This Saturday, April 20, put your imagination in gear and come to Oak View Nursery School first ever Touch a Truck event! At Touch a Truck, kids (and grownups, too) will get a chance to get behind the wheel of some amazing vehicles and rub elbows with their hometown heroes.
Come and explore your favorite vehicles including fire trucks, dump trucks, buses, tow trucks, race cars, and even Coast Guard drones. It will definitely be a day to remember!
Touch a Truck takes place from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. Admission is $5 per person, and kids under 1 are free. The first 100 kids to attend will get a free goodie bag. All proceeds from this event will fund special programing for Oak View Nursery School students.
Looking for something fun for the kids to do over the upcoming spring break? There are so many unique and fun camps available to choose from. Check out some of the great spring break camps here in Marin.
Art Attack!Spring Camp at Bay Area Discovery Museum
Sausalito April 8–11, 9 am–3 pm
The Art Attack camp is for ages 4–7 years and takes place April 8–11 (four days). Explore your artistic potential and express yourself through paint, sculpture, natural objects, recycled materials, messy art and more. Children will explore the artistic through our specialized open-ended child-directed process no matter how messy they may get! Cost: Supporting Members $375; general $400 per series. Location: 557 McReynolds Rd., Sausalito.For more info, visit www.baykidsmuseum.org.
Devil's Gulch Camp
Nicasio (pick-up/drop-off at San Rafael YMCA) April 8–12, 8 am–4:30 pm
In partnership with Devil's Gulch Educational Services, the Marin YMCA will be leading a spring break camp in Nicasio for grades 2–8. Kids will have the opportunity to learn about farming, animal care, sustainable living and outdoor skills. The actual working farm will provide an experience for campers to garden, go fishing and enjoy other outdoor activities. The campers will meet at the YMCA at 8 am. The bus will leave the Marin YMCA at 8:15 am. and return to the YMCA at 4:30. Pre- and post-camp are not available. Fee: Facility Member $400 and Program Member $430. For more info or to register, visit www.ymcasf.org/marin.
If you haven't been to the PlayLand indoor bounce house experience in the MLK Gym in Sausalito, it's definitely worth a visit, especially if it's rainy or cold and you can't play outside. PlayLand is a full-sized gymnasium full of inflatable bounce houses, including a 40-by-20-foot sports arena, a 15-foot slide, a bounce house with basketball hoop, and a toddler bounce zone.
My kids always have a blast playing here—sliding, jumping, bouncing, and playing games in a warm, safe, indoor environment. PlayLand was started by Marin dad Jeremy Williams, who also runs Mt. Tam Adventure Camps. He's often on site with several coaches who make sure that everyone has fun. During our last visit, a coach was making balloon animals for the kids, and there was even a remote controlled flying giant clownfish roaming the room. It's a fun and cool place to play in Marin.
Marin Mommies presents a guest article by Rebecca Wood Breen, LCSW, Parents Place Coordinator, Marin County.
What ‘s going on this February at Parents Place, Marin County’s premier family resource center for parents and kids? Lots! We have a boatload of timely and dynamic parent/child activity groups and workshops in which you may be interested in enrolling… plus one free webinar:
Thursday, February 7: Raising Sons, 6:30–8:30 pm
Tuesday, February 12: Breastfeeding: Understanding Your Baby and Your Body, 6:30–8:30 pm
Tuesday February 12: Terrific Twos, 6:30–8:30 pm
Friday, February 15: Infant Sleep Solutions, 10 am–noon
Thursday, February 28: Get Your Young Child to Listen, 7–9 pm
Marin Mommies presents a guest article by Anne Mannes, FOCAS Program Director in Fairfax. She highlights some of the classes and events happening through FOCAS this winter and spring.
We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! We are looking forward to a great 2013 and encouraging all of you to take advantage of the fun and affordable classes happening via FOCAS.
For the winter and spring sessions we have a little of everything for every age, including our new offerings such as Zumbatomic/Zumba Gold, Yoga for Toddlers, drop-in basketball, ceramics for adults and more. Please be sure to check out our website www.fairfaxfocas.com for our full schedule and/or pick up a copy at Town Hall. Below is a sneak preview of the highlights:
Fairfax Moms: In the interest of building a fully supported and sustainable network of Fairfax families with little ones 0–6 years old, we have started Fairfax Moms. It is offered in affiliation with FOCAS and the Town of Fairfax. Membership dues are $30 per year or $50 for two years. Membership dues will enable us to offer the speakers and programs that parents/caregivers want. It will also streamline the process of adding new members and welcoming new folks to town, helping them get plugged in right away. To join and/or learn more about the benefits of this group, please go to the website www.fairfaxmoms.net/ BigTent offers simple profiles, subgroups, a classified section and a calendar. The New Parents Group is part of the Fairfax Moms meeting on Tuesdays from 11 am–12:30 pm at the Community Center. We hope to see you soon!
If you're a southern Marin parent looking for art classes for your children, then check out the new Little Art Studio in Mill Valley. Owned and operated by Mill Valley based fine artist and art educator, Jhaya Warmington, the Little Art Studio offers a variety of fun and unique art classes and art themed birthday parties for children aged of 1 ½ to 12.
Each class is focused around a specific art medium or technique, and the children are encouraged to explore art materials in an open, safe, and supportive environment. The emphasis is on the creative process rather than the product, but the children always come away with incredible works of art. Small classes offer children a comfortable, creative, age-appropriate atmosphere, while promoting cooperation and connections. The students constantly watch each other, learn from each other, and learn how to work together.
It's Thanksgiving week, and since most schools give kids the entire week off, you'll probably be looking for ways to keep them occupied before and after Turkey Day. Here are our top 10 activities for families for Thanksgiving break:
This fall Tiburon's Ark Row Center for Enrichment Fun offers a wide range of fun and exciting classes for both kids and parents. Ark Row Center provides a warm, cozy, and nurturing environment for little ones, and specializes in providing quality children's programming where every child is considered unique. Ark Row Center's Mommy and Me classes, like their Mommy & Me Music and Movement, offer age-appropriate activities and experiences designed to enrich every child's development.
For two-year-olds who are not quite ready for preschool, but are ready for more opportunities for learning and social time, the center offers Twos Together. Twos Together is a "pre-preschool" that includes plenty of arts and crafts, music, stories and songs, learning materials, as well as outdoor time. The children are gently transitioned into being able to stay by themselves, giving moms a little new-found free time! Children do not need to be potty trained for Twos Together.
Marin Mommies presents a guest article by Anne Mannes, FOCAS Program Director in Fairfax. She highlights some of the classes and events happening through FOCAS this fall.
As the new program director for Fairfax Open Circle Arts and Sports (FOCAS), I am often asked what the history is behind the program and what type of classes we offer. FOCAS is a program that was developed over a decade ago by an artist-in-residence in response the need to have more recreational services in the community. Over the years it has fluctuated from offering some dance, drumming, and playgroup classes via the Town of San Anselmo’s recreation department to its current incarnation of offering its own Town of Fairfax seasonal field guide that provides birthday party rentals and a broad variety of classes for preschoolers to adults, including an increasingly popular camp for school-aged youth during the summer.
Since the MOU change with the Town of San Anselmo in 2011, FOCAS has appreciated the ability to improve local youth and family offerings, enhance utilization of our buildings and increase revenue for the Town of Fairfax. With the help of the Measure I / Youth Fund we are able to establish high quality and affordable programs for the community.
As we transition into the fall season, it is with excitement that I bring you this season’s field guide. We have some terrific classes and events for all ages. A sneak preview of the highlights below (catalogue available in mid-September):
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This Saturday, April 20, put your imagination in gear and come to Oak View Nursery School first ever Touch a Truck event! At Touch a Truck, kids (and grownups, too) will get a chance to get behind the wheel of some amazing vehicles and rub elbows with their hometown heroes..jpg)
Looking for something fun for the kids to do over the upcoming spring break? There are so many unique and fun camps available to choose from. Check out some of the great spring break camps here in Marin.
Marin Mommies presents a guest article by Anne Mannes, FOCAS Program Director in Fairfax. She highlights some of the classes and events happening through FOCAS this winter and spring. 
It's Thanksgiving week, and since most schools give kids the entire week off, you'll probably be looking for ways to keep them occupied before and after Turkey Day. Here are our top 10 activities for families for Thanksgiving break:
This fall Tiburon's Ark Row Center for Enrichment Fun offers a wide range of fun and exciting classes for both kids and parents. Ark Row Center provides a warm, cozy, and nurturing environment for little ones, and specializes in providing quality children's programming where every child is considered unique. Ark Row Center's Mommy and Me classes, like their Mommy & Me Music and Movement, offer age-appropriate activities and experiences designed to enrich every child's development.
