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Kids' Adventures Around San Francisco Bay
"This is definitely a great resource!
Kids' Adventures Around San Francisco Bay
will certainly be an indispensable guide for our family."
- Kristi Yamaguchi
Olympic Gold Medalist, Figure Skating
“Following and Leading Kids!
Elina Wong's dedication to developing her daughter's full potential led her to fill Alexandra's life with experiences that are available to everybody in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a diligent parent she busily took her child to as many mind expanding places and fun classes as she could find. And she found a lot of them, so now you can also use her discoveries to do the same for your children. Children's minds are sponges that soak up what they experience, and Elina made certain that Alexandra's mind was filled with stimulating and educational events. Importantly, kids, being kids, absorb and retain material better when it is presented in a fun way. Look on it as planting seeds that have the potential to grow and develop a brain to its best capacity. You too may find these many and diverse gems of interest. By educating our kids we educate ourselves. If nothing else it certainly is an inexpensive cure for boredom! Whether you are local resident or a tourist, you will find this work stimulating and fun, just as it is for your kids.”
- Glenn Austin, M.D., F.A.A.P.
Past President, the American Academy of Pediatrics
Author of 4 parenting books
"Summer Reads & School Prep
...there's a real point to its back cover blurb, "Follow your child's passion ... all around the Bay."
Los Gatos author and parent Elina Wong has an eye for the helpful detail (e.g., there's an index of free activities and careful notes about such necessities as bathroom and stroller access), but it's her choice of adventures that makes the book. Children who love to swim will find information about swim schools and clubs, as well as public pools, and would-be aviators can discover where to see live air shows. Despite limited funds, do you want your budding musician to hear all the live music she can? Wong includes several pages of free concert venues, along with contact information for a variety of youth symphonies and other ensembles. And she covers a lot of bases in between: fauna, flora, insects, astronomy, and other scientific matters; transportation of all sorts; fine, applied, and performing arts; historical outings; and sports and conditioning; plus almost 100 pages of related classes and workshops..."
- Parents' Press
August 2004
"Family Matters: New books on weekend adventures..."
Bay Area fun
"Children learn through play" says longtime Bay Area resident and author Elina Wong, and her new book is a testament to this.
"Kids' Adventures Around San Francisco Bay" (Kids EdVentures, $16.95) is well organized and bursting with fun ideas and friendly advice.
Wong's book covers activities in the East Bay, Peninsula, Silicon Valley, Santa Cruz and the North Bay and is full of the details parents count on. She answers practical questions such as: Is there food? Can I bring a stroller? Do I need quarters for parking? And the really important one -- is there a bathroom?
Wong provides Web sites that show visitor maps and destination details. She includes information on children's theater, ice skating, bowling, parks, museums, historic missions and music and art classes.
Wong also lists local libraries and recreation departments and suggests tours at companies such as the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield and the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company in San Francisco.
Best of all, free activities are listed at the back. "
- ANG Newspapers:
(Bay Area Living section of: Oakland Tribune, Tri-Valley Herald, San Mateo County Times, Argus, Daily Review, Marin Independent, Alameda Times Star, Vallejo Times Herald)
July 15, 2004
"ABCs of Summer vacation..."
(click here to read more)
- San Francisco Chronicle
(Friday Sections of: Silicon Valley, East Bay, & SF, Peninsula editions)
May 14, 2004
"Los Gatos Author Cultivates a Love of Art and Science
Elina Wong, Los Gatos resident and mother of two young girls, is a firm believer that children learn through play. They explore their world, test their theories about how things work, and learn through all of their senses. With this in mind, she started looking for field trips and resources in the Greater Bay Area that would cultivate her children's love for the arts, nature, sciences, history, and the pure joy of learning.
Her fun family outings led to Kids' Adventures around San Francisco Bay: Educational Places to Go, Things to Do, and Classes to Take in the North Bay, Peninsula, East Bay, Silicon Valley, and Santa Cruz. This lively new book can help parents and educators introduce children to new things and support their learning through the area's vast array of exhibits, events, performances, outings and classes.
"I've lived in the Bay Area for over 25 years, and I'm still finding new experiences and resources, especially now that I have become a parent," Wong writes in her introduction to the 380-page guide to everything from farm visits to swim teams. "Some of these I learned from other moms I've met who provided insider's tips to the abundant resources in our community."
The book is organized with an educational focus to help readers find resources, outings and classes based on educational goals. For example, there is a chapter entitled "Animal Kingdom," which includes trips to zoos, wildlife museums and marine life centers. The chapter on "Transportation Favorites" guides parents
on renting boats, visiting a train museum and attending an air show.
Another section provides information on the availability of music, drama, science, swimming, gymnastics, ice skating, and bowling classes for kids.
Wong, who is a former product line manager in the health care industry and a former market researcher with Apple Computers, has thoughtfully included a travel check list, calendar index and a round up of free activities for parents on a budget. The book's interactive Web site, www.KidsEducationalAdventures.com, provides additional links and reviews of kid-friendly places and organizations."
(Side bar with book info & book store events)
- Bay Area Parent
(Silicon Valley, East Bay, & SF/Peninsula editions)
April 2004
"Feel like you and your kids have done everything there is to do in Northern California? Think again. Elina Wong's Kids' Adventures Around San Francisco Bay is likely to become any parent's new favorite resource, offering countless suggestions for fun and educational activities for children of every age."
- Diablo Magazine
March 2004
"Get out: Pick pluots in Brentwood, rent rowboats at Lafayette Reservoir, cruise Oakland Harbor in FDR's yacht, tour Fairfield's Jelly Bellies factory: Elina Wong's Kids' Adventures Around San Francisco Bay (Kids EdVentures, $16.95) is more fun for the postpubescent set than its title suggests."
- East Bay Express
March 2004
"Residents of the San Francisco Bay Area will welcome Kids' Adventures Around San Francisco Bay: Educational Places To Go, Things To Do, And Classes To Take In The North Bay, Peninsula, Silicon Valley, East Bay, And Santa Cruz, a book packed with ideas for visits and repeat visits to Bay Area attractions which are kid-friendly. The attractions chosen here help kids to learn new things, covers the entire Bay Area, and includes related follow-up activities to reinforce learning. These attributes plus an attention to budget-minded trips makes this a much more accessible travel guide for the entire family."
- Midwest Book Review
January 2004
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