Best of the East Bay - Kids

Where to celebrate a birthday, buy a party dress, or get your kids science fair help.

Photograph by Joe Budd

(page 2 of 3)

► Science Buddies

► Swim Lessons

► Social Network for Girls

► Kids Bath Products

► Party Place

► Summer Camp

► Dress Designer

► Kids Dance Lessons

► Nursery Décor

► CD for Babies

► Science Camp

► More 2009 Kids Reader Picks

▼
Summer Camp

Reader Pick

+ If your daughter dreams of being a veterinarian or your son loves training your dog, they might want to learn more about their animal friends at Camp ARF in Walnut Creek. Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation offers weeklong half-day camps for every age and interest, teaching the basics of pet care. For older students, there are ARF’s volunteer training camps and courses that introduce them to veterinary careers.
2890 Mitchell Dr., Walnut Creek, (925) 256-1273, arf.net.  —Martha Ross

▼
Dress Designer

Editor Pick

+ Even before she got the Malia Obama election-night boost, Bernadette Reiss had cemented her position as the designer of choice for tween girls who need a special-occasion outfit. For 22 years, her Oakland-based firm, Biscotti, has specialized in creating romantic dresses for girls. Like the bubble-hemmed red taffeta Malia wore the night her father won the presidency, they are made with high-quality fabrics and eye-catching details.

With her dresses available in stores across the country and in Europe, Reiss' business has been good enough to launch baby, boys, and girls swimwear lines in recent years. But Reiss remains the expert in what girls want a dress to be: hip, but also simple, pretty, and modest.
biscottiinc.com.  —Martha Ross

▼
Kids Dance Lessons

+ Like most dance schools, Funkmode’s slammin’, jammin’ hip-hop classes are mostly packed with girls. But we were impressed that the Pleasant Hill school offers one of the most unique dance classes around. It’s for boys only and teaches them to break-dance.

"Mighty," the self-taught b-boy who leads the class, says boys need a class with more spontaneity and fewer rules. Funkmode cofounder Cara Young says the class builds boys' confidence. The boys lose any shyness as they perfect their moves, which they show off in solos during the dance “battle” that ends each class.

As 11-year-old Foxx Molinari of Benicia says: “I like how you can be free to express yourself without having to explain anything.”
1948 Oak Park Blvd., Pleasant Hill, (888) 386-5663, funkmode.com.   —M.R.