San Diego Mom - Carmel Valley

Ok, its worth a 2nd post as I’ve written about the World Beat Center in Balboa Park before.  But, if you haven’t been yet to a class at the World Beat Center in Balboa Park you have no idea what you’re missing.   

This week-end I took a group of my friends and it was an unbelievable experience.  Our instructor Nana Yaw Asiedu was exceptional.  Fun, warm, sense of humor, great with kids.  They accomodated us with finding drums for everyone (and we were a huge crowd - nearly 40 or more families) and he had us all engaged. 

The drums were varied, shakers for each child, similarly varied, we learned African language, we heard African Stories, we learned dances.  Nana kept the program age appropriate, but managed to keep adults, children ages 2-12 engaged.

Make visiting the World Beat Center a priority.  You won’t be sorry.  Classes are offered throughout the week.  If you have a private group they will work with you on a class on your own.

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

So, if you need another good option for Kosher food, the caterers at Beth El have started offering Shabbat dinners to go.  Here’s the info:

Kosher Catering Company of La Jolla (KCC of LJ) Gayle Covner and Jennie Stepensky - (619) 298-7010

Kosher Catering Company, Congregation Beth El’s highly qualified exclusive caterers have a special service they offer, a monthly Shabbat Dinner Take-Out service. You can order a take-home Shabbat meal for your family and/or guests, pick it up at the synagogue, and serve it at home.
To order, just call 619-298-7010 on Wednesday before noon and pick it up on Friday between 4 and 6 pm or immediately after Shabbat Services.

Shabbat in a Bucket To Go will “kick off” the 3rd Friday of February, February 16, 2007. Call (619) 298-7010 by noon on Wednesday, February 14.
Each dinner order is for four people.

February’s menu:
Challah, Knishes
Whole Roasted Rosemary Lemon Chicken
Israeli Couscous with Roasted Vegetables Grilled Seasonal Vegetables, Decadent Chocolate Brownies Just add your own salad and wine and you have a heat and eat gourmet kosher Shabbat dinner for four! Price is $45.00 per order and payment is due when you order.
Menus will vary monthly and frequency can increase if there is interest. KCC of LJ will also kasher for Pesah and offer Pesahdik take-out for your Seder!

Our chefs, Gayle and Jennie, are experienced caterers. Both have worked with long-time Beth El caterer Stanley Gelfand for several years. They have been chefs at prestigious restaurants and operate “In Good Taste Catering” as well. At Beth El, Gayle and Jennie have provided many meals for our members, notably the congregational Shabbat dinners this year.
=========================================
Congregation Beth El
8660 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92037
 

There are several places to go in town:

Jewish Academy, Carmel Valley:  Yoni Carr, 760-631-0802, yonic@cox.net - http://www.israelidancing.com/

Hillcrest Area: 30th and Adams - http://www.dancewithdalya.com/ 

I don’t know a lot about this, but we did have a son and needed the services of a Mohel.  We were lucky that our pediatrician was also a Mohel.  Stuart Rubenstein. You can see his information about these services at: http://www.brisforbaby.com/

We were very pleased with his service, the care he took of course with the baby and our family too.  We had multiple needs having a family of mixed religious experiences (Orthodox as well as Conservative) and he took care to listen to those needs, and include people as appropriate.  It was an incredibly meaningful experience.  Beyond my expectations.

Another option in town is Rabbi Moishe Leider.  Phone: 858-518-6513.  I don’t have personal experience with him, but he’s the Rabbi at the Chabad Center at University City.   

Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles - http://www.israeliconsulatela.org/

Jewish Community Center - http://www.lfjcc.org/

Kosher Restaurants in San Diego - http://jewishinsandiego.com/content_display.html?ArticleID=83704

San Diego Jewish Journal - http://www.sdjewishjournal.com/

San Diego Jewish Times - http://www.sdjewishtimes.com/

Southern California Israel Chamber of Commerce - http://www.scicc.biz/index.php

United Jewish Federation in San Diego - http://www.jewishinsandiego.com/

The school’s web site doesn’t tell you much - its located at http://www.sandiegojapaneseschool.com/index.htm and notes the location - market street which is again not very close for Carmel Valley residents. 

But, this link tells you they teach 5th grade through adults - http://www.cajls.org/member_schools/san_diego/sanDiego.html and gives a little detail on the types of activities for children on the week-ends.

The Minato school is located in Chula Vista, so not exactly close for north county residents.  But, it appears to offer an after school program for Japanese American families. 

http://www.sdminato.org/open_house_en.html 

From their web site: Subjects covered under the supplementary education program include Japanese language, mathematics, social studies and science. These subjects are taught exclusively in Japanese.  In addition, Minato School opens its door to non-Japanese students who can follow Japanese at each statutory grade required of their age.

This organization provides links to all kinds of relevant Japanese resources in town.  From local company sponsors, to events with a language/cultural focus to concerts/arts and fun parties and community events.

http://www.japan-society.org/index.html 

I love that they are involved in improving education programs locally and offer internships through Japanese companies to young people.   

This organization works primarily to archive records and collections relevant to Japanese American history.  But, their events page provides insight into activities locally for japanese americans such as concerts and community activities for Japanese speakers.

http://www.jahssd.org/index.html 

This is an amazing organization offering cultural activities connected to both Mexico and Israel.  I’m amazed by the variety of activities from Israeli Dancing, to camping to week-end hiking and more. 

http://www.kenjc.org/ 

They offer bar mitzvah training as well which I think is brilliant for families who are not affiliated but want to have the experience.  The Ken has been bussing kids living up in North County down to Chula Vista for years.  But, they now have made arrangements with the Jewish Academy to use their facility for families up north.  Watch for their move shortly. 

Visit here to join a group of expats who want to socialize together.  The discussion forum is private so you must join the group to get a sense of the members and their activities.

http://expatsa.meetup.com/14/?gj=sj5 

This networking organization is a great way for new Jewish South African families to meet others, get settled in the community, find work, etc.

http://www.sajacsandiego.com/ 

You must be a member to take advantage of the majority of the web site information, but there are public forums as well.

This organization appears to be both business and community focused.  Links from the site for the Community connect people to Science and Technology groups as well as Theatre and music centers.

http://www.sdcausa.org/web/index.php 

Community events are posted here as well.  

This site provides links to all things Persian in San Diego. There are cultural events posted here including musicians and dance performances.

http://www.pccsd.org/ 

The Iranian School of San Diego is also linked here and their schedule and locations, etc. is available there.  This school is a remarkable program that manages to cater to people of all faiths and experiences from Iran.  They teach language and culture - but leave religion out of the mix. 

I have several friends who send their children to learn dance and Farsi.  And they rave about the experience.   

This meet up group currently has over 200 people.  It appears to be an active San Diego group for people who speak Chinese and want to meet with others to share the Chinese cultural experience.

http://chinese.meetup.com/9/?gj=sj3 

There is an active discussion on the site as well if you want to read a bit about the topics they explore and get a sense of the group.  They post their calendar of events on this site as well.  

This site provides solid listings of resources for Chinese in San Diego from schools, to adoption information, to a calendar of local events. 

http://www.sandiegochinese.net/ 

This page provides a list of the various schools in San Diego that offer Chinese language classes beginning in pre-school or Kindergarten through high school.  All of the schools are in North County, with the San Diego American Chinese School located in Del Mar/Carmel Valley.

http://www.sandiegochinese.net/fcc/education/ 

All the programs are after school, week-end or summer camp programs.  There are listings here too for adult classes in nearby colleges/universities.  Many of these programs were designed for families of Chinese descent looking to keep their children educated regarding language, arts and culture.  A growing number of non-Chinese families interested in teaching their children the language and espose them too to the culture are sending their children to participate.

Moms read 3 stories in Hebrew each week. (You don’t need to know Hebrew, but need to know we will be speaking in Hebrew.) Books are for pre-school age, 10-12 pages. 

Meets in Carmel Valley the 2nd and 4th Wednesday each month at 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm.  Descriptions of the books are e-mailed so English speakers can prepare their children.  English speakers can expect to pick up a few Hebrew words each time.  Books will be read again in subsequent meetings for repetition. 

Includes songs and a coloring/sticker project as well.  Use the link to join the Yahoo group for meeting times and reminders of the books.

Join the group for reminders, etc. at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saprili/

This is a playgroup where Moms and Kids speak primarily Hebrew.  (Disclosure: this is a program I manage) A great way to provide a Hebrew speaking environment for your little ones.  Ages of the children range from infant/new born to pre-school age.  Mom’s Nights Out each month and family activities keep this a fun, energetic and warm community.

More on the group at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kishkushim/ and join the list there if you want to be on the reminder list for meeting times, events, etc.   

Meetings are held primarily in private homes and local parks in Carmel Valley, UTC and Encinitas 

Ivrit B’Ivrit (Disclosure: this is a program I created with a friend in Carmel Valley) is a Hebrew language immersion program for pre-school aged children. It is not a replacement for hebrew school programs that are religious.  It is a relatively secular program, every day vocabulary is taught through fun song, dance, art and play.  Local pre-school teachers that are native speakers teach in the program. 

The class is 1 hour, offered twice weekly.  The teachers speak only Hebrew in the class and its ideal for children with little or no Hebrew experience to those who are hearing Hebrew at home. 

More on the program at: http://www.jenniestarr.com/ivrit.htm

Classes meet currently in Sorrento Valley/Carmel Valley area.