Shrek + Monsters and Miracles: A Journey Through Jewish Picture Books = Kids Off The Couch

Most kids haven't a clue that the green and stinky ogre that has clumped his way through their childhood sprung from a spare and pithy children's book. Chances are, your kids have seen (or will soon see) Shrek Forever After -- the fourth and final sequel to Shrek that is currently ruling the box office. What better way to kick off discussion about summer reading lists than to remind the kids that some of their favorite on-screen heroes sprung from the pages of books? From Shrek to Harry Potter, to Twilight and The Bourne Trilogy, literature is the source of many wonderful screen experiences and these days, a love of reading starts with great book illustation. A new show, Monsters and Miracles: A Journey through Jewish Picture Books, offers Shrek-lovers the chance to meet the ugly, but confident, ogre drawn by author and illustrator William Steig. The show, which is open in Los Angeles at the Skirball Cultural Center through the summer and travels to the Eric Carle Museum of Art in Northampton, MA from October 2010 to January 2011, includes seminal artwork from Maurice Sendak, Eric Carle, Mordicai Gerstein, as well as illustration from contemporary authors, such as Lemony Snicket and David Goldin. With iPod Touch stations around the exhibit, and ceiling-sized book spines that cleverly divide the galleries, you'll think you're in book heaven. (Click here for Summer Reading Tips, more about author and illustrator William Stieg, and details about two of our favorite museums).

Kids Off The Couch - Talking to Your Kids About John Wooden (1910-2010)

Quotes to Live By "Sports do not build character. They reveal it." Much will be said over the next few days about the wisdom imparted by legendary UCLA coach John Wooden, whose winning record (10 championships in 12 years) and memorable statements influenced generations of athletes. Wooden's Pyramid of Success has been used by countless coaches, as well as adopted by business motivators. Naturally, many of his teachings are readily translated to parenting. After all, athlete after athlete has said that Coach Wooden "prepared them for life". Spend a little extra time with today's Sports section to read up on the lessons learned by the players he influenced. And, tuck a few of those quotes away! We're sure they'll come in handy as you coach your kids through life. Click here for a nice list of John Wooden quotes, and click here for an LA Times article from last year's celebration of Wooden's 99th birthday. And finally, click through these photos of Wooden's life and spend a few moments celebrating a life well lived. Have a great weekend. Kids Off The Couch If you like what we do, please tell a friend to sign up! info@kidsoffthecouch.com www.kidsoffthecouch.com

My Fair Lady + New York's Chelsea Market = Kids Off The Couch Road Trip: Flower Power in NYC

The Merry Month of May is made for celebrating mothers and the bountiful blooms of Spring. What better way to combine the two than by winging off to New York City for a special visit to Chelsea Market? The market, located in an old Nabisco factory, explodes with New York's finest -- fresh fish, remarkable flowers, scrumptious bakeries, clothing and kitchen supply shops, and exotic food stands. Our cinematic inspiration was My Fair Lady, the classic musical starring Rex Harrison as a linguistics professor who transforms a Cockney-accented flower girl into a lady. Dazzled by Audrey Hepburn's sunny turn as Eliza Doolittle, we headed to the refrigerated flower rooms at the Chelsea Wholesale Flower Mart, and delighted in copious floral splendor before heading out to forage among the many food vendors in the cavernous building. After everyone gathered their favorite lunch treats, we headed out into the daylight and clamored up to an extraordinary elevated garden walkway called The High Line that afforded views of the Hudson to the West and fun peeks down the art-filled streets in the Meatpacking district, and West Chelsea. Securing a seat for a Sunday morning picnic required a bit of Eliza's gumption but once settled, we spread out in the sunshine, nibbled on freshly baked muffins and practiced our best "rain in Spain" imitations. Happy Mother's Day to all! Click here for more about the Market and the High Line, an elevated walkway that stretches through the neighborhoods of Chelsea

Kids Off The Couch - The May Radar Screen

May is for Mothers

Here's what we want for Mother's Day. You can forget the spa, or the brunch at a fancy restaurant (we'll be full from breakfast in bed, after all). Just get us out of the house for some Q-time all together as a family.

As for the rest of May, get your teacher gifts together, finalize those summer plans and then... put your feet up. You're going to want to rest up for the schedule-jangling, camp-trunk-packing and medical-form-filling out days of summer.

Mother's Day: Our favorite Mother's Day gift is to have a tree planted in our honor by TreePeople.

It's a good, green way to express your enduring love - any time of year. We also love the idea of spending Sunday morning at the Hammer's free screening of Little Women, and catching an al fresco brunch at Wolfgang Puck's Hammer Cafe. If you want the more traditional fete, click here for a list of brunch specials around town, or go to tea at a fancy Beverly Hills Hotel (Hotel Bel Air is still closed for renovation so try Tea at the Montage or Afternoon Tea at Bazaar by Jose Andres). For a truly memorable afternoon, get some fresh air at The Descanso Gardens where Mother's Day will be celebrated all weekend. Kidspace also has a Mother's Day Spa and activities for youngsters.

Weekend Highlights - May 8-9: The Santa Monica Festival takes place this Saturday, from 11:00am to 6:00pm at Clover Park. Come listen to music, eat local food and relax. If you bike to the event, you can be entered to win a new set of (two) wheels - and there is a free bike valet to help you keep your day green. Families with younger children will prefer motoring over to the National Train Day, celebrated this Saturday at Union Station. Free, all day long.

Strawberry Festival: If you are a Farmers' Market groupie, you know it's strawberry season, and time to celebrate all things berry at the California Strawberry Festival. Festivities take place over the weekend of May 15-16 in Oxnard and Strawberry Shortcake is the Official BerryFest Princess of Strawberryland for Kids (the theme park portion of this foodie-fest).

One Better than Baywatch: A national arts project called Portraits of Hope is working with local schools to transform the lifeguard stations along our CA coastline. Starting May 10, you'll find cheerful, flowery guard stations sprinkled along the beaches. Click here for information about this public art project.

What's Up, Chuck? The Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences has a fun new exhibit about the prolific genius who created Bugs Bunny and his friends. Chuck Jones: An Animator's Life from A to Z-Z-Z-Z is free, and opens May 14. Worth a browse with your animaniacs.

Art Watch: The new

Monsters and Miracles show at the Skirball Cultural Center presents classic illustrations by beloved artists such as William Stieg and Maurice Sendak, with iTouch stations where children can hear celebs reading books aloud -- this is a gorgeously presented show for anyone who loves to read. If photography is your thing, check out the Annenberg's Water: Our Thirsty Planet, and don't miss Tasteful Pictures at The Getty Center, scrumptious images of food, glorious food!

KOTC Reader Suggestion: A KOTC subscriber, Laura Sympson, came up with this clever idea for a Popcorn Adventure. Take in the new animated film, The Secret of Kells and embark on a weekend at LA's Renaissance Faire. The Renaissance Faire takes place each weekend in the spring (until May 23); here's our take on bringing kids to these fairs. We've had our eye on this film for some time (the film's website is worth a visit) and will alert you when it's on DVD.

Creature Comforts: The Bug Fair at the Natural History Museum is a leggy extravaganza with special programming throughout the weekend of May 15-16. The Pavilion of Wings will be open as well (it's a rite-of-spring in our home) so while you're looking at the spiders, don't miss the chance to have thousands of butterflies land on your shoulder and head - a blissful experience. And, before it gets too hot to hang out in the deep valley, check out the Wildlife Learning Center in Sylmar.

For Parents With a Moment to Spare: The Venice Art Walk and Auction takes place over the weekend of May 22-23 and offers wonderful Art and Architecture tours of Rustic Canyon and areas of Venice and Santa Monica. Ticket prices apply; event benefits the Venice Family Clinic.

Concert Watch: Lots of great music coming our way in the next few months, especially for tweens and teens. There's Glee - Live In Concert at Universal Amphitheater, May 20-22. South Pacific opens on May 27 and runs through mid-July. And Rent comes to the Hollywood Bowl for three nights, August 6-8. It's a good time to look over the whole summer schedule for the Bowl. Kids will love the Bugs Bunny at the Symphony and a sing along Sound of Music (September 25).

Please Give: Nicole Holofcener's new film, Please Give, captures the mood of mothering a teenage girl better than anything we've read or seen. You'll never be able to purchase a pair of blue jeans for your daughter without thinking of Catherine Keener's struggles with parenthood and... liberal guilt. Presuming that some of you worry about these things, check out Women for Women International, a phenomenal organization that pairs women like us with women in war-ravaged countries; our financial and emotional support can help another woman change her own destiny. Click here for more information about a Mother's Day gift that really counts.And, Mom? No one appreciates all that you do more than we do. (With gratitude and apologies to our male readers!)
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Water: Our Thirsty World + Donating to Water Charities = Kids Off The Couch

To commemorate Mother Earth on her birthday (April 22), we turn to one of the planet's most pressing issues - the availability of fresh water. The current National Geographic magazine, Water: Our Thirsty World, explores the social, religious and cultural uses of water around the globe, and demonstrates how diminishing water supplies affect communities, people and animals. Our kids are pretty good about basic earth-friendly practices but the disparity between the abundance of water in our lives and the shocking lack of clean water for many families around the world made our household conservation efforts feel like a drop in the bucket. How could we redouble our efforts to help others? With the help of the National Geographic website, we found fabulous charities deeply committed to helping those in need and set about trying to raise funds to make a difference. From organizing school fund-raising efforts to substituting a birthday gift with the gift of clean water for someone else, we are trying to incorporate an awareness of this pressing need into our daily lives. Now, that's something to think about in the shower. (Click here for more on the magazine and for our list of charities that specialize in water issues).

Kids Off The Couch - The March Radar Screen

We were mourning the end of the Olympics ("Oh, Canada!"), but now that the weather has changed, we're all about finalizing spring break plans!

All About Alice: Tim Burton's 3D extravaganza, Alice in Wonderland, is turning the competition topsy-turvy at the box office, and we're having some fun examining why Lewis Carroll's nonsense has enjoyed such longevity in the public's mind. We loved hearing an NPR story over the weekend about the mathematical metaphors in the children's tale. Turns out, Carroll used a story he'd written about a girl called Alice as a diatribe against the increasing abstraction in Algebra. Funny - our tweeners complain about that, too! For more on Carroll (whose real name was Charles Dodgson), we love Dreamchild, an elegant film that imagines the famous story's creation from Alice's point of view, and includes characters like the Mad Hatter played by Jim Henson puppets. While you're engaged in all things Alice, why not take the chance to compare Burton's film with Disney's classic 1951 animated version? Or a wonderful adaptation from 1933 that stars Cary Grant, Gary Cooper and W.C. Fields -- in heavy costumes -- considered by many to be the truest adaptation of the novel. If you're interested in a literary approach to the text, try The Annotated Alice: The Definitive Edition and, for an old stand-by birthday gift for the wee set, we love the Pop-Up version of the book.

Water, Water, Everywhere: Did news about our near miss with a tsunami make you think about surfing? Check out a new film starring Kelly Slater called Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D, playing at the California Science Center's IMAX theater. While you're there, check out museum's completely re-figured Ecosystems exhibit -- opening March 25. (Tickets required, so click here for Timed Entry passes).

Seasonal Eating: Sunday marks the start of Persian New Year, so grab some yummy rice and kabobs at our favorite spot, Javan. If your household is trying to consume less meat, you'll appreciate the exuberance of March 20th's Meatout.

Dance at the Music Center: March 20 marks the latest free Family Programming at the Music Center with

Bolivian and Equadorian dancers. Get your tickets on the plaza downtown for 11:00 AM and 12:30 PM shows -- free!

LA Story: The story of high school math teacher (and local hero) Jaime Escalante was made famous by the film Stand and Deliver. Click here for our Popcorn Adventure on this excellent film, that stars Eddie Olmos. Escalante has recently contracted bladder cancer, and has been back in the news lately as his current and former students are rallying to support him, both financially and emotionally.

His Beak Can Hold More than his Belly-Can! Our boys were doing a beach clean-up for Heal the Bay last weekend, and were startled to see so many dead Brown Pelicans. We turned to the International Bird Rescue Research Center and discovered that recent storms have, for some reason, affected this breed in staggering numbers. The IBRRC has been treating hundreds of pelicans but needs help feeding them while they're under care -- pelicans eat a lot of fish! You, or your child's classroom, can help them by adopting a pelican.

Manuscripts Are In: The Secret of Kells was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards, and we suspect it will make a brief stop in local theaters soon. We recommend it as a cool introduction to The Getty Center's latest manuscript exhibit Building the Medieval World (March 2 through mid-May), which explores architecture -- castles! -- in the medieval world.

DVD Notes: Three fun films came out on DVD recently. We liked Disney's Ponyo, and thought Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs was a fun take on one of our favorite books. Coco Before Chanel tells the story of Coco Chanel's rise to fame, and Audrey Tautou is a perfect fit to play fashion's original and most famous icon -- best for teens or adult fashionistas.

More Ice and Snow! Kids love tracking the Iditarod, Alaska's famous sled-dog race, online and TODAY marks the day when the first mushers cross the finish line. Click over to read our

Popcorn Adventure - we paired it it with the fabulous animated tale Balto -- or go to the official Iditarod Race site. Or, if your kids revved up about ice hockey during the Olympics, be sure to check out Miracle, based on the US v USSR game in the 1980 games.

Finally: If you liked the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, check out the movie - it opens on March 19. Click here for our Popcorn Adventure about the books.
Kids Off The Couch
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Kids Off The Couch - Helping Kids Help Haiti!

It's not easy for children to understand the devastation that has been visited upon the people of Haiti. Most of us are wondering how much to share with our kids, or how to react to whatever news they are getting at school and from the media. Here is a helpful article to help you decide how to discuss the Haitian crisis with your family. In general, it's best to be honest about how you are feeling, keep the explanations simple and focus on the positive stories of how people all over the world are raising money to help.

It's a powerful lesson for kids to learn that they can help, too. Just in our neighborhood, kids are organizing parties and charity walks to raise awareness and funds, and our school is sending shoes this weekend to Sports Chalet (click here for details). Tune in on Friday night for a Haiti Relief concert on MTV organized by George Clooney but don't wait until the weekend to make your donation.

Here's how to give: KCRW has a full listing of all the organizations that they recommend, with a helpful description of each. Choose the one that touches your heart, and give generously. Our researchers tell us that The Red Cross is the best place to give, and we also always support Doctors Without Borders.

Text Your Donation: Since the devastation just a week ago, a record amount of money has been donated through text messaging. This technology was used by Europeans during the tsunami relief, but is just now being used in America. It's so simple, it's revolutionary for the world of giving! Simply text the words below to the numbers listed, and the charges go to your phone bill. The Red Cross - Text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10Yéle Haiti - Text "Yele" to 501501 to donate $5 (Haitian Hip Hop star Wyclef Jean's charity)

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