Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in san diego, CA

Urban Back Yard Camp Outs

by Terese Farmen

July 13, 2009

Being as urban as we are, we don't have our own backyard or ability to put up a tent and call it a night in the comfort of a fenced in yard. However, we have found some pretty creative ways to get the best the outdoor world has to offer without having to go too far from home, or even stay the night, in some cases.

We tend to put a lot of emphasis on the joy of the outdoors in our family because we are all three indoors so often with our jobs and preschool and academic lives. Even our workouts are indoors at the gym and so when the weekend comes, it is rare to find us indoors save to shower, eat or sleep.

The parks around here don't take friendly to tents or the like, so when we want to settle down for some campfire time, we head to the beach. If we really want to go the full 9 yards, we will head up to Carlsbad State Beach and reserve a camp spot practically right on the ocean (just up higher a bit). We can pitch a tent, light a camp fire, cook dinner and roast s'mores, all to the sound of the wonderful ebb and flow of the ocean's tide.

If we aren't up for a full on outdoor overnight adventure, generally we pack up our ice coolers and umbrella and head to La Jolla, Ocean Beach or Pacific Beach pretty early in the day. There we set up our umbrella, blanket and kitchen and hit the water or take a jog on the beach. When we're tired and ready to chill out, we head back to our spot in paradise, grab our towels and use a propane burner to light up our marshmallows to make some beach s'mores.

If we are even mellower then that, our other favorite "backyard" adventure is to head to Balboa Park with a yard chair each, a cooler and a soccer ball. We find a nice shady spot, run around and kick the ball a bit and drink our nice ice cold water and people watch to our heart's content.

Introducing the water conservation garden...for those unfamiliar

by Jenny Ciampa

November 19, 2008

A girlfriend of mine, who is a preschool teacher, asked me if I have taken my girl to The Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College . The what? "Take her," she declared. Her class of preschoolers went there on a field trip, the kids LOVED it. Housed on 5 acres at Cuyamaca College in El Cajon, this non-profit and eco-friendly garden is fascinating...and free. The purpose of the  Read more...

Water and Sand, Sand and Water

by Jenny Ciampa

August 01, 2008

Can you believe it is August already Weren't we all just escaping to places real and imagined here at Savvy Source? Now it's time to unpack those bags (real or imagined) and spend some time Down by the Shore. So to start us off on this seaside journey, here are some of our favorite things water and sand. I know, I know, some of you are thinking favorite thing about sand-are you crazy? If  Read more...