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SFkids.org Newsletter
October 2011
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The beautiful weather has been amazing. Hopefully, it will last through the weekend. It's hard to believe, but Halloween is upon us again.  We have lots of great resources to make your Halloween full of creepy, crawly,
San Francisco
fun.
We love to hear from other parents with tips about your favorite kid-friendly restaurants, activities, and more. We're also always looking for people to write feature articles. If you have something you'd like to submit, we'd love to hear from you.
-Chris, Kim, Nina & Robin |
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SFkids.org Events Calendar Highlights | |
Check out these great events around SF this week:
See more events on our Calendar.
* Inca Crafts at Portola Branch Library at 3:30. Friday. FREE
* Free Admission for Families with Children with Disabilities at Grand National Rodeo at the Cow Palace. Please call Support for Families at (415) 920-5040 to Register for the event.
* Grand National Rodeo at the Cow Palace runs October 14-15 and 21-22.
* Bike to the Aquarium of the Bay. All guests who cycle to the Aquarium on Bike to the Aquarium days will receive 50% off admission. Free bike valet too! Saturday.
* Yerba Buena Night. Neighborhood streets will come alive with art, music, dance, and performance. Held 4pm-11:45pm. Saturday. FREE
* Potrero Hill Festival on 20th St. at 11am. Saturday. FREE
* Noe Valley Harvest Festival on 24th St. at
 | | Art Works at Richmond District Neighbhorhood Center |
10am. Saturday. FREE. Park at James Lick Middle School.
* Journey Into Dyslexia Screening and Discussion at the Main Library at 10:15am. Saturday. FREE
* Playmates Cooperative Nursery School's Annual Harvest Festival. Saturday. * Sherman School Cow Hollow-een Carnival. Saturday.
* Arts Workshops at Richmond District Neighborhood Center for ages 6-12. Saturday. FREE * Children's Creativity Museum (Formerly Zeum) Grand Re-Opening. Enjoy free admission and free carousel rides all weekend long! Saturday and Sunday. FREE.
* Dig Into Urban Farming at Alemany Farm. Sunday. FREE
* Yerba Buena Free Family Day is a family-friendly activity day at four of San Francisco's finest museums - SFMOMA, the Contemporary Jewish Museum, Museum of the African Diaspora, and Children's Discovery Museum (formerly Zeum). The day also includes activities and a performance for families in Yerba Buena Gardens. Sunday. FREE.
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Stay in the Loop on the SF Scoop | |
Keep the fans coming, spread the word to all your friends. See our Facebook page here... Please don't forget to click "LIKE" or comment on our postings.
It helps spread the word about SFkids.org. Have an family-friendly event or resource you want to highlight? Post it on our wall!
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| Ten Local Resources That Will Get Your Child Loving Music |  How lucky are we in this City by the Bay to have such an array of fine musical talent and resources to expose our children to? Learning the language of music is beneficial in many ways. Some experts believe that it promotes intelligence, instills confidence, relieves stress and simply provides a lot of unstructured fun. And it's best to start this love of learning at a young age! Here's a list of shows, festivals, classes and music for sale online to keep in mind when your family's in the mood to boogie. (read more....) |
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The Fall School Search | |
Other Resources: 
Parents for Public Schools SF also has a great school checklist, see their School Tours Page and their Calendar for listings of enrollment events.
Upcoming Event:
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Hallowen SF Style | 
Scaregrove!
Friday, October 28, 2011
4pm-9pm
Sigmund Stern Grove
One of the best local events is Rec & Park's Scaregrove. Scaregrove will feature hay rides, a haunted house, carnival rides, giant inflatables, live entertainment and food for sale. $8 per person for an all-access pass. |
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Bay Area Science Festival |  One of the coolest events to hit the Bay Area, the Bay Area Science Festival is this month. Running from October 29-November 6, 2011, the festival features 100 events over 10 days. See the schedule here.
The main event for families is the Discovery Day at AT&T Park on November 6th. The park will become a science wonderland when the Bay Area Science concludes with this FREE science extravaganza.
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Writing the Perfect College Admissions Essay |  |
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International Children's Film Festival |
GIVEAWAY! The International Children's Festival has generously offered to give us two pairs of tickets to give away to the SFkids.org community. Email us for a chance to win. |
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Special Offer and Giveaway: Cirque du Soleil's TOTEM | |
 Cirque du Soleil's latest touring production TOTEM is hitting San Francisco this fall, and friends of SFkids.org can receive 20% off select performances! TOTEM will perform for a limited engagement under the trademark blue-and-yellow Grand Chapiteau (Big Top) at AT&T Park starting Friday, October 28th, 2011. Fun for the whole family! Simply Click Here to enjoy this offer, no promo code necessary!
GIVEAWAY! Cirque du Soleil has generously given us several pairs of tickets to give out to the SFkids.org newsletter subscribers. Email us for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the November 2nd Totem Show.
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Have an Orange & Green Halloween |
Local Pumpkin Patches
by Laure Latham
Halloween could be a lot greener! This Halloween, try to think about using recycled  materials for costumes, keeping the plastics to a minimum, giving out something other than candy at the door, and encouraging your child's school to make their Halloween activities as green as possible.
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Costume Central: Where to Find the Perfect Costume That Won't Break The Bank |
 * SCRAP, the best deal in town!
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Be Prepared for Your Parent-Teacher Conference | |
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Last Sunday Streets of the Year: Mission District | 
Tricycle Music Festival West: The SF Public Library presents the third annual Tricycle Music Fest West. The 2011 season concludes with an outdoor family rock concert at the Mission Branch Library. Schedule: 11:30am Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, 12:30pm The Time Outs, 1:30pm SF Rock Project. |
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Healthy Back-to-School Tips | |
By Suze Allen
Shifting from summer vacation to back-to-school mode can be a big and stressful transition for any family. Whether you have toddlers entering preschool, elementary aged children moving on up to their new grades or "big kids" like middle or high schoolers, it's important to recognize that leaving summer behind and getting into the swing of school (read more...)
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Celebrate the Children's Creativity Museum (formerly Zeum)
and Yerba Buena Family Day | 
Head downtown this Saturday and Sunday, October 15-16 from 10am-4pm and celebrate the launch of the museum's new name and new exhibits! Enjoy FREE admission and FREE carousel rides the entire weekend.
Yerba Buena Family Day Yerba Buena Family Day, sponsored by Target, is a free day for families to enjoy outdoor performances and experience four of San Francisco's most impressive museums; the Children's Creativity Museum (formerly Zeum), Contemporary Jewish Museum, Museum of the African Diaspora, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. For more information see the Yerba Buena Family Day Website. |
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We Love How to Homestead |
 Saturday, October 15, District 11 at the Minnie and Lovie Ward Rec Center
11am-3pm. Community Garden Workshop, Barbecue and Potluck.
Learn how to build a garden container from just about anything. Please bring your favorite fall picnic-style side dish, dessert, and/or appetizers share. $5 suggested donation, or free if you bring a dish to share.
Saturday November 4, District 7 at St Mary's Park and Rec. Center
BBQ, and music outdoors, featuring the Goat Family, sk8 sisters, and more...
Saturday November 19, District 6 at Tenderloin Rec Center
Seed Swap, Seed Creatures, Window Box Gardens and more...
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Swing into Stories: SFPL Bookmobile at Local Parks! |  Would you like to combine a trip to the park with a visit to a children's library? Your wishes are about to come true.
The Early Literacy Mobile (ELM) is coming to play at the park! The ELM is a library in a big truck just for children 0-5 and their caregivers. Starting November 1st the ELM will be on the playground at the Golden Gate Park Koret Children's Quarter, Parque Niņos Unidos, Helen Wills Playground, and Potrero Hill Recreation Center Park.
Here's the schedule. Keep an eye out on SFkids.org and SFPL.org websites for more info.
Golden Gate Park, Koret Children's Quarter (Children's Playground): 1st Tuesday, 9:30- Noon. First date: Nov. 1.
Parque Niņos Unidos (23rd & Treat Streets): 2nd Tuesday, 9:30-Noon. First date: Nov. 8.
Helen Wills Playground (Broadway & Larkin Streets): 3rd Tuesday, 9:30am-Noon. First date: Nov. 15.
Potrero Hill Recreation Center Park (801 Arkansas Street): 4th Tuesday, 9:30am-Noon, Nov. 22.
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Parent-Teacher conference time is upon us again. 