San Diego Mom - Carmel Valley/Del Mar

Off the beaten path for those of us up in North County, but too fun not to mention here, is Java Mama in La Mesa.  I hope some enterprising Mom in our area too will follow the link on the web site for licensing to open up a similar location nearby.  I have yet to make it to this spot, but I’m putting it on my list to do.

Java Mama offers a play area for little ones, organic baby food on the menu, and then a cafe complete with lattes, desserts and sandwiches.

Activities include Yoga (for family and/or Mom), music, art baby signs and more.  There is a supervised play area from 10-2 if you just want to relax and drink a cup of coffee or chat with a friend, make conference calls for work, etc. Free wifi makes this a no brainer.

Want to relax with your child in this setting, but enjoy an activity together?  Check out storytime in Spanish, dance parties, art brunches and more.  And, yes, they also do birthday parties.

http://www.javamama.com/ 

If you haven’t been to a seaside concert in the summer in San Diego you are missing out.  This is by far our favorite thing to do. 

Our favorites?  The Del Mar ones as there is magic in listening to the music, sitting comfortably on the grass, while watching the sunset over the water.  Order your pizza from Del Mar Pizza on 15th St. early and pick it up on your way down to the grass.  Nothing better.  Bring sweaters as it gets cold.

Prefer another beach or venue?  San Diego has a ton of these concerts all summer long.  Make a note to check some of them out with your kids and dance the night away together.  Or get a sitter, and bring a glass of wine and chairs for an ideal date night.

http://entertainment.signonsandiego.com/features/258/index.html 

Looking for something different to do with your family on a Sunday afternoon?  Check out the San Diego Polo Club and take in a match.  The club is located off of El Camino Real near Via De La Valle in Del Mar. 

Tickets are only $5 (plus $5 for parking) and children 12 and under don’t pay.   We attended a match in late August and had an amazing time.  The action is close so you can see the match well.  The announcers are great.  There is food to purchase, or room and tables to picnic and bring your own food.  Parking is great complete with a ride on a golf cart to your picnic area.  A live band capped off the evening. A jumpy for kids is there too.  Don’t miss the half-time divot stomping - the kids love to run out on the field.

My group arrived at 3 and the last of us reluctantly left around 8 at sundown.  We had a great time. Visit their web site to learn more about watching a polo match.  Matches are typically around 1:00 and 3:00 pm.

http://www.sandiegopolo.com/ 

There isn’t much to show yet on this site, but these folks are attempting to create another site for Kids activities, school information, events, etc.

http://www.nineblue.com/kids/sandiego/index.aspx 

They are also offering discounts from local companies.   Its disappointing to visit these places and find such little information because its launched without data. But, hopefully people will start to populate it and we’ll all benefit soon.

Just want to set your expectations properly if you visit soon and don’t see much there.  

This is a gym located just off the 56 near the 15 highway.  Its a 10-15 minute drive, but easy to get to.  They offer classes locally at the Carmel Valley Rec center and I’ve taken the Gym Kids class they offer there several times with my kids.  They are generally pretty good classes.  Their location has a rock wall and gymanstics equipment.  http://www.rockntumble.com/

If you have a child who is growing more serious about gymnastics, this seems a fun place to learn and grow.  They offer personal instruction for kids too and have for exhibition team.  They also offer birthday parties, winter camps, I thought it was fun they offer Monday night football camps for the kids.   

This site has a number of local playgroup listings, one in Carmel Valley even.  Note these playgroups for some reason are listed under culture/community as Hip Mama groups not under Parenting. 

http://www.meetup.com/cities/?dbCo=us&dbOutsideUsLink=&country=us&zip=92130&go.x=0&go.y=0&go=GO#Parenting 

There are some different categories of playgroups here including playgroups for kids with Autism, working mom groups and single parent groups.  I haven’t personally joined any of these groups so can’t speak to the experience.  But, if there’s a good match for you it seems worth looking into.

The World Beat Center offers a variety of classes all tied to African dance, art, music and culture as a whole.  They offer a drumming class for kids which I have heard great things about.  I have yet to make it to this class as its timing in the late afternoon and location in Balboa Park usually hits nap time.  But, we almost made it one day in the pouring rain and were the only ones to show that day.  The musician was so sweet offering to have us join him for the class instead at his studio, but we opted to wait for a day when there were more kids for the class. 

http://www.worldbeatcenter.org/Classes_New.html

Children’s drumming class 5 mo-6 yrs. Tuesdays 3:00-3:30 pm $5, World beat center, 2100 park blvd. balboa park. 619-230-1190. 

Discount Offered:  $5 admission coupon for Admission to Kidsville good Monday through Friday.   Please use code:  SDMOM$5.  Please print this page as well and bring it in to show you found the discount on San Diego Mom.

This is another option for a rainy day or party, though its a drive from Carmel Valley in Poway.  The location is a huge warehouse that they have filled with children’s toyhouses - each with a different theme.  The center area has play structures and tables for the adults to sit in.  A small road goes around indoors near the openings of each house so the kids can ride riding toys around too and trikes. One house has all costumes so the kids can dress up however they like.  There isn’t much help with supervision here though.

http://www.kidsvilleplayland.com/ 

They do parties here and also provide assistance I believe with food, etc.  The few parties I’ve been to though have felt chaotic and too spread out.  It could be that they didn’t close the place to just the party, I’m not sure.  But, finding your kid can sometimes be hard because it is so big.   

Pump it up is a fun place for the kids filled with jumpy jumps - some for smaller kids, and a few with really tall blown up structures for climbing and slides.  Location wise its not right near Carmel Valley, but its easy to get to off the 805.  You can see more about them here: http://www.pumpitupparty.com/index.php 

This place can be a little daunting though for kids who are still timid about tall structures.  Smaller kids will definitely need your assistance.  And to be honest, if you have an older one and a smaller one this place can be hard without a 2nd set of hands. 

I believe there are open gym times too for rainy days and also some camps, etc.  Check out their schedule for that.  They are great about parties helping to set up food, order it even for you and make up goodie bags.   

This gym in Poway is a bit of drive from Carmel Valley (15-20 minutes), but is a nice alternative to Tumbles or Pump it up for the kids.  And a great alternative if you have a heavy mix of littler ones (2-3 yr olds) in the mix. 

The gym has a huge climbing structure but its easy to navigate, less daunting then some of the really high structures at Pump it up and there is a middle large play area with dolls, kitchen, cars, etc. for the littlest in the crowd.

http://www.mykidsclubhouse.com/

The team there will help with everything from putting out food, giving out goodie bags, and clean up.  They also facilitate activites inside the birthday room such as bubbles, some mini magic and things of that nature.

The clubhouse has open gym times as well.  I haven’t taken any of their camps so have no personal experience beyond the birthday parties.  But, the location is kept pretty clean and they seem easy to work with. 

This one is a popular choice for the 2-5 yr old crowd.  Tumbles has a set of instructor/teacher types who are usally pretty fun, young and energetic.  The gym has mats, climbing structures, some fun games that hang from the ceiling (canoes the kids swing in, etc.) and they do some tumbling, singing and the like with the kids.

http://www.jwtumbles.com/locations/schedule.php?lid=2 

Classes are offered year round, camps in the summer and birthday parties are facilitated on the week-ends.  A deposit is required to secure a date.  You need to bring food to Tumbles but they will help serve, clean, etc. 

The Boys and Girls Club in San Diego is very active, many different locations.  We have several in our area - two in Carmel Valley and another in Del Mar and Solana Beach.  There are after school activities for various age ranges - primarily school age not younger. Arts (dance for 2 and up; acting for 6 and up), sports, swimming, volleyball and more. 

http://www.bgcsdto.org/Allred.htm  This is the link to one of the Carmel Valley locations and the drop downs there will take you to the other locations as well.  There is even some transportation from schools to the facility if you are a working parent and need someone to transport your children.

I don’t have any personal experience with the programs, but I have spoken with some of the folks administering the programs and they were very nice.  Seems worth a look.   

These concerts are supposed to be great.  We haven’t made one yet as my kids are too little to sit that long.  But, I’ve heard they are well worth attending.  http://www.classics4kids.com/

I haven’t been yet, but I hear these shows are terrific for young kids.  The Junior Theatre performs in 3 locations; balboa park, Chula Vista and La Jolla. The closest destination for us in Carmel Valley is La Jolla and the building is in downtown La Jolla.

Information on show times and what shows are playing when here: http://www.juniortheatre.com/shows/2006-2007/

The shows are kids doing kids shows.  They offer classes in each location as well.  Here is the class information: http://www.juniortheatre.com/classes/ 

I was really interested in trying one of these classes, the drama class but haven’t yet.  Getting in and out of La Jolla is a major pain in the a-ss regardless of time of day.  I’m just not a big fan, I opted to drive up to Encinitas to the YMCA for drama classes instead which was also bad late afternoon because the 5 fills up after 3:00 pm.  But, I hear the classes are great and I’d still like to try them out. 

This site is home grown, rather than government sponsored.  It feels fairly comprehensive and the entries describing the parks are from parents who try and provide the family friendly tips you need regarding things like age of the equipment, cleanliness, sand vs chips, etc. Not all the parks are reviewed.  http://sdplaygrounds.com/sdplaygrounds.html

I’ve used this site to help me find a park when I want to meet someone who lives far away and we want to find a nice park somewhere between our two communities.  

This site covers all of San Diego and includes a variety of lists such as birthday party ideas, camps, photography studios, etc.

The site is a bit difficult to read and therefore to navigate, but there are some unusual lists of resources here such as local advocacy organizations supporting kids and parents.

They also have some coupons available.  http://www.sdkids.com/

These folks have put together a nice site of ideas for things to do around San Diego.  There are lists of museums, playgroup organizations, outdoor activities, amusement parks, etc.  There are quite a few ideas that are off the beaten path here so if you feel you’ve exhausted the options you typically see advertised, give this site a look.  http://www.littlepinkfeet.com/

This is a magazine that is free in a number of Carmel Valley locations; restaurants, etc.  Its fairly comprehensive in terms of listing children schools, pre-schools and private, camps, classes, etc.  They also run a list each addition of weekly activities in San Diego, articles, etc.  Sometimes special lists of current activities for holidays as well.

Here’s a link to the online version: http://www.sandiegofamily.com/pages/frame%20first%20page.html 

There’s apparently a new book - the Lila Guides - for each City in the US.  The idea is it provides everything from what stores to buy children’s things from in town, to baby supplies, etc.  San Diego has one. 

I have only heard about this so can’t attest to how good it is.  A friend mentioned it wasn’t very complete.  But, I don’t know what that means.  Anyway, if you need a starting point, you might check this out for ideas.  http://www.lilaguide.com/shop/main.php

San Diego Parent is a web site that is attempting to centralize information about things to do with children in town.  You can register for their newsletter for free for updates. 

They are still filling in the content, so there isn’t a whole lot there yet.  And because its City wide you have to wade through everything to find things that are local to you.  I hope in time they’ll figure out a way to break things out at least by north, south, east county so you can find what you need more easily.  Check it out though - it will get better I’m sure and will be a good resource for looking for new activities for your kids. http://www.sandiegoparent.com/