Halloween and Dia de los Muertos are always great San Francisco events. Our calendar is chock full of holiday events. 

 

Halloween Safety: Review these Halloween Safety Tips from SF Safe.

 

Candy: Halloween Candy and Safety, and Halloween Tricks to Prevent Scary Dental Problems.

 

 

Even if you do go to a central location, try to trick-or-treat on your own block, too. It fosters community and reminds your neighbors that there are still families in San Francisco.

 

Host your own Halloween Party and invite friends over. You can take turns taking the kids out and then settle in with friends for the night. 

 

*The One Stop Party Shop: This small neighborhood party store pulls out all stops for Halloween!
*Costumes on Haight

*Goodwill Industries saves up their funky clothes for display at Halloween.
*Thrift Town, on Mission Street at 17th Street, is another favorite!

*Salvation Army Store
*Spirit Halloween Superstore has three locations in the city: 901 Market Street, Stonestown Galleria, Van Ness & Post, and Serramonte Center.

*SCRAP, the best deal in town!
 

Halloween could be a lot greener!  This Halloween, try to think about using recycled materials for costumes, keeping the plastics to a minimum, and encouraging your child's school to make their Halloween activities as green as possible. 

 

GreenHalloween.org has some great ideas for kids, parents, and schools.

 

Also see: GreenVaccine.com and NatureMoms.com

 

by Laure Latham

 

"Pumpkin patches of old were just that: bare fields with pumpkins right off the vine on the ground, and nothing else. Today's pumpkin patches come in so many flavors that it is sometimes hard to decide which one is best. Here is a selection of the Bay Area's pumpkin patches with a focus on what they do best. " (read more...)

Tired of cooking the family meal but wished it wasn't so expensive to eat out with the whole family? Ready to teach the little ones some fine dining manners? Many restaurants offer kids menus but these listed below go the extra mile and offer some really great bargains on certain nights of the week. Bon appetit! (read the whole article...) 

We know school just started, but the fall school search is already here.  Whether it's preschool, kindergarten, middle school, high school, or college, every transition can be stressful to navigate. Find resources that will help on SFkids.org's Education Pages. 

Other Resources:

Guide to Choosing the Right School as well as many other valuable articles.

 

Parents for Public Schools SF also has a great school checklist, see their School Tours Page and their Calendar for listings of enrollment events.

 

The SFUSD website hasn't been updated yet for the 2010-11 school year, but you can see the dates/requirements for last year.

 

Also check the SFkids.org Education Pages  for important dates, reminders, and information.

 

Two San Francisco parents give us great tips for the Middle and High School Searches.

The High School Search by Caroline Grannan
"Choosing a high school is an important decision parents and teens need to make together. The following are some resources and tips to make the process a little easier." (read more) 

Finding a Middle School: a Few New Things to Think About by Lisa Schiff
"Fifth grade and the end of elementary school seem to arrive almost as a surprise for many of us parents of younger students.  By this time, we and our children are more than well-established at our elementary schools and it may "(read more) 

Also check our Education Pages for more links and information.

 

Well, at least pictures of them.

 

Upload your favorite photos of your family to theSFkids.org Flickr Page. The only requirements are that you own the picture and it's either of your kids or kids you have parent permission to post. Pictures at SF spots are a plus. We may post your picture on SFkids! Everyone who posts pictures to the Flickr page will be entered in our monthly drawing for a $25 gift card.

 

Thanks to Lucy for the picture here!

 

Summons

By Leslie Kirk Campbell

 

Leslie Kirk Campbell struggles to balance her civic duty and her son's desires.

 

"The first order of business is to determine hardship," thunders the judge, his black robes closing around him like beetle-wings.

Suddenly, the courtroom, which had been buzzing with pages turning and anecdotes being swapped, with the unzipping of bags and the unclamping of purses..." (read more)

It's time to start thinking about Winter Break Camps.  Check out our listing on the Camps Page (Winter Camps).

 

Preschool Preview Night, October 21, 5:30-8pm

County Fair Building (just inside the park at 9th & Lincoln)

 

Parents Place presents a once-a-year opportunity for parents and caregivers to participate in an informational extravaganza that brings together more than 100 San Francisco preschools and child-related service vendors and agencies in one setting. Pre-registration is highly recommended.

 

SFkids staff will be there, so please stop by and say howdy and pick up an SFkids.org bag and a special Halloween handout.

 

All children develop at different rates and in different ways. If you think that your child may have a disability in one or more of the following areas: autism, deafness, hearing Impairment, multiple disabilities, other health impairment, speech language impairment, visual impairment, deaf/blind, emotional disturbance, mental retardation, orthopedic impairment, specific learning disability, traumatic brain injury.  Please contact one of the following:

 

Birth to 3
-Contact Golden Gate Regional Center at (888) 339-3305.         
3 to 5 years

-Contact Pre-School Intake Unit at (415) 379-7693.
In a SFUSD public school
-Contact the school principal

In an S.F. private/parochial school
-For psycho-educational assessments, contact Screening and Assessment Center at (415) 379-7607.
- For all other evaluations, (e.g. speech, occupational therapy, etc.)  contact SFUSD Special Education Services at (415) 379-7656.
 

Note: State and Local Educational Agencies are responsible for initially assessing children and students who are referred for suspected disabilities from birth through 18 years. Some of these children and students MAY BE ELIGIBLE to receive Special Education Services. Students who are enrolled in private/parochial schools are assessed by the school district in which the private or parochial school is located.  

 

Downtown San Francisco's Yerba Buena arts district is transformed into a huge free family block party as SFMOMA, the Contemporary Jewish Museum, MoAD, Zeum, and Yerba Buena Gardens Festival team up with Target for a non-stop day of free family fun! Each venue offers families a huge array of opportunities to see and make art.   For more information see onlyinsanfrancisco.com.

 

 October 17, 2009, marks the 20th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake. For more information see www.thebigrumble.org.

 

The Big Rumble Resource Fairs
Four San Francisco neighborhood communities in partnership with City departments and the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management will set up neighborhood fairs with a preparedness theme. Resources and activities include: Disaster Preparedness Information and Resources, Children's Activities, Giveaways, and Entertainment.

 

Locations: 

Bayview:  Joseph Lee Recreation Center - Oakdale Ave. & 3rd Street

Marina: West side of Marina Green - between Scott Street & Avila Street

Mission: Parque Niņos Unidos - 23rd Street & Folsom Street

Sunset: 20th Avenue & Irving Street

 

Check out SFkids.org's Emergency Planning Page and 72hours.org.

San Francisco Main Library

The San Francisco Public Library and LitQuake invite all teens ages 13 to 18 to a Friday night carnival of events. Free admission, Free food, First 50 teens to arrive receive a free swag bag.  Chance to win $50 in an emcee battle! 

• Author panels on zombies, vampires, and Emily the Strange, Scavenger Hunt
• Workshops with Prizes, Performances from 826 Valencia, Streetside Stories, YouthSpeaks, and WritersCorps

 

The Contemporary Jewish Museum is the venue for a wonderful exhibit featuring beloved author Maurice Sendak, who has written or illustrated more than 100 picture books over his 60-year career.

 

Where the Wild Things Are, one of Maurice Sendak's most famous books, hits the big screen this Friday October 16. www.wherethewildthingsare.com. 

 

Also see Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak on HBO premiering October 14.

 

Look out next month for our article on local hikes that can bring out the wild thing in your family.

Many schools will be having parent-teacher conferences in October. The San Francisco Public Schools will be the week of October 26-30.

 

The following are some very helpful resources to make your conference as successful as possible:

- Parent-Teacher Conference Prep (from GreatSchools.net)

- Middle and High School Parent-Teacher Conferences

- Tips for Preschool Parent-Teacher Conferences

- Making Parent-Teacher Conferences Work for Your Child

 

 

On Thursday, October 22, San Francisco afterschool programs will join programs in communities nationwide to celebrate Lights On Afterschool! Lights On Afterschool is a project of the national Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that all children have access to quality, affordable afterschool programs. Now in its 10th year, Lights On Afterschool celebrations call attention to the importance of afterschool programs for America's children, families, and communities. In 2008 more than a million people rallied for afterschool programs at 7,500 events across the country.

 

If your child attends an afterschool program, ask the staff what plans they have for October 22. 

 
Check out the breadth of programs available-by age, school type, and neighborhood-using the Afterschool Program Locator in the Out of School section of www.sfkids.org.  

The H1N1 (swine flu) virus is something all parents should educate themselves about and know how to help their family avoid.