with everything you can get your hands on. The Museum has 14 hands on activities with 7 galleries including one rotating exhibit. Little ones can dig for dinosaur bones, pump gas, ride a miniature carousel, “drive” a bus, put their hand in a lion’s mouth and build a castle out of giant blocks.

Of all the exhibits, it seems the most popular is the market where kids can load up their shopping carts with pretend food and cash out at the register. Watching the imagination and interpersonal communication pour out of the kids in this relaxed kid-friendly environment is inspiring.

Keep an ear out for the announcements alerting visitors to participate in daily events like caboose tours and animal meet and greets. And don’t forget to give your little superstar the opportunity to show their talent on stage! Visit the Theatre Gallery where kids can dress up, read scripts, or sing their favorite songs.

If animals are your thing, head to the far end of the Museum to the Nature Walk Gallery and get up close and personal with animals from all over the world. Stand next to towering bears, a leaping lion, and a small exhibit of live animals.

At $8 per person (kids under 2 are free) this Museum is a steal by providing magical family memories and hours of fun.

The Children’s Museum at La Habra is located at 301 South Euclid Street, La Habra, CA 90631. For hours and additional information, visit their website at http://www.lahabracity.com/custom.cfm?name=cmlh.cfm.

*Reprinted from my page on Yahoo! Voices*