Schools

Kids Outdoor Club provides an opportunity for classic, undirected free play in a gorgeous, natural, outdoor setting. Kids can join organized competitive sports or cooperative games, create their own group activities, or play independently.

As part of a monthly club membership, families can visit any time for up to three hours at a time.

Please call 415.407.0813 or email Scott at
scott@kidsoutdoorclub com. to discover more about Summer and holiday camps.

A highly reputable firm known mostly for the care with which it places nannies in homes, both live-in and live-out. It only accepts candidates who are experienced and come highly recommended, and it screens each one closely.

The firm also claims an expertise in finding baby nurses, housekeepers, personal assistants, household managers, butlers, and chefs.

It can also find temporary nannies for local families. Call 800.398.8810 to book a sitter at least 24 hours in advance of your outing. Babysitting rates run $16-$20/hour, with a four-hour minimum, and there is a fee if you cancel within 48 hours of your date.

Town & Country's thorough service does not come cheap. It charges 15% of a full year's compensation for permanent childcare and household help, and 25% for baby nurses and 35% for temporary help. But the agency is responsive and responsible, and several people we've spoken with have been pleased with its services.

Tule Elk Park (TEP) Child Development Center is one of thirty-six centers operated by the San Francisco Unified School District. TEP offers an all-day pre-kindergarten and after-school program for 196 children. Tour, enrollment, and tuition information is available on the website.

The curriculum framework integrates three core programs - environmental education, artist-in-residence, and music and movement. The curriculum is delivered through the project approach as influenced by the public preschool system in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The site priorities are Literacy Development and Project-Based Learning, Parent Involvement and Community Building, and Professional Development and Leadership.

TEP offers an interdisciplinary curriculum which allows children to study a topic in-depth over an extended period of time. Tule Elk children play and learn in an outdoor environment (20,000 square feet) complete with oak trees, redwood totem carvings, native plant and butterfly habitats, an art studio, and their own vegetable and herb garden. The schoolyard and the garden comprise the outdoor classroom where children study science, math, language, and the visual arts in the dynamic structure of the natural world.

Tuition:

Pre-Kindergarten:(three to five years)$34/a day full-time.

School-age: (five years to 5th grade): $17.50/a day for
part-time afterschool program. During summer sessions, school-age students pay the $34/day for full-time enrollment.

Note: Subsized tuition rates are determined by the
state for low-income families. See enrollment section
on the school's website for more information.

The part of the University of San Fransico's campus that has the most relevance for local families is the state-of-the-art Koret Health & Recreation Center (415.422.6821). (Non-neighborhood families can drop in, but only local families can join as members.) Facilities include a swimming pool (with certified lifeguards), racquetball courts, dance and exercise room, volleyball courts, and badminton.

The school is also a good source for finding babysitters. The Career Center (415.422.6216) will fax or mail you a current list of students interested in babysitting or in part-time nanny positions. Requests are free and generally processed within an hour or so. The students are usually in their early 20's with varying degrees of child care experience. They are not screened in any way by the Career Center. Be prepared to be flexible with class schedules and transportation.

The USF School of Nursing also maintains a bulletin board on the 1st floor of Cowell Hall (near Fulton @ Cole Street). There, you'll find slightly more mature students advertising their availability on a board called Students with Cars Looking for Work. You must go there in person to get listings or to post an ad.

The University of San Francisco offers a variety of Soccer Camps for children ranging in age from six to 18. Camps run in June and July for players of every level, as well as position-specific camps for strikers and goalkeepers. Half-day, whole-day, and overnight camps are available. Camp fees range from $175 to $600. The camps take place at Negoesco Stadium on the USF Campus in the Haight/Cole Valley/Hayes Valley area. To learn more about the camps go to www.eteamz.com or call 415.519.2520.

A summer enrichment program for Girls in Computer Science emphasizes hands-on activities, including programming robots, talks by prominent women in the field of computer science, and a field trip to a local tech company. Participants must be rising juniors or seniors (ages 16 to 18). Call 415.422.2024 for more information.

Mills College is an excellent private liberal arts offering undergraduate degrees to women and graduate degrees to women and men. The education is comparable to Stanford, UC, and CSU.

One of the most spectacular university campuses you will encounter, Stanford University provides a day full of adventure for families including tours, and the chance to visit bookstores and an art center. Also hosts a variety of cultural events through it's Lively Arts program. The beautiful campus, predominately sandstone Spanish architecture, is situated on 8,180 acres of rolling hills, making it the second largest university in the world.

Stanford University was founded in 1891 by Leland Stanford Sr., a railroad baron who helped to build the Transcontinental Railroad, and his wife Jane, as a memorial to their son, Leland Stanford, Jr. The school has since grown to an enrollment of 14,000 students, roughly half graduate and half undergraduate.

Visitors' Center: For those unfamilar with the campus, consider starting at the Visitors' Center, located at Memorial Auditorium (different from Memorial Church), directly across from Hoover Tower. Here you can pick up maps, self-guided tour information and general tips on what's happening on campus.

Memorial Church: The church, completed in 1903 and recently renovated after the 1989 earthquake, houses magnificent stained glass windows and is open year round to the public 10am-5pm, except during religious services, weddings and holidays. Tours of the church are available on Fridays at 2pm.

Tours: Walking tours leave from Memorial Auditorium every day at 11am and 3:15pm, aside from mid-December through early January. For a more leisurely experience, take a tour by golf cart, which leaves Memorial Auditorium every day at 1pm. Golf cart tours cost $5. Call 650.723.2560 to reserve a spot.

Hoover Tower: One of the most recognizable and memorable sights on campus is Hoover Tower, which rises above the campus and is visible from the foothills surrounding the campus. Take the elevator to the outdoor 14th floor observation platform to get a fabulous view of the campus and the surrounding area. Open every day 10am-4:30pm. Admission $2 for adults, $1 for children.

White Plaza: From Hoover Tower, stroll up to White Plaza, the heart of student activity. You will pass - or perhaps your children will be unwilling to leave - dramatic water fountains, especially one in front of the Stanford Bookstore. While there, wander into the bookstore to stock up on Stanford clothing for tots and grown-ups or to browse the extensive book selection.

The Cantor Arts Center offers a wonderful array of paintings, sculture and artifacts from all over the world and the adjoining Rodin Sculpture Garden will enchant even the youngest.

New Guinea Sculpture Garden: A relatively hidden gem, particularly for kids, this garden is located at Santa Teresa and Lomita Drive and always open. Children will love the enormous totem poles and carvings tucked away in this eucalyptus grove.

Camps: Stanford University opens its luxurious facilities up to kids every summer by offering a series of different sports camps - roughly 20 in all - and at least one camp for Pirates on sailing ships. Most of the counselors are students at the college. Camps are run out of the Arillaga Family Sports Center (650.723.4591).

The Infant-Toddler Center, located in the Public Utilities Commission State Building at 505 Van Ness, and the Preschool Center, located two blocks away in the Hiram Johnson State Building at 455 Golden Gate Avenue, combine their services to provide a continuous program for children who are two months old through to six years old.

The full-day, year-round program is inspired and guided by the philosophy and practices of the Reggio Emilia Preprimary Schools in Northern Central Italy. The daily activities are facilitated by teachers and are carefully coordinated to be appropriate for each child's age and developmental levels in low teacher to child ratio leaning groups.

The curriculum is based on children's emerging interests and fascinations in a project-based environment. The infants and toddlers receive concentrated nurturing and care combined with daily attention to individual and small group activities that focus on sensory, physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development.

The older toddlers and preschool children experience a blend of over 30 learning areas, including arts, crafts, dance, music, storytelling, dramatic play, language development, math, science, photography, and exploring the city environment and nature.

Detailed information and applications are available on-line. Enrollment is open and on-going. Application interviews and tours are by appointment.