Tiny Iron Fists

Milestone: First Movie Theater Experience, Miyazaki's "Kiki's Delivery Service"

We had the great fortune of catching Miyazaki's classic animated film, Kiki's Delivery Service at the Aero Theatre with Lulu's BFFs, NUF, RAD and Mi-chan. It was the first time screening a movie in the theatre for the pals and they were all incredibly excited! The kids enjoyed Japanese snacks made by Mi-chan and fresh popcorn from the theatre. They knew to be quiet and received booster chairs to help them see the screen. While some parts of Kiki's proved to be a little scary, the posse did great!

If you're interested in catching another Miyazaki film in the theatre, check out the American Cinematheque's showtimes for future screenings.

LA - Museums Free-For-All (01.26.13 - 01.27.13)

More information: http://www.museumsla.org/news.asp

Leave Us Be!

Lulu hiding behind leaves with one of her besties, NUF. I love that they're also accidentally color-coordinated!

LET'S MAKE SOME GREAT ART: An Art Workshop for Children (12.08.12)

LET'S MAKE SOME GREAT ART: An Art Workshop for Children
Saturday, December 8, 2012, 11am
The MOCA Store at MOCA Grand Avenue

Award-winning British illustrator Marion Deuchars hosts an art workshop with activities from her popular series of children's books. Come and create! All materials will be supplied.

FREE; no reservations

Nobody Tells You: You Will at One Time Become an Olympic-Mom Hopeful!

I'd be lying if I told you I didn't think Lulu had Olympic-potental when I saw her on the park exercise equipment. She swung, dashed, stretched, jumped, and did everything a kid could do on makeshift monkeybars with grace, agility, and ease.

My mind wandered to a future of great athleticism. Hello, gymnastics. Hard work. Heartbreak. Discipline. Injury. Risks. Medals! Magazine Covers! Sponsors! [Record scratch] Wait, wha? I can't even stand my pretend-stage-mom-persona. Let's just get back to enjoying the pureness of playing in the park.

Caught you. You know you let your mind go there. And that's cool. Nobody's judging cause they forgot to tell you, they think these crazy thoughts too.

'

Mission 26: The Big Endeavour

I took off work on Friday, October 12th so I could take my daughter, a budding Princess Scientist to see the Space Shuttle Endeavour travel through LA's streets starting at Los Angeles International Airport, ending at the California Science Center in Exposition Park.

It was a surreal experience. Exhilarating. And full of wonder and dreams. Please, The Force, let me live long enough to enjoy more days like this one. The rest of what we witnessed in 146 photos:

As Seen By Lulu: Giant Robot "Biennale 3"

See what Lulu saw at Giant Robot's "Biennale 3" on view at the Japanese American National Museum from September 23, 2012 - January 20, 2012.

Beach Day With Cousin Ava

Sunset Bike Ride

 

We are grateful to live where we do, so we try to visit the beach every weekend. Today, Lulu rode her bike at sunset. It was marvelous.

LA - Jamie Lee Curtis Book Event (09.15.12)

Jamie Lee Curtis
Saturday, September 15, 10:30 a.m.
Ages 3 & up

Join best-selling author and actress Jamie Lee Curtis for a reading and signing of her new book, My Brave Year of Firsts: Tries, Sighs, and High Fives. The tenth collaboration between Jamie Lee Curtis and illustrator Laura Cornell celebrates the everyday bravery of trying new things for the very first time. While our spunky heroine, Frankie, learns to ride a bike, tie her shoes, make new friends, love her first dog, borrow a book from the library, say when she's wrong, try yucky food and work with her dad, she also learns that trying new things is how she grows - and that being brave enough to do so is what growing up is all about.

CHILDREN'S BOOK WORLD
10580 1/2 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90064
(310) 559-BOOK

HOURS: MON-FRI 10-5:30 | SAT 10-5

Eye on The Sky

Lulu loves watching the planes take off from Santa Monica Airport.  On the east side of Clover Park, there are benches for resting and telescopes for close up viewing. They're hardly ever occupied and great fun for the little ones.

Photos by Lulu: Shepard Fairey's "Americana"

We attended Shepard Fairey's "Americana" opening at Perry Rubenstein gallery and Lulu took it upon herself to document the evening. I hope you enjoy her photos of the artwork, people, and environment.

For the most part, her photos still need a lot of work. But I feel she really did catch the vibe of the night.

Holiday Glow

 

Lulu loves running in the meadow at Glen Oaks. The open field is practically ours alone; we've hardly seen anyone else the whole time we've bunked in the Sycamore cabin. At night we lay in the grass and look up at the sky, searching for shooting stars. It's absolutely enchanting!

Milestone: You Have Mail!

We sent postcards from Big Sur to a few lucky family members. Lulu was less interested in writing the cards (the few of you receiving mail from us are in for a nice surprise) and more interested in dropping the cards into the mailbox. I explained to Lulu how a few words could make it across the globe by her actions (from writing the card, to attaching the stamp, and slipping it into the mailbox). Lulu was very excited to learn about how our postal service works.

LA - Target Free Holiday Mondays: Memorial Day (05.28.12)

Target Free Holiday Mondays: Memorial Day
Monday, May 28, 2012 | 12 pm

Visitors of all ages are invited to a free day at the museum*, with live music by George Kahn "Jazz and Blues Revue" on the plaza at 12:30 and 2:45 pm. Free bilingual tours, programs, and other activities occur throughout the day.

LACMA | Free, general admission ticket required; *does not include admission to In Wonderand | Tickets: 323 857-6010 or purchase online.

To ensure a safe and pleasant visitor experience, tickets to the Boone Children's Gallery on Target Free Holiday Monday will be timed and distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Pick up your free, timed ticket in the Boone Children's Gallery on the day of the event. Timed tickets allow for a thirty-minute visit.

Happy 2012 Mother's Day!

We spent Mother's Day making funny faces in the forest (in the wonderful and breezy Escondido Canyon Park). Hope your day was great too!

RELATED: Happy Mother's Day (2010) and A Love Letter to My Mom (2011)

LA - National Train Day (05.12.12)

Union Station 800 North Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Get Directions | Trip Planner | Program Guide

When: 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Saturday, May 12

General Admission: Free

Now in its 5^th year, National Train Day is back to celebrate train travel and the ways trains touch the lives of people with events across America. This year, festivities will highlight the unique perspective passengers enjoy as they take in the vastness and beauty of the American landscape, from cities big and small, to country vistas and everything in between, when traveling by rail.

As part of National Train Day, each major market event features live entertainment, interactive and educational exhibits, kids’ activities, model train displays and tours of Amtrak equipment, freight and commuter trains, and notable private railroad cars. Special thanks to LA County Metro Transit Authority.

LA - Sunday Afternoons for Kids: All That Can Live on a Page (05.06.12)

Sunday Afternoons for Kids: All That Can Live on a Page

Recommended for ages 8–13

Comics, or something like them, have been around since people lived in caves and have been used to tell every kind of story. Learn how to translate your favorite genre to comics with Lee-Roy Lahey, a writer/illustrator of books and a storyboard artist for films.

SUNDAY AFTERNOONS FOR KIDS
The Hammer’s free collaborative workshops, presented with 826LA, are designed for groups of up to 20 students. Reservations are encouraged. Please visit workshops.826LA.org or call 310-305-8418.

ALL HAMMER PUBLIC PROGRAMS ARE FREE.

Parking is available under the museum for $3 for 3 hours.

Hammer Kids is made possible through the generosity of K.A.M.P. (Kids’ Art Museum Project) supporters and friends. K.A.M.P. is an annual family fundraiser.

LA - "Monkey Business" Screening (05.06.11)

Family Flicks Film Series: Monkey Business

Recommended for ages 5+

The puns and gags fly fast and furious in this Marx Brothers film—the perfect introduction to their inimitable brand of anarchic verbal and physical comedy. Monkey Business features the boys as stowaways on a New York–bound ship who are pressed into the service of gangsters on board. (1931, Norman McLeod, 35mm, b/w, 77 min.)

FAMILY FLICKS FILMS SERIES
UCLA Film & Television Archive and the Hammer Museum have teamed up for a matinee screening series of new and classic family-friendly films from around the world.

Parking is available under the museum for $3 for 3 hours.

Family Flicks is co-presented with UCLA Film & Television Archive.

Family Flicks is made possible, in part, through the generosity of supporters and friends of the Hammer Museum’s Kids’ Art Museum Project (K.A.M.P.). Additional support is provided by the Westwood Neighborhood Council.

Explosive Fun: The Erupting Volcano!

This is the second year we've had the pleasure of attending The Growing Place's annual fundraiser, the Dino Fair. And once again, our little Princess Scientist spent all our money on the erupting volcanoes!

If you are interested in creating your own epic eruptions at home, all you'll need are a container, vinegar, baking soda, a bowl, and trash bags or a drop cloth (it's going to get messy)! Line the floor with the protective covering and then add the baking soda to the bowl, sitting in the larger container. Add vinegar, stand back, and watch the sodium bicarbonate and acetic acid react into a messy bubbling mixture of fizz and fun.

Best of all, this experiement is non-toxic so it's great for all ages!

MOCA: Transmission LA. Do You Copy?!

MOCA: Transmission LA is pretty much the most amazing art exhibit accidentally created for children, ever.

'Chloe & the Lion' + 'You Are a Lion! And Other Fun Yoga Poses' Book Event (04.29.12)

LA - Ragamala Dance (04.28.12)

Ragamala Dance
April 28, 2012
W.M. KECK CHILDREN'S AMPHITHEATRE, WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
 
Ragamala Dance
Ragamala Dance performs Sacred Earth fusing two rich and ancient Indian visual art traditions - Warli mud paintings and Kolam rice flour drawings -- with Bharatanatyam, the classical dance of Southern India. The choreography invokes a deep connection to the Earth, celebrating the on-going, ever-renewing cycle of life.

LA - Andell Family Sundays—Recycle, Transform, Make Art (04.01.12)

Andell Family Sundays—Recycle, Transform, Make Art

Join us on Sundays for programs designed especially for families. Make art, look at art, and talk about art together in workshops and bilingual gallery tours. Most of all—have fun. Some artists see art in things other people throw away—in old car parts, for example. Join workshops where you, too, can transform used materials into playful, environmentally friendly works of art. We will have additional activities on Earth Day, April 22, including telling stories, making spoke cards, and more.

See Chris Burden's kinetic sculpture, Metropolis II in action every Sunday at the following times: 12:30–1:30 pm; 2:30–3:30 pm; 4:30–5:30 pm; 6:30–7:30 pm.

North Piazza | Free, with museum admission | 12:30–3:30 pm

Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Andell Family Sundays is supported by Andrew and Ellen Hauptman and the Hauptman Family Foundation.

Brooklyn - PowerHouse Kids Easter Party (04.01.12)