Summer Activities

Marin Mommies is pleased to present another great guest article, this time by Ally Kushin, Camp Director for Coastal Camp at Headlands Institute. She discusses the increasing problem of nature deficit disorder and highlights local opportunities to connect children to the natural world. Ally has worked in the field of environmental education for the past 9 years as a naturalist, park ranger, and camp director.

In 2005 the book Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv popularized the term “nature deficit disorder.” In it, he refers to the trend of children spending less time outdoors, resulting in a wide range of behavioral, social, and medical problems. Louv claims that causes for the phenomenon include parental fears, restricted access to natural areas, and the “lure of the screen,” referring to increasing electronic media consumption.

Children who spend more time in nature are known to develop increased concentration, memory, and self discipline. The latest research has established amazing connections between the amount of time spent in nature to everything from better grades to increased immunity to germs to stronger bones. read more »

This weekend, August 15 and 16, all National Parks that normally charge an entry fee will be free to all! This is the third in a series of fee-free summer weekends launched by the National Park Service in an effort to give everyone a chance to visit their national parks in this economically challenging time. Although many are free to begin with, more than 100 national parks normally charge an entry fee.

Around the Bay Area, the parks charging an entry fee include Marin's own Muir Woods National Monument, San Francisco Maritime National Park, and the John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez. Other popular parks within a few hours of the Bay Area include Yosemite and Pinnacles National Monument (south of the Bay Area in Monterey and San Benito counties). A full list of fee-free weekend parks across the USA can be found here.

In case you missed or just didn't get enough of the Marin County Fair, you'll be happy to know that the 2009 Sonoma County Fair starts today at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, and runs through Sunday, August 9. It's worth checking out if you've never been: it's bigger and a lot different than Marin's smaller, more intimate fair, and has more of an agricultural focus, which is natural for a more rural county like Sonoma. The Sonoma County Fair also features a famous annual flower show, which is usually really worth seeing.

This year's theme is "The Fair Before Time", so there are plenty of dinosaur-themed attractions on hand, including three-dozen life-size dinosaur replicas sited througout the fair and Dinosaur Island, where aspiring paleontologists can dig for dinosaur skeletons, build volcanoes, and paint on a mural. Dinosaur identification, imitation, and look-alike contests will be held, and the flower show this year has been dubbed "The Garden that Time Forgot"! The Fair also holds a daily parade, which this year features two special guests: a 10-foot-tall Tyrannosaurus Rex and a 20-foot-long Stegosaurus.

Even though it's almost the end of July, there's still time for your kids to take in a late-summer camp session for fun and enrichment! Two camps offering late-summer sessions include San Anselmo's Le Petit Jardin French immersion program and Sausalito's Pine Point Cooking School.

Le Petit Jardin is a licensed preschool specializing in French language instruction for toddlers. Director Amber Smith-Lopata is now offering French immersion classes to grade school children in Marin. Students learn vocabulary and conversational skills through total language immersion in a small group setting. Hands-on learning activities include music, arts and crafts, games, reading, gardening, and occasional neighborhood outings. It's all totally in French, of course!

The exhibition Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs at San Francisco's de Young Museum is probably the hottest museum show in the Bay Area this summer. If you grew up in the Bay Area, then chances are you remember the blockbuster 1979 Treasures of Tutankhamun exhibition from when you were a child. We had a chance to view the current King Tut show last week, and took our ancient Egypt-obsessed six-year-old and three-year-old through to look at artifacts from the tomb of the famous boy king and other Egyptian notables.

Overall, the show is stunning. All tickets are timed and dated, so you line up at your appointed time (the museum really has this organized well) and then enter through a set of double doors that look like they came from Pirates of the Caribbean or another similar Disneyland attraction. You're ushered into a dark room where a brief 90-second video introduces you to King Tut and ancient Egypt. When the video ends, another set of doors swing open and you enter the actual exhibition, where you're greeted by a beautiful, near-life-size granite statue of Tutanhkamun.

The highlight of our recent road trip to California's Gold Country was our visit to Columbia State Historic Park in the Tuolumne County town of Columbia. In fact, much of Columbia is the park itself. While most of the small Mother Lode towns along Highway 49 are just dripping with history, Columbia takes this to an extreme due to the fact that its old downtown has been preserved to represent its mid-19th century heyday. It's the best preserved Gold Rush town, and a fantastic place for families with children since there's a lot to do and see. The downtown state park part of Columbia is also closed to vehicular traffic (stagecoaches excepted), so it's safe and families literally have the run of the place.

Marin Mommies presents a guest post by Bay Area mom blogger Naomi Tripi. You can read more of her tips for parents of babies and toddlers on her blog at www.tripibabytips.blogspot.com

Toddlers are wild and crazy, you might think that taking them out into the wild would be as natural as breathing, but it is really a lot of work. There are more ways for your snuggly little tsunami to hurt themselves out in the woods than there are in a public restroom! However, getting your favorite bunny-hopper out doors is good for them too. You might not be able to enjoy the peace and solace of nature like you used to, but with a few tips, navigating some of the common pitfalls will be much easier.

Summer Movie Clubhouse will be offering fun weekly summer $1.00 movies for kids starting June 16 at the Century Rowland Plaza (44 Rowland Way) in Novato. All movies start at 9 am. Here is a list of features:

• June 16 & 17: Igor (rated PG)
• June 23 & 24: Fantastic Four 2 (rated PG)
• June 30 & July 1: The Tale of Despereaux (rated G)
• July 7 & 8: Nanny McPhee (rated PG)
• July 14 & 15: Madagascar 2 (rated PG)
• July 21 & 22: Horton Hears a Who (rated G)
• July 28 & 29: Shrek the Third (rated PG)
• August 4 & 5: Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (rated G)
• August 11 & 12: Spongebob Squarepants (rated PG)
• August 18 & 19: Robots (rated PG)

You can purchase 10 shows for $5.00 if purchased in advance, or $1.00 per show if purchased at the box office. For more info, go to their website.