Photograph by George Sakkestad
Youth Science Institute instructor Barbara Schneider shows a king snake to eight-year-old Lynn Chao, (left) and six-year-old Rebecca Lloyd.
By Shari Kaplan
When the summertime doldrums strike, kids can be hit especially hard. And while turning on the air conditioning keeps them cool and turning on the TV keeps them preoccupied, there are many alternatives--some with price tags, others free--and summer is the perfect time to take advantage of them. Most activities are recreational and educational as well.
Los Gatos-Saratoga Department of Community Education and Recreation, 123 E. Main St., Los Gatos; 354-8700.
The "Rec Department" offers programs for preschoolers through teenagers, including summer school, specialty day camps, field trips and swimming lessons. Most classes and camps take place at local schools.
Joanne Lathrop, recreation co-supervisor, says today's kids are lucky in the options they have for filling up the long, hot days of summer.
"When I was raising my kids, there was basically just swimming and camp. We also went to the library," she recalls.
Among the department's new programs are "Summer Fun" and "Cooking with Kids." In the former, five-to seven-year-olds spend three afternoons a week learning different skills and hobbies. Cooking, arts and crafts and creative waterplay are a few of the activities.
For 7- to 13-year-olds interested in palate pleasers, "Cooking with Kids" teaches preparation of gourmet foods and desserts, often with an international flair. The Children's Culinary Academy of Palo Alto lends its expertise to the weekly program.
Favorites from past years are also available, including "Toddler and Me," in which parents talk about child-rearing issues while their children play, and "Diaper Gym" and "Gym Play," in which parents join in the fun of exploring movement with their toddlers.
Classes for older kids feature standbys such as reading, writing and arithmetic along with foreign language, music, dance, art, science and computers. Specialty day camps range from team sports at school fields to performing arts at Saratoga's Villa Montalvo.
The day camps that consist of weekly field trips are structured with different age groups in mind. Four-year-olds through first-graders, for example, can go to Happy Hollow Park or Discovery Zone play center; while older elementary and middle schoolers may choose the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk or Malibu Grand Prix.
Kids of all ages and abilities are eligible to take part in swimming lessons taught at Los Gatos High School by certified instructors.
Southwest YMCA, 13500 Quito Road, Saratoga; 370-1877.
Like the Rec Department, the "Y" offers a myriad of fun and learning programs for children of all ages, including specialty day camps, field trips, exercise classes, swimming lessons and opportunities for social play and interaction.
Oftentimes parents and kids arrive together, each spending time doing their own activities. Kids' Corner, for example, is a supervised indoor/outdoor play area free to kids whose parents are attending any Y program. Kids' Gym is a separate program, in which parents enroll their kids to engage in physical, social and other activities in a supervised, fun environment.
Day camps divided by age take kids on weekly field trips to parks and museums, while specialty day camps focus on more specific interests. Sports camps teach teamwork while instructing kids in hockey, tennis, volleyball, fishing and other sports. Science camps open up worlds like virtual reality and space flight, while creative arts camps let kids experience drama, dancing, radio broadcasting or journalism. Weeklong camps that actually involve camping are also available.
"Specialty camps focus on skill building rather than just entertainment. The focus is on the whole individual, not on becoming a 'pro.' If parents have to put their kids somewhere, why not give them fun and learning?" says program director Tim O'Connor. "Kids have to be sociable [to participate], so there's a learning process involved."
Many activities are structured to let parents and children experience new things together, which they can't always do during the school year when homework takes precedence. Among these are parent-and-child swim sessions or recreational swim time, family aerobics and family karate. Father/child, mother/child and general family camps to locales such as the Sierra or the Santa Cruz mountains are available to those who want an entire weekend away from it all.
Youth Science Institute, 296 Garden Hill Drive, Vasona Lake County Park, Los Gatos; 356-4945. Also 16055 Sanborn Road, Sanborn-Skyline County Park, Saratoga; 867-6940.
Opportunities for getting back to nature are also available through the Youth Science Institute, which offers summer-long science day camps, science "sketches," classes and Science Safaris.
The YSI's Vasona Nature Center's emphasis is water ecology and conservation, with exhibits on fish, reptiles and amphibians native to the area, as well as native plants. The Sanborn Nature Center includes natural history displays, exhibits on arthropods, reptiles and amphibians and an organic garden. An additional YSI Nature Center is located in San Jose's Alum Rock Park, whose specialties include natural history, native mammals, birds and reptiles and hands-on exhibits.
Summer science day camps are geared toward kids from preschool to middle school age, with activities such as hiking, creek and lake exploration, life of Native Americans and California pioneers, physics and the ever-popular "Bugology." Play in the Woods, a musical theater production, lets kids perform on Sanborn-Skyline's outdoor stage.
Science classes, which run for several days in a given week, and one-day "sketches" focus upon a specific science or nature-oriented theme; some are open to families. Science Safaris are always open to the whole family.
According to Science Safari coordinator Joanne Geggatt, last year's popular safaris included bat hikes, night hikes, creek exploration, beachcombing, stargazing and identifying habitats of endangered and threatened species. Many programs will be repeated this year.
Santa Clara County Parks; Los Gatos office is at 298 Garden Hill Drive, Vasona Park; 356-2729 or 358-3741..
With 40,000 acres of urban and mountain parks, trails, lakes, creeks and open space preserves, Santa Clara County parks offer hiking, jogging, bicycling and walking trails; archery, gun and trap shooting ranges; watersports; fishing; horseback riding; sports fields; a velodrome; a motorcross track; an arboretum; campsites; a Youth Hostel; interpretive centers and playgrounds.
Along with Vasona and Sanborn-Skyline, other nearby parks among the county's 27 are Los Gatos Creek Park, Villa Montalvo, Lexington Reservoir, Stevens Creek and Upper Stevens Creek.
On weekends from Memorial Day to Labor Day, naturalists and park rangers at Vasona Park will lead participants in nature walks, campfires, water activities, demonstrations, habitat identification and outdoor safety lessons.
"Today's kids are our future park stewards. They have to understand the importance nature plays in their lives," says interpretive services coordinator Robin Schaut, who recommends camping as a family affair.
"When we go camping," she says of her husband and three-year-old daughter Tayler, "we usually go with another couple that has a three-year-old too. It's important to have another kid along. You've just got to get past worrying about them getting filthy!"
Other excursions
Los Gatos deputy town clerk Cathleen Bruhn's five-year-old daughter Jessica also loves outdoor activities. According to Bruhn, Jessica prefers playgrounds such as those in Oak Meadow Park or other local parks because "the swings go higher" than those with more modern equipment. Parents looking for neighborhood parks with play areas can check out Blossom Hill, Bachman and La Rinconada parks.
When they're not having fun locally, Bruhn says she and Jessica like to plan a day of "transportation." They drive to Fremont, ride BART to San Francisco and catch a cable car to Fisherman's Wharf or a bus to Golden Gate Park. Sometimes they take a ferry to Sausalito or Tiburon. With a picnic lunch and rollerblades in tow, they enjoy days of inexpensive fun and exercise.
They often do the same in Los Gatos, such as bike riding or rollerblading along the Los Gatos Creek Trail, stopping for lunch in town or bringing their own snacks.
"I don't want her just sitting in front of the TV. My daughter is fearless because we do so many things, and she's more sociable," Bruhn adds.
Los Gatos Public Library, 110 E. Main St.; 354-6891 or 354-6893 (children's room).
For armchair travelers, or for when getting out is not practical, the world of books is always available. The library is open seven days a week, with activities for children of all ages.
Annual summer reading programs encourage kids to read books and earn prizes. This year's theme is "It's Magic," with several age-appropriate reading lists for kids interested in magic and related topics.
The summer reading program kicks off June 18 at 7 p.m. with a family night program featuring Lisa Atkinson, followed on June 20 by a Summer Reading Club sign-up party at 3:15 p.m. The Summer Performers' Series, which runs Thursday afternoons from June 27 through July 25, includes a storyteller, magician, singer/songwriter and puppet show.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, May 22, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved