Parenting Classes/Workshops

Free Parent Workshops at Children’s Health Council, 650 Clark Way Palo Alto. Register at (650) 617-3812, chconline.eventbrite.com or by e-mail to parented@chconline.org.

The Entitlement Battle: Raising a Selfless Citizen in a Me-Centered World

Thurs., Feb 9, 6:30-8:00pm. Parents of kids age 5-12 will learn how to provide warm, nurturing support while avoiding entitled behavior.

Esther B. Clark (EBC) School Tour

Fri., Feb. 10, 9-10am. EBC School at Children’s Health Council is a full therapeutic day school for students age 9-16 with emotional and behavior challenges. Find out what EBC School has to offer and see the classrooms in action. Students must be referred by a public schooldistrict for admission.

Angry Birds! Ways to Help Your Child Manage Anger

Thurs., Feb. 16, 6:30-8:00pm. Kids age 5-12 with frequent anger outbursts may leave parents feeling bewildered, frustrated and helpless. Learn the causes of anger, ways to stay calm and methods for decreasing problem behaviors and promoting new skills.

He’s Not Looking At Me: Autism Signs and Symptoms

Tues., Feb. 28, 6:30-8:00pm. Parents of kids age 0-5 learn the differences between the subtypes of Autism Spectrum Disorders, including Asperger’s Syndrome and others. Treatment strategies will also be discussed.

Parent/Child Workshops

Thurs., Feb. 2, 9:30am. “Stay and Play Family Learning Workshops” include activities such as art, free play, circle time and songs focusing on language development and sensory play. Workshop is free and space is limited. RSVP with the children’s librarian. Half Moon Bay Library, 620 Correas St., Half Moon Bay. (650) 726-2316

Boys and Discipline

Weds., Feb., 8, 7-9pm. Mothers (and dads) are often challenged by their sons’ behavior. Learn how to channel their positive energy, explore what is unique to setting limits with boys, and learn new strategies for positively guiding your sons. $35 with Jomary Hilliard, PhD. at Eleanor Haas Koshland Center, 2001 Winward Way, Suite 200, San Mateo, CA 94404. For info, contact Joseph Gutierrez at (650) 931-1801 or JosephG@jfcs.org. Register online at http://www.parentsplaceonline.org/node/add/class-registration?class_nid=11086.

Museums

California Academy of Sciences

55 Music Concourse Dr., Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. (415) 379-8000 or www.calacademy.org.

Snakes in Springtime

Daily at 12:30pm. How and when do limbless snakes find love? When springtime arrives, it signals the beginning of the reproductive cycle for snakes and many other animals. Learn how they charm one another; who nests and who doesn’t; which species lay eggs and which give birth to live young.

Pollination Partners: Bees and Flowers

Daily at 1pm. Pollinators like bees allow flowering plants to reproduce. Bees depend on these plants for nectar and communicate the locations of flowers to each other with dances. In this interactive program, discover how these pollination partners help one another and perform a bee-dance of your very own.

Exploratorium

3601 Lyon St., San Francisco. (415) 561-0360 or www.exploratorium.edu

Valentines’ Date Tour and Weekend

Sat.-Sun., Feb. 11-12; Tues., Feb. 14. Join guided walks through the museum’s most romance-worthy exhibits and watch film screenings, a special Valentine’s Day calf heart dissection, an inspection of “Your Family Jewels: DNA Extraction” and much more.

One Day Camp: Junk Food Science and Art

Fri., Feb. 17, 2012. 9am-4pm. Camp isn’t just for summer anymore! Get messy while discovering the science behind junk food, then get crafty and creative. This day of discoveries and hands-on making fun is for kids age 7-10. To register call (415) 561-0321.

Explorables: Science You Can Play With

Sat., Feb. 18, 11am-2pm. At the new Explorables station, activities focus on experimenting with everyday materials, discovery and toy-making. Volunteer scientists (neuroscientists, engineers, physicists, geologists), teachers, students and adults will staff the activities.

San Jose Museum of Art

110 S. Market St., San Jose. (408) 271-6840 or www.sjmusart.org.

Kids Expressive Painting Camp

Mon., Feb. 20-Fri., Feb. 24, 9:30am-4:30pm. Kids age 6-11 will learn to use composition and color to tell their story in watercolor and acrylic paint. Students strengthen their artistic capabilities and develop team skills and perception while learning drawing, painting and sculptingtechniques. All materials included. $300 per camper ($250 for Members).

Outdoor Activities

Hidden Villa

26870 Moody Rd., Los Altos Hills. (650) 949-8650 or www.hiddenvilla.org. Register at www.hiddenvilla.org/calendar.

Cheese Please

Sun., Feb. 5, 10 am- noon. Kids age 6-11 will learn how to make mozzarella cheese, search the garden for edible flowers and greens, then create their own pizza and freshly picked salad for a healthy lunch. Kids only; $35.

Ohlone Family Activity Day

Sun., Feb. 19, 2-4pm. Storyteller Keith Gutierrez recreates Ohlone Indian (native to this area) activities for all ages. Enjoy ancient games, tales of winter lore and hot cider. $10 per person.

Go Goats!

Sun., Feb. 25, 3:30-4:30pm. Ages 5 and up can feed hungry goats, milk the mama goat and learn goat facts. Children under 12 must be accompanied by a paying adult. $20 per person.

Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center

4901 Breakwater Ave., Hayward

Classes with a fee require registration; call (510) 881-6700. www.haywardrec.org/hayshore_weekends.html

Fun with Plankton

Sun. Feb. 5, 11:30am-12:30pm. See the tiny animals that make ocean life possible. Collect plankton from the marsh, watch their behavior under microscopes and hang out with some of the larger creatures that were once plankton themselves. Age 6-13. $5.

Mud Prints with Love

Sat. Feb. 11, 11:15am-noon. For a quick, easy and memorable project for Valentine’s Day, bring your toddler and help them create a muddy heart for you to cherish. Age 1 to 4. $5.

Amazing Adaptations

Sun. Feb. 26, 11am-12:30pm. Discuss some of the remarkable adaptations animals use in order to live in the marsh and other ecosystems. Focus will be on determining whether or not an adaptation is behavioral versus physical through activities and games. Age 5 to 9. $5.

Local Community Activities

Authors to Speak

Thurs., Feb. 2, 7pm. Min Green and Ed Slaterton were in love. Then they broke each other’s hearts. In Why We Broke Up, a new young adult novel by Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket), illustrated by Maria Kalman, we learn how Min and Ed met at a party, saw a movie,followed an old woman, shared a hotel room…and broke up. Free. Menlo Park City Council Chambers, 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park.

Live Sea Creatures at Hillsdale Shopping Center

Sat., Feb. 11, noon-3pm. The Marine Science Institute brings the underwater world to the monthly Kid’s Club event. Children are invited to dive in and learn about sharks, sea stars and other Pacific Ocean aquatic animals. Experts will talk about where these sea creatures live and how they survive in the ocean world around them, and invite children to create a sea 3-D mobile. Hillsdale Shopping Center, Macy’s Center Ct., 60 31st Ave., San Mateo. (650) 345-8222 or www.hillsdale.com.

12th Annual Chinese New Year Concert and Celebration

Sat., Feb. 11, 3pm-8pm. The 3pm Festival Reception is free to all ticketholders and provides family-friendly entertainment and activities, including children’s arts and crafts, lion dancing, and Chinese calligraphy, and complimentary food, desserts and tea in the Davies Symphony Hall lobbies. Concert begins at 4pm with an elegant Chinese New Year Imperial Dinner served at 6pm in the grand Rotunda at San Francisco’s City Hall. Tickets for the Chinese New Year concert and the pre-concert Festival Reception are $15-$68 and are available through sfsymphony.org, by phone at (415) 864-6000, or at the Davies Symphony Hall Box Office on Grove Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street. Tickets for the post-concert Imperial Dinner at San Francisco’s City Hall are available by calling the SFS Volunteer Council at (415) 503-5500.

Free Pancakes at IHOP

Tues., Feb. 28, 7am-10pm. In what may be the world’s largest annual pancake party fundraiser, IHOP will host its National Pancake Day at its more than 1,500 IHOP restaurants nationwide. The celebration offers every guest a free short stack of IHOP’s signature buttermilk pancakes as a way to thank them for their loyal patronage. In exchange, guests are invited to make an optional contribution to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and other local charities. To find a local IHOP, donate online or learn more about the event, as well as other events and activities leading up to the celebration, visit www.ihoppancakeday.com.

Performing Arts

Disney on Ice Meet and Greet at Hillsdale Shopping Center

Wed., Feb. 22, 3:30pm. Children are invited to join a magical star from the cast of Disney on Ice Presents Disney Pixar’s Toy Story 3 for a meet and greet. Free. Hillsdale Shopping Center, Macy’s Center Ct., 60 31st Ave., San Mateo. (650) 345-8222 or www.hillsdale.com.

Disney on Ice Presents Disney Pixar’s Toy Story 3

Wed., Feb. 22-Sun., Feb. 26, times vary. HP Pavilion, 525 West Santa Clara St., San Jose. (408) 287-7070 or www.hppavilion.com.

Wed., Feb. 29-Sun., Mar. 4, times vary. Oracle Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland. (510) 569-2121 or www.coliseum.com.

Tickets can be purchased at the arenas&rs' box offices, through all Ticketmaster retail locations or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook

Fri., Feb. 17, 9:30am and 11am; Sat., Feb. 18, 11:30am and 1:30pm. Miss Smith seems very different from Zach’s other teachers—but when she opens her magical storybook a whole world comes to life. $10. Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St.,Mountain View. (650) 903-6000 or www.mountainview.gov/mvcpa/mvcpa.html.