The Friends of the Marin County Free Library sponsored a Valentine card making session at the Corte Madera Library. This organization is a non-profit group of volunteers that is dedicated to making the library system and its programs the best they can be. Anyone who enjoys the pleasure of a good book or the myriad of benefits and services of the library is encouraged to become a member.  At this afterschool craft event cards, envelopes, colorful papers, markers, glue sticks, and foam hearts and flowers were provided for a room full of enthusiastic kids and their caregivers. There were also …

There is non stop play every Monday from 10:30 am to 12 pm and 12:30 pm to 2 pm during Kids Power Hours at the Corte Madera Recreation Center.  The large bright gymnasium area is transformed into a colorful play area for kids ages 0-6 years.  This fun-filled program features an inflatable jumpy, toddler bouncy zone, tumbling mats, art station, cars, toys, balls, basketball hoops, fun games, an area for tots ages 0-2, flat screen television with cartoons, and even complimentary coffee for adults and some munchies for the kids.  Jenny Ferrari, works with Kids Power Hours.  As she was …

It was a rainy Sunday during the 49ers vs. Giants football game. My son had tickets to the game at Candlestick Park and dropped off my 9-year-old grandson, Evan, for the day. I was ready for a fun-filled day of creativity and exploration. After greetings with hugs and kisses I wanted to show Evan my new project. I had recently been to an altered book collage workshop and wanted to show him my creations. He was inspired to make a collage so we both began sorting through art materials for the next few hours.   He was drawing, gluing and rummaging through boxes of beads, papers, magazines, and …

Children between the ages of 7 and 10 years old attended the free Manga Drawing class at the Corte Madera Library.  Manga is the Japanese word for comics or cartoons. These classes are taught monthly (with time off during the summer) by Chiyoko Wong, 15, a junior at Drake High School.  Chiyoko has been drawing Manga characters for years and wanted to share her love of Manga drawing with kids at the local library. She enjoys doing community service and told me, “I like working with kids, I think it’s fun … and it's not that hard because generally they just do their own thing … Teaching really …

It was a sunny winter Saturday morning as family, friends and Marin Country Mart Farmers Market shoppers enjoyed performances by the Hall Middle School jazz bands. Jeff Derby, the jazz and band director at Hall Middle School, created these jazz bands which has inspired many of the middle schoolers to play an instrument and appreciate music.  Derby told me, “My background is in jazz…We don’t have the schedule to include them in the day, so I’ve given up my lunch in order to give them an opportunity to play jazz…we have a regular band too, but the kids gravitate towards jazz more because it …

Stretch the Imagination is an early childhood education school started by Michele Lawton 10 years ago in San Francisco. They added a location in Corte Madera at the Market Place on Tamal Vista Boulevard 2 ½ years ago (near Book Passage).  Children between the ages of 2 and 5 years old attend classes which facilitate learning in a creative and play-based environment.    When I stopped by to talk with some of the preschoolers I entered a modern, delightfully bright and noticeably clean and green environment.  Stretch the Imagination has been green from the beginning and has partnered with like-…

It was the last day of 2011 and kids at the Marin Country Mart Farmers Market were having so much fun creating sparkly New Year’s Eve decorations. They were using recycled materials provided by SCRAP, a non-profit creative reuse center, materials depot and workshop space based in San Francisco.  The child-sized tables were filled with boxes of used CDs, beads, old magnets, little gold plastic champagne glasses, gold stars, tiny colorfully wrapped packages, silver wired mesh ribbon, holographic swirls, big shiny pearls, silver bells and so much more.  The base of all the kids creations were …

My 9 year old grandson, Evan, spent Christmas with us.  We spent a whirlwind 24 hours opening gifts, eating Christmas dinner, playing Monopoly, making necklaces, visiting our favorite store to redeem his gift certificate, reading comic books aloud, playing with his new Nintendo 3DS, and taking a walk to visit the Secret Garden. “I don’t really believe Santa comes down the chimney…I think he once walked the earth and probably was a Saint, but… (Evan then looks at the fireplace and chimney)…he doesn’t come down the chimney…that doesn’t make sense…”   This was one of the many discussions we had …

It was a sunny Saturday morning before Christmas and many families were enjoying all the activities at the Marin Country Mart Farmers Market. Santa and his “reindeer” were there to add to the festivities and take pictures with the excited children waiting in line.  Courtway Catering provided complimentary kids crafts. Children participated in decorating gingerbread cookies, writing letters to Santa and making hot chocolate, with the assistance of Melanie Courtway and her elves. There was also face painting, Scott the Storyteller and even Santa had a sing-a-long. Many kids enjoyed the antics …

Caitlyn, my 14 year old niece, lives about two hours away in Sacramento. My husband, Robert, and I love having her visit. For the last few years we have started the LoRusso Annual Motorcycle Ride. Caitlyn and her dad come for the weekend and we all enjoy a full days motorcycle ride to the coast and nearby towns.   Caitlyn looks forward to putting on her leather chaps, motorcycle jacket, gloves, boots and helmet for our fun and invigorating rides. Caitlyn rides on the back of her dad’s motorcycle and I ride with Robert.  It’s so fun when our motorcycles stop side by side at a traffic light and…

My 9 year old grandson, Evan, loves being the subject of my “For the LOVE of Kids” column. He loves when I interview him and send him links to the columns when they are posted on the site. He enjoys the pictures and slide shows, and laughs when he hears his quotes I use in the columns. Evan is probably one of Patch’s youngest fans! Evan especially looks forward to our silly interview sessions which come as a result of our real interviews. This is when I do funny accents and ask him silly questions which he matches, and often surpasses, with even sillier accents and even sillier answers. One …

It was a chilly Sunday afternoon at The Village at Corte Madera, but that didn’t stop kids from showing up to sit on Santa’s lap, tell him what they wanted for Christmas and have their pictures taken.   Children from 4 months to 7 years old lined up at the entrance of Santa’s House.  They were visably excited to see Santa.  They were heard saying, “Santa’s in there!”  And many would stand by the entrance and wave at him.   Tyler, 7, and his sister, Bella, 3, from Tiburon were there to see Santa.  When I asked Bella what she asked Santa for, she said, “…a princess kitchen and Hello Kitty …

Evan, my almost-9-year-old grandson, wants to be a cartoonist. As long as I can remember Evan has been drawing. He has always drawn mermaids, fairies and mythical creatures over and over again. He has now moved on to creating cartoon characters.  During this visit he showed me some of these characters. He has been creating ink drawn characters inspired by Japanese Anime. And Lucy, a Japanese schoolmate, has taught him some Japanese words and the accompanying written character.  When we decorated white fans, Evan decided to draw the Japanese character for moon with a graphic of a moon and …

As the sun was peeking through the clouds on a fall morning at the Marin Country Mart Farmers Market, about 20 children gathered to hear Scott the Storyteller.  Scott’s homegrown stories are embellished with a multitude of puppets and Scott’s bevy of fun puppet voices.  There were colorful child-sized beanbags in red, yellow, orange, purple and blue for kids to sit on while cozying up to enjoy a morning of fun and engaging stories.  Young eyes were fixed on Scott’s puppets and giggles filled the air.  Between stories children were heard saying, “…more, more…how about the one about the …

Since 1997, Masterworks Children’s Art Studio has been introducing the youth of Marin County to the magic of the creative process.  Located at 305B Montecito Drive in Old Corte Madera Square near Piccolo Pavilion, Masterworks shares the 100 year old carriage house with the store, Mimi the Sardine.   Lisa Jones, a lifetime student of the art masters, founded MASTERWORKS Art Studio, “…to encourage children and their parents to explore the universal experience of communicating ideas through visual media.”  I attended a Saturday art class called Fashion Belt: Mixed Media. When I entered the …

Evan, my almost 9 year old grandson, loves crafts…and so do I.  Whenever we are together creativity abounds.  He always has ideas and I always have the supplies.  We both marvel at the synchronicity and enjoy the process together.  As we create, there are moments of silence and moments of diverse conversation.  As Evan is decorating a plain brown bag to use for trick or treating, he says, “Did you know there are Dryads that live in every tree in the world…?”  He continues to tell me the lore of these mythical tree nymphs.  Then he continues, “…and there are some types of mountain Dryads …

My almost 9 year old grandson, Evan, and I attended the Pumpkins on Pikes event at Tara Firma Farms in Petaluma. It is the third year this wonderful local sustainable farm, owned and operated by Tara Smith and family, has hosted this fun family event.  Many families gathered to share food, pumpkin carving and celebrate the fall season. The event centers around carving pumpkins to place on more than a hundred, 3 to 6-foot pikes placed all throughout the cornfield, gardens and up the hill. Pumpkins are provided and tables are set up for the pumpkin carving.  Kids chose from pumpkins of all …

Kids love eating and many enjoy helping to prepare food. Lisa Barnes, author of two cookbooks called, The Petit Appetit Cookbook and Eat, Drink and Be Merry, was at the grand opening celebration of Mimi the Sardine in Corte Madera. She was there signing her cookbooks, talking about packing healthy lunches and helping kids make their own trail mix to take home.  She had a muffin tin filled with 12 different tasty treats. Kids would use little spoons or tongs to combine yogurt raisins, chocolate chips, coconut, raisins, cheerios, sunflower seeds and more.   Each child focused while scooping the…

Goosebottom Books is a fledgling new press dedicated to ‘fun non-fiction’ for children.  It's first series, The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Real Princesses, was released last year and focuses on the lives of six real princesses throughout history. This event at Book Passage was celebrating the release of the second series, The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Dastardly Dames, which included the stories of six infamous women from history.  Before the presentation, children were coloring in pictures of Dastardly Dames, such as Mary Tudor and Cleopatra. As friends, Andie, 6, and Charlotte, 8, were …

It’s October and fall is in the air.  Ian’s Pumpkin Patch at Bon Air Center in Greenbrae is filled with pumpkins large and small.  There are plenty of bales of hay to sit on and kids of all ages are choosing their pumpkins, then racing to one of the two jumpy houses to enjoy unlimited play.  Eliana, 6, lives in Greenbrae, and has been coming to this pumpkin patch, “…since I was one!…every year they change the jumpies…and I like jumpies…and once my mom, my brother and my sister and me went on a rainy day here and the jumpy was filled with water…like 3 feet high…and all of us got to jump in the…