Shop Small this Holiday Season

There is still time to shop small this holiday season.  Instead of turning to Amazon, support your neighbors by picking up gifts at the incredible shops right here in the city.  Here's a list of our favorites for inspiration:

ARCH Art Supplies

10 Carolina Street, San Francisco

Black Bird Bookstore

4033 Judah Street, San Francisco

Christopher's Books

1400 18th Street, San Francisco

Cliff's Variety

479 Castro Street, San Francisco

Dandelion Chocolate

740 Valencia Street, San Francisco

Little Paper Planes Shop

855 Valencia Street, San Francisco

Local Take

1371 9th Avenue, San Francisco

Monkei Miles

1523 Irving Street, San Francisco

Andytown Coffee Roasters

3655 Lawton St, San Francisco, CA 94122, United States

Recess

470 Carolina Street, San Francisco

Shop Small!

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY

November 25, 9:30-12:30

PLAY - SHOP - HOLIDAY CHEER

Small Business Saturday is a day dedicated to supporting the small businesses that anchor our local communities and strengthen our economy.

You can show your support by joining us the Saturday after Thanksgiving at Recess to get some holiday shopping done, meet new local small business owners and let the little ones burn off some steam!   

9:30-12:30:  Small Business Saturday - Pop Up Holiday shopping and Play in our front Studio Space!  DIY Gift Wrap Station, Mimosa Bar and Goodies, too.

9:30-12:30: Toy sale -- all toys are 10% off AND if you buy $25 in the Recess store, you can stay and play for free.

9-1pm:  Indoor Play ($20/family) with MUSIC TIME class in the playspace at 10-10:30am.

VISITING VENDORS

Lalee Kids is a heritage brand rooted in handwoven textiles. Our clothing is developed using socially and environmentally compliant practices in all steps of the production. We promote slow fashion and uphold fine craftsmanship while fairly compensating the artisans who weave our textiles and manufacture our clothing. We strongly believe the earth is finite and the choices we make give us a chance to preserve it for the future generations to enjoy. 

Melinda Gail is a bohemian spiritual accessories company for women. It began when Melinda was undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She sketched angel cards and sewed bags to bring to chemo sessions. Other patients caught on, and a business was begun. A portion of all proceeds go to local Bay Area Young Survivors and Cleaning for a Reason. The collection includes angel kits, bags, shirts, candles and crystals. The goal of Melinda Gail is to remind women of their spirit and the divine help that surrounds them.

Wee Wild Ones are designed to make decorating for your own kids fun and easy, and to let you give that thoughtful, unique gift for parents-to-be you've been imagining but can't seem to find. 

S w i n g  is a modern, delightful & elegant jewelry line made in San Francisco.  Everyone needs a little Swing in their life!

LuLaRoe is a California company that specializes in women's clothes in sizes 0 to 22. Comfortable, classy, affordable and unique! Only 5,000 pieces made in each print and size so every shipment is original. Start with the butter soft leggings and fall in love with the tops, skirts and dresses, some with pockets! 

Beautycounter creates safe and effective skin care and cosmetics for women and their families. We meticulously screen our ingredients for safety, so your beauty rituals come with peace of mind. Beautycounter is on a mission to get safe products into the hands of everyone. 

GOODIES! 

CRAFTSMAN Coffee:  We are a small batch, artisan coffee roaster passionate about bringing specialty coffee into Pacifica, CA. We are proud to serve the community by making each cup perfect. Coffee rituals should be enjoyed by everyone and are experiences to knit our community together!

Recess invites you to enjoy the Mimosa Bar, snacks, and get into the holiday spirit with ONEHOPE Wine.

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

Especially for Moms: Healthy Meals & Nutrition Framework

Guest post by Sri Bodanapu

Being a mom is hard work! While we focus on ensuring our families are well taken care of, we often tend to neglect our own nutrition needs. And as we know, lack of proper nutrients can lead to a variety of health conditions such as fatigue, stress, weight gain and blood sugar problems. Nutrition can impact how we feel, how our bodies function and our ability to lead a high quality life.

So let’s simplify your nutrition needs by using the Bauman College’s Eating for Health Model.  You need protein to maintain/build our muscles and organs, healthy fats to maintain cell integrity, complex carbohydrates as a source of energy and many essential vitamins and minerals to regulate metabolism, blood sugar and cholesterol.

Depending on your health goals, macronutrient ratios can be adjusted so you get your desired nutrition levels. As an example, perhaps you want to work on blood sugar management? In that case, you could increase your intake of clean fats like avocado, flaxseeds, cold water fish, and nuts and lower your intake of carbohydrates. Or you might want to build muscle in which case you would increase your intake of protein from legumes, meat, eggs and simultaneously decrease your intake of the other two macronutrient groups.

Let’s start by using this simple matrix to build your meals. And once you have your ratios figured out, use the cheat sheet below to quickly plug in the relevant ingredients depending on what suits your palate. Also pump up your intake of booster foods which are nutrient dense and have many health promoting properties.  
 

Eating for Health Model*

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Eating for Health Ingredients List*

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Fine Tuning Your Plan

A second step to optimizing for your nutrition is to focus on any additional needs your body has and increase the intake of specific nutrients. Moms often complain about stress, fatigue and gut health. Here are some important nutrients to address those issues.

Stress

Magnesium
A magnesium deficiency may play a strong role in disrupting the body’s stress system. Best sources are leafy greens, sea veggies, black beans, pumpkin seeds and flaxseeds.

Zinc
It is considered to be a ‘resiliency’ mineral and plays a part in controlling the brain and body’s response to stress. Best sources of food are oysters, red meat, pumpkin seeds, split peas, sesame butter and nuts like walnuts, almonds and pecans.

Fatigue

Iron
1 in 4 women is iron deficient which makes low iron a leading cause of fatigue. Beef liver, ground beef chicken and turkey (use grass fed meat as much as possible) are great sources of iron. For a vegetarian diet eat more lentils, leafy greens, kidney beans and blackstrap molasses.

B12
A deficiency in B12 can be caused by low stomach acid, GI issues and often a vegetarian diet. B12 is mostly found in animal proteins and as such not bioavailable in the vegetarian diet. If you are a vegetarian, the best sources are seaweed, spirulina and nutritional yeast. And apple cider vinegar is a great way to boost that stomach acid and increase the absorption of B12.

Gut health

Fiber
It is extremely important as it improves motility and helps eliminate toxic compounds. A diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables is key to increasing fiber intake. Taking a combination of soluble and insoluble fiber is important since it not only helps with a consistent bowel movement but also reduces chances of other conditions such as cardio vascular disease and blood sugar dis-regulation.

Probiotic support
Increasing 'good' bacteria will help restore the balance in the gut. Lactobacillus acidophillus and Bifidobacterium infantus, can help heal a compromised gut. Great food sources are yogurt, kefir, tempeh, and fermented vegetables like kimchi and sauerkraut.

As you can see, there is so much that can be done to improve your health. Start small. Make one little change, practice it for 3 days and then add to it. Set yourself up for success so you feel motivated to do more! Eating healthy is not hard - it just takes some planning and can definitely be implemented into your lifestyle!

Interested in learning more?
 

4 week workshop starts September 22

Join us for an informative and timely class on health and nutrition! Participants will learn the tools necessary to better their health, energy, and performance in the workplace and beyond. Topics such as eating for health, weight management, complex carbohydrates, clean proteins and healthy fats and weight management will be covered in this 4 week workshop. Each class will be one hour long and include a 30 minute lecture, a healthy homemade snack and plenty of time for questions!

Two participants will be offered 4 individualized nutrition consultation sessions and will receive a personalized health plan that includes diet and lifestyle recommendations based on their health and wellness goals!

Cost: 4 week series $40/non-member, $35/member

About the Author and Workshop Instructor: Sri Bodanapu is currently finishing up her Nutrition Consultant degree from the Bauman College of Holistic Nutrition. She has worked in the food industry in a variety of roles and is a firm believer that food can heal and make us thrive. From soaking to fermenting and packing meals with nutrient dense ingredients like nuts and seeds, she believes there are many easy ways for us to eat better. Sri is a mom to a 1.5year old and in her free time obsesses about what to make for her family's next meal.

Questions? Email vaishnavib@gmail.com

*Eating for Health model and Eating for Health Ingredients List adapted from the Bauman College of Holistic Nutrition.

** The purpose of the article is not to provide medical nutrition services, or treat a disease. Rather, I educate people on the benefits of a healthy lifestyle to improve their quality of life.