Carmel Blue's Prenatal Classes Coming to Recess

Recess is excited to announce that, in addition to our parenting and safety workshops you've come to rely on, we'll be adding Carmel Blue's acclaimed Prenatal classes to our services starting this July.  

Carmel Blue has been an amazing resource for new & expectant parents since 2010. Founder, Sharone Nassi, dedicated the past 8 years to creating a welcoming community place in North Beach, and helping new families set the foundations for a healthy, happy and supported parenting experience. Her mom/baby groups alone have served over 4500 moms and dads to date, and the childbirth preparation, newborn preparation and CPR classes have served countless more.

Both Lisa Nowell, Recess' founder, & Sharone agree that in an ideal world, prenatal couples will come to expect support, community and education as an integral part of their prenatal experience. This eases the transition to parenting a newborn, receiving support and knowing how to access it after baby arrives.

By bringing the excellent prenatal support Sharone and her team have curated to the Recess community we've cultivated over the past decade, we will be able to continue to support parents for the full range of the early years.  

We are looking forward to extending the support Recess offers to new parents as we strive to create a culture of connection, support and play to lighten the load for families raising kids in San Francisco. 

Visit our Prenatal Page for Current Classes:

Prenatal

Recess' offerings for new parents

New Parent Groups

New Parent Groups

Newborns

Newborn Membership

For Parents

For Parents

Questions?  Please reach out!

More Music Coming to Recess - Fridays at 10

This Spring, Mega is coming to Recess to share her musical talents (nestled into a background of Early Childhood Ed) with our community. 

Come play on Friday Mornings at 10am to meet her and enjoy this beautiful, interactive activity.

We all benefit from music in our lives. If we are exposed to music and given the opportunity to explore than no note will be out of reach. Just as a child needs to be exposed to books for literacy, children need to be exposed to live music to play it, enjoy it and try it.

Music education is similar to other early childhood classroom curriculum, it must be joyful and playful. Children play to make sense of their environment, the world they are socialized into and through play children begin to understand how they influence it.

Children need to be able to move their bodies -- and the Recess playspace is a great place to do so. It is important to allow children to feel the rhythm of each song or chant and feel the beats in their bodies. All of the activities she leads include fine and gross motor activities that are both suggested and guided.

Musical classes assist in the development of all of the developmental domains as well as overall health and wellness. Music is calming, relaxing and soothing to any soul no matter the age. During music class children utilize cognitive and language skills whenever they listen to song lyrics and repeat them back. If given a shaker and asked to repeat back a rhythm children must listen and count the beats to copy the rhythm. 

When in class with others, children have an opportunity to practice using social/ emotional skills to wait for their turn to dance in the middle of the circle, or to add a silly word to a song or to bring a movement idea to the group, as well as when the classroom group sings together to create a beautiful melody.  

Children use physical skills to do gross motor activities like hopping, jumping, stomping, twisting, etc as well as using fine motor muscles to hold a shaker, to hold hands, or to copy small body movements. Children will be active participants!

Mega Bloom began working with young children as a Naturalist ten years ago. Over the past decade, Mega has held many positions in various teaching environments from outside the classroom, teaching in gardens and the forest teaching environmental science to most recently teaching in early childhood education classrooms.  Mega has taught toddlers and preschool aged children for the past three years in Oakland, California. When interacting with young children, Mega takes notice of each child's individuality and emphasizes their creative strengths. Mega loves to facilitate music and movement activities with young children! 

Hope to see you and your children for the first class March 16th! 

Free for Anytime members - Included in Day Passes 

March Madness

Join us this month for all kinds of fun!

TUES - MAR 6, 3:30PM  Family Concert: The Singing Lizard! (1-4 Yrs)

TUES - MAR 6, 7:30PM   Introducing the Sibling

TUES, MAR 13, 6:30PM  Toddler Sleep (webinar format)

THURS - MAR 15 4 PM:  Crafternoon: Rainbows, Gold, and Green!

FRI - MAR 16, 5PM  Date Night Drop-Off (2-7yrs)

SAT - MAR 17, 10:30AM  St Patrick's Day Family Concert with Glenda Bates

SUN - MAR 18, 9 AM  Day Date Drop-Off (18-48mo)

MON - MAR 19, NOON  JAMboodas Dance Party in the Playspace (0-4y)

TUES - MAR 20, 7:30PM  Estate Planning 101: Your Questions Answered

THURS - MAR 22, 7:30PM  Parent's Craft Night: Vision Boards

Special Events

Special Events

Workspace + Childcare

Workspace + Childcare

Preparing for Preschool

Navigating the first year as a parent is no easy feat.  And then all of a sudden, you're faced with thinking about preschools, the beginnings of your child's educational journey, which can feel totally daunting!  

Luckily there are a variety of great resources to assist you in your search.  Here are our tips for an informed, but not crazy-making, search.  

START WITH A LITTLE BACKGROUND RESEARCH.

First, it's worth doing a little (emphasis on little) general research to narrow down your choices.

• Location: Between home and work is often best
• Schedule: Do you need part time, full time, how many hours?
• Fees: What is the family budget for child care?
• Philosophy: What type of program will be the best fit for your child, given who they are?

As you start to consider which school philosophies seem like the best fit for your child's personality, check out this article for a quick glance at the various approaches --there's Montessori, Reggio Emilio, Waldorf, PlayBased, Academic, and more.  

This overview from the folks at Winnie is phenomenal and will give you an overall perspective on the search, cost and options. 

ATTEND PRESCHOOL PREVIEW NIGHT

(this year, it's hosted by GGMG at the Hall of Flowers in Golden Gate Park on Thursday, September 28, 5:30-7:30pm). This event can feel a bit chaotic, as it's typically super busy and there is a wealth of information under one roof.  We recommend checking out the list of schools who will be at the event ahead of time, and then narrowing down your MUST VISIT school list to 4 or 6 schools.  

As you visit your top schools, you can get the answers you need to more specific questions about philosophies, costs, schedules, pre-admission visits and more. You'll also have an opportunity to meet and talk with parents, preschool directors and other representatives to get a feel for the school and whether it meshes with what you're looking for.

START SCHEDULING TOURS & ATTENDING OPEN HOUSES. 

Once you've narrowed down your top choices, schedule open houses or tours or orientations, depending on the school's process.  Asking questions to assess whether or not each school is a right fit for your little one is important.  Here are some things to think about as you meet administration and parents from each school.  

WHAT TO DO IN THE MEANTIME?

Precess

Precess

While you are busy identifying and scoping out the right schools, help your child begin to develop familiarity with a drop-off environment, socializing with peers and, discovering interests.

The Precess Program at Recess is a great resource for establishing the foundational skills needed for a successful transition to Preschool.  Precess, taught by Nicki McGrath, has been an amazing precursor (and even alternative) to preschool for many children over the years.  Learn More