Counting the Days to Summer to Keep Kids Off The Couch

Even though school is almost out, Angelenos know better than to expect beach weather before July. Here are some ways to keep busy until you start hankering for sand-between-the-toes.

Big Ideas for This Weekend, May 2-3: When does running a lemonade stand count as community service? When the proceeds go to children's charities, as they do during Big Sunday's The Big Squeeze: Kids to Help Kids Lemonade Stand. After having been been civic minded, you'll feel good about shopping at Unique Los Angeles, an independent design and gift show that donates 50% of your ticket price to charity. Find that Mother's Day gift!

Speaking of Mother's Day: Just in case your link to the Freaky Friday screening at the Hammer didn't work yesterday (apologies!), here it is again, with an enthusiastic reminder that the original Jodie Foster version of the body-switching story (1977) is an ideal way to connect with your kids on Mother's Day.

All Things Annenberg: We are hoping to visit the Annenberg Community Beach House before the madding crowds realize just how fabulous this sleek, modern spot is -- the public beach house just opened on the grounds of the old Marion Davis estate along PCH in Santa Monica (reservations required for Family Day pack at $24.00 plus parking at $8.00 on weekdays and $10.00 on weekends.) Kids will love the interactive touchscreens and cool modern spaces of the Annenberg Space for Photography in Century City. We think it provides a chance to talk about quintessential LA topics, like the LA Riots and our obsession with the movies. (Admission is free; park under 2000 Avenue of the Stars for $3.50 during the week and $1.00 on weekends with validation).

Get Your Tickets Now! Here are two good reasons to get downtown soon: The Lakers are in the second round of the playoffs and Ziggy Marley is performing "What is Reggae", a Family Concert from the Grammy Museum at Nokia Live on June 6 -- act fast, this is nearly sold out! Click here for a recentLATimes article about ten great places to eat downtown - some new, some tried and true.

Fruitiful Bounty: Strawberries are in season and practically leaping off the farm stands -- large, plump and juicy. Spend a day at the California Strawberry Festival (May 16-17 in Oxnard; get your tickets online); here are some cooking tips on making delicious shortcake! To pick local cherries, you have to check with the orchards on a weekly basis in May (click here to learn more) but you can also help gather local fruit and distribute it to soup kitchens with Food Forward, an LA-based grass roots effort to alleviate urban hunger.

Polish Up your Manners: Elbows on table? Texting during dinner? Get those kids straightened out before visiting the grandparents this summer by dropping them into the Beverly Hills Manners Camp (one week each, June 22 and 27, for kids ages 6-12).

Get Some Fresh Air: We are signed up to ride our bikes in the Acura LA Bike Tour the morning of the LA Marathon (over Memorial Day Weekend this year). Here's our report after last year's ride. And, if you haven't introduced your kids to the simple pleasure of hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains, now is the time; Eastsiders will appreciate having a snack along the trail in Griffith Park at The Trails.

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Kids Off The Couch