Cleverly disquised as a pirate supply store (what kid could resist?) 826 Valencia is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages six to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.

Its services are structured around the understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention, and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.

With this in mind, 826 Valencia provides afterschool tutoring, afterschool workshops, in-schools tutoring, help for English language learners, and assistance with student publications.

The pirate storefront offers actual booty - lard (apparently a pirate staple), eye patches, glass eyes, and more. Sales support the writing center.

Advanced Home Tutoring provides professional, one-on-one tutoring for students of all ages throughout the Bay Area. Tutors cater to all learning abilities and all subjects. K-12, SAT prep, and college tutoring.

Adults and toddlers (ages one-and-a-half to five years) explore the ins and outs of woods, lakes, creeks and beaches - and enjoy picknicking with new friends.

The guided nature outings include a toddler-friendly "hike" to discover such delights as roly-polies, spittlebugs, and the great blue heron. The program includes four adventures each month, each adventure at a different location.

Back to Nature Birthday Parties are also offered through this group. Call for more information.

Adults and toddlers (ages one-and-a-half to five years) explore the ins and outs of woods, lakes, creeks and beaches - and enjoy picknicking with new friends.

The guided nature outings include a toddler-friendly "hike" to discover such delights as roly-polies, spittlebugs, and the great blue heron. The program includes four adventures each month, each adventure at a different location.

Back to Nature Birthday Parties are also offered through this group. Call for more information.

The Alliance Francaise of San Francisco offers classes for children of all ages. Children learn French naturally while playing games, singing songs, reading short stories, and listening to story-telling. The teachers are French and experienced with working with children.

AmericaEd Learning Center offers preschool, afterschool, summer school, and daily drop-off and Saturday childcare programs.

The age-appropriate curriculum offers year around programs in basic academic skills (reading, writing, math and social), art, performing arts, music, musical theater, team and individual sports, critical thinking, and enrichment classes.

The Bay Area Tutoring Centers, Inc. offer individualized tutoring for all levels (K-8) math, science, English, History, Spanish, and test prep through AP. The company's tutors specialize in their subjects and can assist with homework, test prep, concept review, and overall academic confidence.

The YMCA in downtown Berkeley offers three pools, a state-of-the-art fitness center, and comprehensive youth, teen, senior and adult programs. The center is known for solid, affordable, family-based recreation programs, afterschool activities, sports leagues, and summer camps. Hundreds of classes are offered ranging from dance, gymnastics, swimming, and basketball to yoga, kick-boxing and lifeguarding certification.

The center also has a kindergym - an indoor
playground with a bounce house, ball pit, and climbing structures.

For Kids Night Out, contact 510.665.3241.

Berlitz, one of the preeminent language training programs in the country, offers a "Jr." version of the popular Berlitz Method. Kindergarten through high school students may take pre-scheduled small group classes in French or Spanish at its downtown facility. (Japanese is offered in the Walnut Creek facility). Private and semi-private lessons may also be arranged.

In addition, Berlitz offers language programs for schools in which they provide the instructor and all the materials on a "to go" basis - perfect if your school has no language program of its own and you'd like to set one up. Call Berlitz for more information on its schools program or private instruction.

Berlitz, one of the preeminent language training programs in the country, offers a "Jr." version of the popular Berlitz Method. Kindergarten through high school students may take pre-scheduled small group classes in French or Spanish at its downtown facility. (Japanese is offered in the Walnut Creek facility). Private and semi-private lessons may also be arranged.

In addition, Berlitz offers language programs for schools in which they provide the instructor and all the materials on a "to go" basis - perfect if your school has no language program of its own and you'd like to set one up. Call Berlitz for more information on its schools program or private instruction.

Buena Vista Child Care is a fully licensed and accredited before- and afterschool program.

It provides art, sports, science, music, and other activities, as well as homework help in Spanish and English.

Full time care is also available during winter, spring, and summer breaks. Please call for more information.

Topped with a living roof, the newly rebuilt California Academy of Sciences is home to an aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum.

The aquarium, with an estimated 38,000 live animals, is one of the most biodiverse and interactive aquariums in the world. It features the world's deepest living coral reef tank, in which guests can see thousands of reef fish darting through a technicolor forest of coral, alongside sharks and rays cruising through a mangrove lagoon.

The Academy is also home to a four-story living rainforest dome, where visitors can explore the ecosystems of Borneo, Madagascar, Costa Rica, and the flooded Amazon. A spiraling ramp circles up through rainforest and exhibit galleries, showcasing each ecosystem along the way. From the top of the dome, visitors descend through the rainforest in a glass elevator, and plunge into the flooded Amazon, where a see-through tunnel allows visitors to walk beneath the Amazonian river fish that swim overhead.

The Academy's natural history exhibits look not only at the history of life on Earth, but also its future. In the Islands of Evolution exhibit, visitors see the remote islands of Madagascar and the Galapagos through the eyes of Academy scientists, and learn how islands function as laboratories for evolution.

In the west gallery, an exhibit called Altered State: Climate Change in California uses California as a case study to explore the science of climate change, the effects we might expect to see in our own backyard, and the steps that can be taken to mitigate those dramatic changes. Visitors can also see how the Academy's new building incorporates green technologies to improve its energy efficiency and reduce its impact on the environment.

In the planetarium, visitors leave Planet Earth behind as a live presenter guides them on a tour of the solar system and beyond, using current data from NASA to produce the most accurate and interactive digital Universe ever created. During a visit to the international space station, guests gain a new perspective on planet Earth.

Long-time favorites including African Hall, the alligator-filled Swamp, and the Foucault pendulum return in the newly rebuilt Academy.

Penguin feedings, coral reef dives, and other programs take place every day. More details are available on the center's website.

Celsius and Beyond is an afterschool science enrichment program for elementary school children, which offer hands-on activities that focus on chemistry, physics, math, and even yoga.

The company also offers birthday parties, summer camp, and science workshops.

Centro Las Olas is a Reggio Emilia-inspired, Spanish-immersion preschool.

The winner of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the best Museum for Teens in San Francisco, Chabot Space & Science Center is a state-of-art planetarium, theater, and space center. The center has miles of interactive hands-on exhibits, a full-dome digital planetarium, a huge screen theater with sensurround sound, a Discovery Room for children ages four-to-seven and three powerful telescopes. (Note: the Discovery Room is open on weekends only.

A high point is the digital planetarium's star shows, that entertainingly takes you on a trip across the heavens.

Planetarium & Theater: Open on Friday and Saturday nights until 9pm.

Observatory: Open for free access to the powerful refractor telescope from 7pm-10pm between November and March; from dusk until 11pm between April and October.

Classes: A broad selection of science workshops and classes are available through schools. Teachers can go online to read about and register for them.

Parties: You can host a star-studded birthday with a space or astronomy theme party. The birthday party program is suitable for children ages 6-14, with party bags available through Chabot's birthday coordinator. A basic package includes: exclusive use of a party room for one hour; free admission to the Center's exhibits, Planetarium or Theater show; and if you schedule an evening event, telescopes. Call 510.336.7311.

Summer Camps: The Center offers a number of half day and full day camps for young people. Campers explore space and earth science, astronomy, technology, and robotics. All camps include a show in the state-of-the-art Ask Jeeves Planetarium and the Tien MegaDome Theater. Call 510.336.7426 or visit www.chabotspace.org for details.

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.

An organization that provides individual speech and language therapy for children and adolescents. Specialites include motor speech difficulties, language, and articulation, fluency, and autism spectrum disorders.

A small, lovely family oriented, environmental education museum in San Mateo, Coyote Point offers a gentle introduction to the natural world. Kids love the daily feedings (foxes at 11:30am everyday except Sunday; river otters at 12:30pm). It features a tiny zoo of small animals and birds and offers a creative series of single special exhibits.
Themed gardens, which encompass 1.3 acres, include a Hummingbird Garden, Butterfly Habitat, and Natures' Marketplace, featuring native plants used by California Indians.

The Environmental Hall invites families to hike an imaginary trail from the mountains to the shores, exploring the six ecosystems found in the San Francisco Bay Area: Redwood Forest, Oak Forest, Grasslands, Chaparral, Baylands and Coast.

The Museum is fully accessible by wheelchair and handicapped parking is available adjacent to the building.

Wildlife Shows, live animal presentations held in the Wildlife Theater, are a highly interactive, humorous look at Coyote Point Museum?s non releasable animals and their natural behaviors.

Birthday parties may be held at the museum in a classroom or using the outdoor picnic area, at a fee of $200 for members and $225 for non-members. You get a private
party room, entry to the museum for all guests, free parking, and a craft/adventure box. For an additional fee, you can add animal visits, or an interactive magic show. Maximum party capacity is 24 people, including adults and children, and absolutely no balloons, noise-makers,
chewing gum, or pi-atas are allowed.

Winter, Spring and Summer Camps The museum hosts a series of day camps through out the year. Sessions are divided by age and encourage children to think like naturalists for a week. Camps for the very small include Coyote Pups for ages Pre-K to K (must be potty-trained), and Kids 'n' Critters for children entering kindergarten. Younger children (entering 1st or 2nd grade) have the option of attending half day or full day session of Young Discovery Camp. Children going into 3rd or 4th grade can join Nature Explorer's Camp, a personal discovery of the natural world. Kids entering 5th and 6th grade can sign up for Habitat Heroes, a study of Bay Area Habitats. Kids in grades 7-12 can apply to be Leaders in Training (LITs). Call 650.340.7574 for information and/or application forms.

Afterschool Programs are offered for Pre-K through 4th graders, teaching kids about respect for the earth and environmental stewardship. Age appropriate activities include outdoor exploration, observation, and investigation.

With the successful restoration of Crissy Field, the Bay Area received another gift - a 12,000 square-foot, two-story environmental education center that hosts a multitude of wonderful public programs for families.

Located in a spectacular setting overlooking the tidal marsh, the Crissy Field Center provides a variety of resources the public is welcome to enjoy - hands-on exhibits, an information area, a bookstore, and a café.

Calling itself a community center, and not a museum, the Center works in partnership with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the National Park Service, and other local organizations to host a rich series of unique environmental, arts, and cultural programs. Recent offerings include heading down to see who lives in the bay, visiting Alcatraz after dark, and accompanying a ranger on various nature hikes through the Presidio.

Classes & workshops: The Center offers a number of family workshops on weekends. The programs are free or inexpensive and registration is required. To register, download form from Web site, and fax or mail to PO Box 29410, San Francisco, CA 94129, or call 415.561.7752.

Summer Camps: Crissy Field Center offers a combination of urban environmental and National Park-based summer day-camps for kids ages six to 11. Kids can sign up for one week-long session, or for the whole summer. Each week offers a new range of programs.

The following are a sampling of the types of day-camps available:

Junior Rangers: Visit a different park site each day, including Alcatraz, and earn a "Junior Ranger" badge.

Raptor Camp: Track and learn about birds of prey

Presidio Trekkers: Explore the Presidio's natural and military history

Planet Patrol:­ Turn trash into treasure in the art room, and learn creative ways to save the planet

Gardening Camp: Learn about gardening from the seed to the salad

Animal Adventures: Learn to track the critters that live in the Presidio

Fabulous Food: Investigate the journey of food from the ground up, and cook up a storm in the community kitchen

Eco-Explorers: Explore the ecosystem using cool technology tools and more.

DMBell Educational Enrichment Service offers one-on-one tutoring, career development training, and basic computer skills training for kids of all ages.

The YMCA, known for its solid, affordable, family-based recreation programs, offers afterschool activities, sports, and summer camps. Its Hoops program is a basketball league for middle and high-schoolers; it has a Young Women's Club and Young Men's Club which organizes sports and recreational oportunities for middle-schoolers; and it collaborates with several organizations to offer the same for kids around town.

The free after-school program includes recreational activities and one-on-one tutoring by trained volunteers. The students are registered through the teachers at Bessie Carmichael Elementary School. For more information contact the Community Programs Director at (415) 615-1309.

Native Spanish speaker and Alameda preschool teacher, Ana Segalini, gives children a foundation in Spanish vocabulary and conversation, using a curriculum packed with dances, songs, and games. The classes include take-home exercises and activities for both parents and children.

Espanol for Kids teaches small groups of kids (11 students max) using culturally rich curriculum and native Spanish-speaking teachers. The program offers parental support and facilitates opportunities for practice.

The center also offers a summer camp that teaches the basics of Spanish conversation using many tools - arts and crafts, music, drawing, etc. Participants learn everyday conversational phrases and focus on cultural aspects of Hispanic life.

FasTracKids is an academic enrichment center designed to develop children's critical thinking, leadership, and communication skills. State-of-the-art technology is employed to deliver curriculum, and activities include hands-on exercises, role-playing, and videotaped speaking exercises in various subjects.

This beautiful 16-acre estate in Woodside may impress you more than it does your children. But the gardens are so lovely your children just may fall under their spell. And if they don't, mention that Filoli has often been used as a movie and television set, with appearances in Heaven Can Wait, The Joy Luck Club, and Nash Bridges. A more effective tactic might be to sign them up for one of the many gardening and nature classes sponsored by the Filoli Center.

Built between 1915 and 1917 by William Bowers Bourn II, an owner of the Empire Gold Mine, the richest hard rock gold mine in California, the Georgian mansion is one of the most elegant examples of this period in California history. Architect Willis Polk designed the country residence and landscape designer Brucer Porter mapped out the elaborate gardens.

The name Filoli was created from the verbs in Bourn's motto: "Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, and live a good life." And that he appears to have done - at least the last part. But the real reason to be here is not the 43-room mansion, but the gardens. And the best time to visit is in spring, when 35,000 tulips and 25,000 daffodils explode with color. The grounds also have wonderful pathways that offer various treasures at the end, such as reflecting pools, terraces, or huge views. To maintain this splendor, the nonprofit Filoli Center employs a staff of 30 gardeners and a volunteer force of over a thousand.

Tours You can take a self-guided tour from Tuesday through Saturday, 10am-2:30pm, which require no reservation. On Saturday at 10am, you can also go on a 2 1/2 hour guided nature hike through three miles of undeveloped land and learn about the area's plants and wildlife. Reservations are required. Two-hour guided tours led by a Docent through both the house and gardens are available, by reservation, Tuesday through Saturday.

To contact the Tour Office, please call 650.364.8300 ext. 507 Monday through Saturday, 9am to 3pm or fax 650.367.0724.

The Summer Jazz Concert series fill up very quickly because few can resist the combination of sitting in this setting and listening to good music. See the website for more information.

Classes: Classes for children are available on select Saturdays from 9:30am-11:45am. Recent offerings included Botanical Arts, and Building Miniature Gardens. The programs are tailored to children ages 8-to-11, and parents are invited to drink coffee and mingle while waiting. The web site has details and a schedule.

First Pres After School serves students in kindergarten through 7th grade. They offer homework support, standards- based tutoring, creative art projects, science projects, daily sharing time, indoor and outdoor play, and healthy snacks. The organization picks up students from Burlingame schools, as well as some schools in Millbrae and Hillsborough.

The group's Summer Camp for 1st through 6th graders offers sessions on Edible Science, Musical Mania, Exploring Art, and Gizmos and Gadgets.

Girl Space provides a safe and inspiring environment for girls ages six to twelve, where they can develop the life skills needed to reach their highest potential. Through individual, group, and community-based outreach activities, Girl Space aims to nurture and advance within each girl a sense of confidence, self-esteem, individuality, creativity, integrity, responsibility for self and community, and friendship.

Girl Space hosts a summer camp that meets at J.K. Park in the Presidio, from 9am-4pm on Monday thru Friday. The camp offers hiking, swimming, beach visits, and field trips to farmers' markets and Angel Island.

Girls on the Run is an after-school running program for girls in 3rd-8th grade. The group is dedicated to building confidence in young girls by providing quality running programs in San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa and San Mateo Counties.

The curriculum teaches girls how to achieve a healthy lifestyle, both physically and emotionally. The group incorporates fun and challenging games addressing a range of issues, such as the importance of healthy nutrition, a positive attitude, why drugs hurt chances of success, community involvement, the importance of self-respect, and unrealistic body images in the media. The girls also complete a community service project together and at the end of the program, they complete a one-mile or 5K race.

Check the website for the current schedule.

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.

Globalanguages offers language programs to children of all ages. Its program helps children develop valuable language skills through engaging activities such as games, songs, dance, and arts and crafts.

Lessons are conducted at their language center, schools, and homes. Languages offered are Spanish, Italian, French, Japanese, Mandarin, American Sign Language, and more.

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Globalanguages offers language programs to children of all ages. Its program helps children develop valuable language skills through engaging activities such as games, songs, dance, and arts and crafts.

Lessons are conducted at their language center, schools, and homes. Languages offered are Spanish, Italian, French, Japanese, Mandarin, American Sign Language, and more.

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