Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in oakland, CA

50 Things to Do Before Your Child Goes to School (Kindergarten, That Is)

by VDog

February 24, 2009

Roughly. A lot of these are great activities for your older kids, too!

This list was compiled over several blog posts by our former Being Savvy Editor, Heather Gibbs Flett. You can still catch her daily at RookieMoms.com! 

1. Children's Fairyland: trippy and bizarre unless you grew up here and remember it fondly from your childhood. Whoa, they even offer a sleepover.

2. East Bay Vivarium: stinky and warm homage to all things reptilian right off Fourth St. in Berkeley.

3. Pumpkin patch (which one's the best? I've heard good things about Clayton Valley?)

4. Little Farm at Tilden Park: wonderful, free working farm. Bring celery or lettuce to feed the animals.

5. Pottery painting at Brushstrokes: work together to make a keepsake gift and have fun getting all painty.

6. Sand castle building contest: play or watch in Alameda in June each year (this year, it's June 7th).

7. Ashkenaz for the kids' music series: we saw Hot Buttered Rum here and my son got hooked on their foot-stomping bluegrass. Plus the venue is a Berkeley institution.

8. The Oakland Museum of Children's Art, MOCHA: free for gallery visits and has an awesome Drop-In Art Studio for kids between ages 18 months and 5 years for $7.

9. Ferry to San Francisco: hop on the ferry at Jack London Square

10. Sketch for ice cream: whether you're pro-sugar or anti-sugar, this place is a real treat. Don't your kids deserve sustainable, organic, deliciousness? Yum.

11. Alameda Flea Market: first Sundays of each month at the former naval air station. Miles of wandering with very little shade, but an amazing trip for a little one. Bring water and a healthy snack or two.

12. Visit the Berkeley Rose Garden: meandering paths, stunning views of SF, and roses of all hue. An antidote to the flea market.

13. BART trip to anywhere: gas prices are so high, you'll want to do this without my suggestion

14. Watch an all ages movie at the Parkway or Cerrito Theaters - snuggle up on couches and enjoy being together as well as watching a show. Check the schedule for weekend all ages shows.

15. Berkeley or Oakland Farmers Market: there are so many good ones, you should pick the closest or most convenient time, then enjoy a snack together.

16. Lawrence Hall of Science: Great little kids area, many hands-on exhibits, and ample outdoor space. Worth a membership. My experiences with the younger scientist on RookieMoms.

17. March (or tricycle) in a Parade. The Pride parade (this weekend) is in SF: join the family fun with a group from the Discovery Museum. Or find a spot to watch from the sidelines. And we'll cover the Solano stroll as it happens. Otherwise, you're just on the receiving end of all those flying candies. Better to be in the action, right?

18. Fireworks: let your kid stay up late to watch the fireworks. We'll be taking our boys to the Berkeley Marina show. In earplugs.

19. Walk around Lake Merritt: Good luck to you! This jewel of Oakland has a 3.4 mile circumference.

20. Go to Berkeley Family Camp: Find a couple days or a weeks to make this tradition your family vacation.

21. Rock out at a Baby Loves Disco Party: You decide far east bay or the big city depending on where you live. I vote SF to relive my glory days and ride the BART.

22. Ride the (real) rails: Amtrak wherever you want or follow my tips for a fun daytrip to Martinez.

23. Circus class at Ha Ha This a way: he'll learn how to juggle and I'll refine my trapeze act, right?

24. Climb Indian Rock: Tucked away in the paths through the hills, reward your little climber with a treat at the top. Follow my tips and mini history lesson or just wing it.

25. Plant a garden: big or small, something edible so they can learn where real food comes from. I'll share my dirty experiences soon!

26. Brunch at Wat Mongkolratanaram, Berkeley's Thai Buddhist temple: At Russell St and Martin Luther King Jr. near the Tool Lending Library, monks invite the public to sit on the lawn and eat delicious and bountiful Thai food. I can't wait to try this! [helpful article in Berkeley Daily Planet]

27. Visit BAM: take your little art critic to Berkeley's Art Museum and ascertain MOMA-readiness.

28. Preschooler yoga class at Yogalayam: Namaste!

29. Wander through the Edible Schoolyard: living history and another great lesson in food!

30. Enjoy story time at N Berkeley Library: N. Berkeley has Whitney's favorite story times. Which one do you like best?

31. Captain's Cottage for High Tea for little princes and princesses in training. Recommended by a fellow preschool mom of 4. Her just-three-year-old enjoyed this place's charms and behaved the whole time.

32. Berkeley Kite Festival (pictured, my husband - photo by me). We loved this festival for our one- and three-year-olds. Responding to the excitement and peer pressure, we bought the Octopus Kite so we'd have something to fly. If at all possible, bike to the festival and avoid the traffic and parking scene.

33. Ice skating in Alameda where the groovy surface is slick without the cold. Cool. Can't wait to try it.

34. Funky sleep over at the Zoo or Fairyland for a change. Good for the over-four set. We'll have to do it next year.

35. Daytrip to SF Giants game and fan lot. Fun for baseball lovers and baseball haters.

36. Visit the USS Hornet for a climbing history lesson. Anyone done this with their kids yet?

37. Bike the Ohlone greenway

38. Pick fruit from neighboring trees and make a tart or pie

39. Visit the fab waterpark swimming pools in Antioch or San Ramon

40. Oakland A's game

41. Boogie through lunch at Cheeseboard Pizza, bring your tipping money

42. Parents' Night Out at Dig's bistro

43. Venture to the Discovery Museum in San Rafael

44. Ride out to Sonoma's Train town

45. Head to Chapel of chimes during a concert

46. Cheer for the Oakland Warriors

46. Go to the pet wash at Telegraph and Alcatraz and watch for sudsing pooches

47. Swing out for a party or take a class at Trapeze Arts

48. Pass the day away at the amazing indoor playspace of Studio Grow

49. Cal Berkeley football game while they're still young enough to dress like a mascot

50. Ardenwood Farm in Fremont -- draft horses pull a train car, kids can help feed the sheep and the chickens, and they offer many seasonal special activities.

5 ideas for your weekend plans

by Whitney Moss

November 06, 2008

Hop on the BART and head to the City for the Ferry Building Farmer's Market between 8 am and 2 pm on Saturday. Visit Cordonices Park in the Berkeley Hills. Sit on a piece of cardboard to ride the big concrete slides that are embedded in the side of the hill. Four and unders will need a grown up to sit below them. Go to The Sippy Cups concert at The Blue Sky Family Club in Emeryville @ 2:15 or  Read more...

A triple public transportation outing from the East Bay

by Whitney Moss

October 17, 2008

Yesterday I took Julian for a special date. We took three modes of public transportation in a pretty convenient loop. This is a fantastic outing for an older preschooler who can comfortably walk along city streets for a few blocks without a stroller. Here's how it's done. Fill in your own sightseeing and snack stops along the way, or keep it wheels-focused and just move through as quickly as  Read more...

Spare the air and ride your bike!

by Heather Gibbs Flett

September 04, 2008

On very hot days, the transit authority begs us all to stop driving and spare the air. Oh the poor car commuters today -- probably getting eggs thrown at their windshields for driving on a SPARE THE AIR DAY . But what a great time for the rest of us. We can walk, bike, or ride trains and buses all day in good conscience. June 19th was the only free transit day this summer, but you are doing  Read more...

Baseball daytrip: SF Giants Fan Lot

by Heather Gibbs Flett

July 24, 2008

I'm not a baseball fan in any shape or form. Back in my college days, I could sneak in one game a year if the weather was perfect and all my friends were going, but I'm not really in any hurry to find out which of my sons (or gosh, both!!) is going to be the ESPN guy's guy type*. Consequently, we're not very likely to take our kids out to the ball park. Heck, we're still crazy about naps.  Read more...

Three Days In and Around Berkeley + Oakland: Day 2

by Whitney Moss

July 09, 2008

The food in the Bay Area is like no other place. We are food snobs, and we raise our children to be the same. (Ok, there's totally a class thing going on here, but I'm not going to get into that.) The point is, you can not visit Berkeley and miss out on our fresh, local produce, so I'm going to start Day 2 of your vacation at the Temescal Farmer's Market . Park on Hardy Street, a dead ending  Read more...

Preschool Pride: March in a real live parade!

by Whitney Moss

June 25, 2008

Our first guest poster is Jennifer Caleshu, Director of Communications for the Bay Area Discovery Museum . Jennifer is a mother of two - a newborn and a preschooler. She encourages us to join the family-friendly fun with her museum at the Pride Parade in San Francisco. I think it's a great idea - families in all cities with Pride Parades should consider. What could be a bigger thrill than being  Read more...