Classes

Spazio Italiano SF provides Italian language classes and workshops for children and their families. Native Italian speakers teach all programs, with an emphasis on immersion and culture. The curriculum incorporates a variety of learning styles - speaking, listening, games, music, movement, visual aids, reading, and writing.

Morning classes are language specific and are focused on children from 18 months to four years of age. Afternoon workshops offer language classes as well as cooking and soccer for children five to ten years of age. Caregivers as well as families are encouraged to participate in the language programs with adult language classes offered in the evenings.

Admissions Director: Aimee Giles, 415.861.5432

Admissions Deadline: Preschool applications due mid-December; K-8 applications due mid-January


Children's Day School (CDS) excels as a community of learners who believe in a better kind of learning and possess the passion and the skills to shape and continually grow the school. CDS launched a new middle school in the fall of 2003. The school's first class of 8th graders graduated in 2006.

At CDS, children are given the room and inspiration to learn and grow. Located in the sunny Mission District, CDS has one of the largest outdoor campuses in San Francisco with more than an acre of open space featuring a farm and organic garden, and a large playground.

CDS is the perfect setting for a challenging academic program that is project-based, integrated across disciplines, and grounded in the practice of social responsibility. Class sizes are small, with dedicated, inspired teachers working in teams to create a learning environment that maximizes each student's creativity and skill development, and promotes a life-long love of learning. Specialists collaborate with classroom teachers to integrate Spanish, art, music, environmental education, and physical education into the curriculum.

Grades: Preschool to Grade 8

Class Size: 24. Current enrollment is 260.

Facilities: Large sunny campus including on-site farm and organic garden (with sheep and chickens) and large playground, library, science resource center, with computers and Internet access in all elementary and middle school classrooms.

Programs: Spanish, art, music, physical education, environmental education, team sports.

Lunch Program: No

Afterschool Program: Until 6pm.

Uniforms: No

Report Cards: Detailed progress reports (preschool-5th); grades and report cards (6th-8th).

Children's Day School offers afterschool enrichment classes, open to students in the Bay Area, for three seven-week sessions throughout the school year (fall, winter, and spring terms). Classes for preschool, elementary, and middle school students have included yoga, beginning Spanish, chess, computer art, movie making, cartooning, mosaics, tree frog treks science club, sewing, singing, rocketry, creative writing, black and white photography, study hall, drama, and gymnastics.

Classes take place during the after-school program and generally run for one hour, one day a week. Class fees range from $130-$185 for a seven-week class. Please contact the school for dates and details.

The school also offers camp programs during the summer and school vacations, also open to students in the Bay Area. A large outdoor play area, farm, and lovely garden offers unique summer experiences for children. The preschool program incorporates a wide range of projects, games, activities, and adventures, while themed camps for elementary aged students allow young people to delve into a specific interest.

Girotondo Italian School is a full-immersion Italian Preschool and Elementary school that is Reggio-Emilia inspired, and is open to children of all cultures.

Students enjoy an Italian atmosphere with a warm loving environment while developing respect and awareness of diversity and multiculturalism. The primary mission of the school is three fold: to give to children the gift of a second language, to build a community of people that have the same interests, and to create an environment where children can find peers with whom to share their Italian language skills.

Girotondo Italian School also offers Mommy and Me "Cento Gioco" for ages one to two, art classes in Italian for ages two to six, and afterschool "Doposcuola" for ages six to 14.

The school offers four, week-long sessions of summer camp, with themes including cooking, puppetry, tide pools, and building with recycled materials. Check the website for the schedule and complete descriptions.

A class that teaches kids about the world of modeling without the pressure. Participants work with a photographer and class takes place in a studio.

Dragonfly Designs brings the creativity of beading to a location of the client's choice with age appropriate beading parties for children, teens, and adults.

The company also offers age appropriate after school jewelry making classes in its South San Francisco location for children and teens.

Included in the two-hour party are invitations, beaded jewelry projects, and a party pouch to hold the newly made treasures. Custom theme charms are also available.

Photographer Kathi O'Leary specializes in creating intimate, beautifully lit portraits of children of any age and their families.

Portraits start at $240 and with digital capture customers have instant review of the shoot and a choice of images in both color and black and white. Parents can take individual classes from Kathi to learn how to capture their children with their own digital cameras.

Summerfoto is a week-long summer digital photography workshop held in Kathi's studio on California Street in the Fillmore. Children between the ages of seven and 15 learn to improve the quality and composition of photos and to appreciate photographs as art. Projects include still-lifes, portraiture, a nature field trip, and a group exhibition. For more information and pricing, please visit the website.

Kathi also teaches after school and on school breaks.

Kathi's birthday parties for kids from ages seven and up include a mini portrait lesson on location. Kids take turns photographing each other using portrait studio equipment and dress-up clothes. They leave with their matted portrait photo.

The Red Cross is an excellent resource for health and safety classes as well as disaster preparation, Babysitter Certification classes and the one and only...Pet First Aid class.

The Tulip Grove is a resource center and store for new parents.

The center offers a comprehensive childbirth education series, childbirth preparation classes, and workshops on a wide range of topics - including breastfeeding, newborn care, CPR, baby signing, infant massage, pregnancy nutrition, and more.

This is an online social network with a variety of resources for parents. You can meet other local parents.

BabySteps
-commuity resources
-family-friendly places-family events
-classes
-groups

All of which are within San Francisco

Please visit
http://www.cpmcbabysteps.org/resources

In an effort to promote chess for children, the Mechanics Institute opens its doors every Saturday to young players of all ages, from beginner to advanced. Children may play in a foursome with three other participants of matching strength or, if an uneven number of players participate, in a "mini Swiss" with three rounds. Prizes are given to all participants.

Non-rated and beginning players are welcome to participate. Your child will be given a provisional rating after playing 10 games. For further information, call Anthony Corrales at 415.280.9759 or call the main number.

The Osher Marin JCC offers a wealth of children's recreational and educational activities for infants all the way up to teens. Beginning with enrichment and parent-child classes, childcare, preschool and summer and vacation camps, kids' exercise and sports programs, up through character-building and fun challenges for adolescents on the verge of adulthood.

Swimming lessons start with parent-participation classe for infants and toddlers, and continue with small group lessons for ages three to 10. Private and semi-private lessons are also available.

Music, art, science and nature, performing arts, dance, and cooking classes are available, too.

The Sunday Funday family program offers swim time in the indoor heated pool from 1pm-4pm, and often include a playzone (for kids ages six and younger) and sports programs for older children.

A drop-in babysitting service is open 8:15am to 2pm every day, and Mondays & Wednesdays until 7pm.

Summer camp offerings include traditional day camps and teen programs for ages two to 15. Camp includes programming in music, drama, arts & crafts, sports, nature, and Judaic Culture. Campers enjoy swimming each day, field trips once a week, and an overnight per session.

The Teen program includes video production, camping, High Adventure Ropes Course, kayaking, field trips, beaches and more.

The JCC also offers specialty camps in performing arts, sports, video production, Lego engineering, cooking, art, drama, science discovery, and nature.

The Berkeley Chess School is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to sharing the joy of chess with as many young people as possible through in-school instruction and tournament play.

BCS teaches over 7,000 girls and boys in 164 schools throughout Northern California, regardless of their ability to pay. Established in 1982 by Elizabeth Shaughnessy, former
Irish Women's Chess Champion and former president of the Berkeley School Board, BCS also offers regional tournaments and two all-girls tournaments throughout the year.

Each class normally offers twenty minutes of instruction followed by forty minutes of chess play.

The club also meets on Friday nights at the Berkeley City Club (2315 Durant Avenue); the program for kids runs 6:30pm-8pm.

The winner of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the best Indoor Playspace/Partyspace for Teens in the Bay Area, Zeum is a hands-on arts & technology museum for kids and families. Families can experience, firsthand, everything from animation to video production. Children who've spent time here light up when describing their experience. Comments include "really cool," and "you get to experiment with anything you want."

A child can choose to become an animator, which involves first creating a 3D clay character, and then bringing it to life at one of Zeum's animation stations. Kids can even take the animation home on a DVD.

Visitors can play at being a director, which means collaborating with friends to produce a multimedia show in Zeum's production lab, and creating special effects, acting out different characters, operating professional video equipment, and making music for a soundtrack.

Kids can also work with artists from media arts and technology fields - during special weekend workshops on topics ranging from DJ arts to robotics.

Parties: Bring up to 20 guests (one adult chaperone is required for every five youth) and reserve a room on Saturdays and Sundays for any of the following 90 minute time slots: 11am to 12:30pm, 1:15pm-2:45pm, or 3:30pm-5pm Guests can enjoy the fun at Zeum before or after the party. A Zeum staff member will show guests to the birthday room, distribute carousel tickets, and answer questions about Zeum.

Basic Birthday Party Cost: $2225 for Zeum Family Members, $250 for Non-members. Additional theme-party options such as "Mad Hatters" or "Music Video" are available for $450-$600. Add 20 carousel tickets, good for two rides per guest, for an additional flat fee of $30. Party hosts are welcome to bring their own food and beverages for their guests. Decorations, serving items and party favors can be purchased for an additional fee. To reserve a birthday party, call 415.820.3515. Reservations should be made six weeks ahead of time.

During the summer, Zeum offers unique one- and two-week summer camp workshops taught by professional artists in multimedia arts and technology topics. Kids (ages 8-13) can create animations, produce digital videos, make their own comic books, and much more. Sessions run from 9am-3pm (extended hours are available).

The Zeum Carousel, built in 1906, features a menagerie of elaborately hand-carved animals, including horses, giraffes, camels, and more. The carousel, formerly a fixture at the San Francisco amusement park, Playland-at-the-Beach, resides right outside of Zeum.

A learning center for children and youth with emphasis on digital art: digital painting, 3D modeling and animation, and video game development. The center also offers classical piano/keyboard lessons and classes in digital music composition.

The SF Recreation and Parks Department offers Young People's Teen Musical Theater Company, Photography, Dance, and Computer Lab classes at the Harvey Milk Recreational Arts Building. The building is pretty battered and the program doesn't have all the teaching support it would like. But the offerings are either free or just plain cheap.

Call the Harvey Milk program administrator for more information or visit the Park Department's website.

We've looked everywhere and these may well be the only ongoing cooking classes in town for kids - do let us know if we're wrong. Classes are offered at the Katherine Michiel's school after school or on Saturday mornings and participants can take a series, or one at a time.

Founder Roberta DesBouillons is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and has more than 20 years of culinary experience. Her goal is to teach children how to cook and bake in a safe, fun setting, and to cultivate in them a lifelong appreciation of cooking. All classes are designed for children 10 years and older.

Kids have their choices of a variety of classes, such as Ethnic Foods, Cooking Italian, Healthy Vegetarian, and Easy as Pie. Students make two or three recipes per class, and are encouraged to taste everything, and to bring samples home.

Saturday morning workshops are given as single classes.

The Afterschool series is offered in two, three, and four-week segments.

Private lessons: Available to groups of up to five children, kitchen can be provided.

Parties: You're welcome to stage a birthday party with Apron Strings. Kids make their own pizzas from scratch and decorate the birthday cake. Cost depends on size, location, and menu.

Camps: Generally four or five days in length and ongoing through the summer and during school breaks.

The winner of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the best Museum for Little Kids in the Bay Area, Habitot is a hands-on learning center in Berkeley that features a toddler garden, where kids can pull wooden carrots out of holes, a padded tunnel that's a blast to crawl through, and a miniature cafe and grocery store, among other delights.

The museum also hosts many special exhibits throughout the year, including a Fire Station display that invited kids to step into the role of a fire fighter, and explore it in the way they know best - by touching, climbing, moving things around, and jumping on it.

Classes: Offers a rich selection of classes for children and parents. Among the kids programs: art, ceramics & clay, drama, science, music, dance & movement, carpentry, and cooking, and infant massage. Classes for parents include CPR Training, Toilet Training, Raising Children in Multiracial Families, and Handling Parent Anger. Free drop-in parent or caregiver support groups meet weekly.

Three different birthday party options are offered: museum rental (up to 40 children, fee is $395 for two and a half hours); birthday room rental (up to 8 children, $16.50 per child with a $99 minimum for one and a half hours); or a private party (up to 30 children, fee is $325 for two hours).

Habitot also hosts week-long seasonal camps in the winter and spring. Every week includes: storytelling, art, music, dance, free play with toys, and dramatic play with costumes and props. Nutritious snacks are also served daily.

We've looked everywhere and these may well be the only ongoing cooking classes in town for kids - do let us know if we're wrong. Classes are offered at the Katherine Michiel's school after school or on Saturday mornings and participants can take a series, or one at a time.

Founder Roberta DesBouillons is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and has more than 20 years of culinary experience. Her goal is to teach children how to cook and bake in a safe, fun setting, and to cultivate in them a lifelong appreciation of cooking. All classes are designed for children 10 years and older.

Kids have their choices of a variety of classes, such as Ethnic Foods, Cooking Italian, Healthy Vegetarian, and Easy as Pie. Students make two or three recipes per class, and are encouraged to taste everything, and to bring samples home.

Saturday morning workshops are given as single classes.

The Afterschool series is offered in two, three, and four-week segments.

Private lessons: Available to groups of up to five children, kitchen can be provided.

Parties: You're welcome to stage a birthday party with Apron Strings. Kids make their own pizzas from scratch and decorate the birthday cake. Cost depends on size, location, and menu.

Camps: Generally four or five days in length and ongoing through the summer and during school breaks.

The winner of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the best Artsy Class for Teens in the Bay Area, the Presidio Dance Theatre Academy is the official school of Presidio Dance Theatre and offers artistic and cultural education. The ballet-based international dance program is open to students of all skill levels with a choice of two distinct tracts of training.

The Academy Tract offers elementary aged students one weekly dance combination class (Ballet and International Folk) and an optional weekly corresponding performance class (if the student wishes to participate in Presidio Dance Theatre's Spring Recital at the Palace of Fine Arts). The Academy also offers popular electives. This tract is for children who wish to explore the world of dance and receive enrichment in performing arts.

Les Petites Etoiles - Preschool Twinkles: An award-winning Preschool program for children ages 2.5 years and older. Twice a week, preschoolers are given an introduction to ballet and international dance, enriched with music and dance history appreciation. The Twinkles learn steps from the repertoire of Presidio Dance Theatre's Dancing Across Cultures, signature production. Each spring, the Twinkles join Presidio Dance Theatre Academy's Recital and perform at the Palace of Fine Arts.

The Junior Company Tract: The Academy's Junior Company tract is a Pre-Professional Program for students ages seven to 17. All students must audition for placement in this tract. Junior Company members commit to attending dance classes three days per week and participating in seasonal theatrical performances, as well as national and local special event performances, television, and touring opportunities. Junior Company members work with a number of Presidio Dance Theatre's resident choreographers and perform with the Company and guest artists.

The training continues the traditions of Russia's Imperial Ballet School and the Mariinsky (Kirov) Theatre and are taught with the French vocabulary of ballet direction. Costumes are designed for the Junior Company (at no cost to parents), primarily by the costume artists of the Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg.

Presidio Dance Theatre Summer Camp program includes Orientation to Ballet and Folk (ages five to eight) and Beginning and Intermediate Ballet and Folk (ages eight to 17) from 10am-4pm in five weekly sessions. Kids explore the world through dance, drawing from a variety of international cultures and folk dances. Kids also learn dance history, costume and make-up for stage, health and nutrition, and do visual art projects. Students register by the week. Additional weekly Specialty Camps include: Hula Camp and Hip-Hop Camp. Extended care is available 8:30am-10am and 4pm-5:30pm.

Preschool Morning Summer Camp is offered to young children, three to five years of age. Classes include pre-ballet, folk, arts and crafts, arts enrichment, and creative dance theatre. (9am-12n, Mon-Fri in five weekly sessions).

The Shan-Yee Poon Ballet School offers dance classes for children and adults. The owner, Ms. Poon, trained at the Royal Ballet School in London and was a principal dancer in ballet troupes in Germany and the Bay Area.

The school resides in a former Masonic Lodge - a 6000 square foot facility with three professional dance studios. The school offers serious, comprehensive ballet instruction with attendance requirements of up to three days per week in advanced levels. Programs include classical ballet, jazz, tap, character, pre-ballet, toddler music and dance movement, and adult dance.

The school holds a large stage performance at the end of every spring semester, as well as a winter showcase in December.

Jamboodas (formerly JAM) was founded in 2001 by Charity Kahn - mother, musician, composer, author and recording artist - as a vehicle for bringing the joy of music and movement to children and their families.

A 45-minute Jamboodas class takes you and your child on a sound-and-motion journey incorporating singing, creative movement, percussion jams, scarf dancing, and improvisation, using original songs from Charity's JAMband CDs. Jamboodas is a child-inspired, child-tested pathway to the joy music brings, and an excuse to sing and dance and shake your bones!

Tuition is $198 for the 10-week session, and includes two CDs of original music. Siblings over eight months can attend for $130/quarter; siblings under eight months are free. Jamboodas classes take place at DSG Studios, at 564 Monterey (cross street Foerster). Each 10-week session culminates in a family sing-along, dance-along concert.

Summer Camp for children entering kindergarten through second grade, includes music, dance, art, poetry, yoga, picnics, and play. Enrollment is limited to 20 spots.

Locations of classes and performances vary; please check the website for current schedules and information.

Metreon, an entertainment and retail center, is located next to Yerba Buena Gardens.

Metreon is home to AMC Theatres which boasts the largest IMAX screen west of the Mississippi, along with 15 regular movie screens and a food court containing five restaurants. The center also hosts a kid-friendly arcade called Tilt, a Playstation Store, a Sony Style store, and an International Spy Shop.

Metreon, an entertainment and retail center, is located next to Yerba Buena Gardens.

Metreon is home to AMC Theatres which boasts the largest IMAX screen west of the Mississippi, along with 15 regular movie screens and a food court containing five restaurants. The center also hosts a kid-friendly arcade called Tilt, a Playstation Store, a Sony Style store, and an International Spy Shop.

The San Francisco Goju Ryu Karate Center offers a martial arts program that emphasizes safety, as well as self defense and agility. The school is a store front, with a big, clean room lined with mirrors. Students receive internationally-recognized belt certification.

Teachers emphasize physical discipline and control, and also take time to instruct students in the meaning behind certain techniques.

Parties: Karate Birthday parties are offered on weekends. The cost is $100 an hour for rental of the school and an instructor. Party materials can be supplied for a fee.

Karate One offers martial arts training for kids ages 2.5 and up. Three times a year, the center offers wood-breaking seminars in classes. Children utilize the breaking of wood to maintain focus, strength, and speed.

One Martial Arts is a unique, state-of-the-art, family-oriented facility dedicated to the mental and physical enhancement of the human spirit. Programs include Kids' Karate, Cardio Kickboxing, Aikido, and Tai Chi.

The 4000 square feet of training space utilizes "Feng Shui" influenced principles, including full spectrum lighting (which simulates sunlight indoors), full-length mirrors (providing optimal viewing coverage), a professional wireless sound reinforcement system, and the latest in martial arts equipment.

The Little Ninja program is designed for preschoolers, providing an age-specific curriculum that is professionally designed to teach children important life skills.

Kids' Karate, for ages six and up, reinforces values like honesty and integrity and helps children develop self-discipline, control, respect for adults, and courtesy for others.

Camp programs are offered during winter break, spring break, and over the summer, and feature a combination of different activities, including cardio kickboxing, swimming, arts & crafts, games, field trips, and library hour. Children ages five to 12 are eligible, call or visit the website for current schedule and fees.

Birthday party options include confidence-building games, relay races, a party coordinator, and Karate.

At Jon's School of Music, children ages one to seven play keyboard, electric and acoustic guitar, drums and drum set, violin, cello, harp, upright bass, xylophone, trumpet, trombone, french horn, recorder, slide whistle, tabla, saaz, accordion, microphone, and much more. Students and their accompanying adults learn basic keyboard, guitar and drum skills, absolute pitch memory, relative pitch theory, rhythm theory, leading and following in an ensemble, improvised solos and duets (with their accompanying adults), musical notes and symbols, songwriting, and more.

Participants create music together with shakers, drums, bells, singing, dancing, and movement in a community setting. Pitch and rhythm are developed in a warm, non-performance oriented environment. SF Music Together welcomes all members of the extended family and all learning styles.