Fall Fun

October is probably San Francisco's busiest month with parades, festivals, Halloween, Dia de los Muertos, and more. Be sure to get out and enjoy!

Family Festival 2007

Saturday, October 13
11am to 3pm, FREE!
Yerba Buena Gardens

Family Festival combines hours of top-notch entertainment, games, hands-on art projects, and parent resources, for a day of FREE FUN in the City.
• Families with children of all ages enjoy free carousel rides, climbing wall, jump houses, obstacle course, and yoga.
• Four hours of Entertainment on 2 stages feature a multi-cultural array of talented San Francisco children and youth.
• Hands-on Activities from 15 organizations—including the Exploratorium, KQED, and the SF Rec and Park—give kids a chance to play lawn games and create art projects.
• While children enjoy roving circus acts, face painting, and balloon artists, parents can roam Resource Fair exhibits from over 100 community-based organizations, city departments, and cultural institutions.
• Family Festival is presented by the Examiner and coordinated by the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families and is part of the season-long Yerba Buena Garden Festival.

Kids Ride MUNI Free on
October 13 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

San Francisco Unified School District
Enrollment Fair

This is your one-stop shop for all schools, public and charter, in the SFUSD. Located at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium as it is a huge event. Come support your current school or browse schools you would like your child to attend. Visit the SFUSD website for more information.

Also see our Education Page and our Public School Page for more enrollment events, links to other resources, and more.

Got a College Bound Kid?

Now is the time to start the college search if you haven't started already. Check out our Beyond High School Page for more information. Stay tuned, we will be doing some more features in the next few weeks on this issue too.

Preschool Preview Night

If you are starting to look around for preschool options, be sure to attend the 15th Annual Preschool Preview Night presented by Parents Place. Representatives from over 80 schools and 40 supporting companies will be there to help with information and guidance. Date: Wednesday, October 17, Cost: $5 per adult, Time: 5:30– 8pm,
Location: San Francisco County Fair Building (Hall of Flowers), 9th Avenue and Lincoln Way, in Golden Gate Park.

Tips for Choosing a Preschool

• Our Preschool Page for many resources and links.
• Read our Preschool Q & A by the authors of Finding a Preschool for Your Child in San Francisco and Marin.
• Tune in to the Childhood Matters radio program on Sunday, October 14, 8–9am on 98.1 KISS-FM. Nurse Rona's guests Lee Ann Slaton, Parent Education Coordinator with Parents Place in San Francisco, and Yolanda Garcia, Director of the Institute for Advancing Excellence in Early Education-WestEd, will discuss what factors should you consider when choosing a preschool and what setting is the best fit for your child? Call in and ask a question of your own!

Celebrating Halloween and
Dia de los Muertos 2007!

We have tons of listings of activities for Halloween and Dia de los Muertos on our Calendar. We also have listings of local pumpkin patches, Dia de los Muertos alters, and much, much more on our Adventures Page.

Also check out some Halloween Safety Tips on our Safety Page and our costume resource list on the Family Finds Page.

SFKids.org
Calendar Highlights

Our Family Events Calendar contains hundreds of listings of local family-friendly events, here are just a few highlights:

October

10/11-14–Octoberfest

10/13– Potrero Hill Festival

10/13–Celebrate the reopening of the Glen Park Library, 1pm.

10/20– Teen Improv by BATS at the Glen Park Library. FREE

10/27– Boo at the Zoo and Dia de los Muertos Celebration is for costumed kids and parents to check out haunted trails and creepy crawly critters. Free after zoo admission. 10am–3pm.

10/27– Family Halloween Festival at Randall Museum, 199 Museum Way.10am- 2pm. FREE

10/28–Pumpkin Pandemonium at Pier 39. Noon– 4pm. FREE

10/30–Spooky Halloween Storytime at Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Branch Library. 10am–2pm. FREE

10/31 Halloween Night!–Trick or Treat at various safe locations in SF. FREE