Midsummer Madness: Beating Summer Boredom

It's about this time — roughly midway through the summer break from school — when boredom can set in for kids. Here are a few ideas to keep them happily busy.

Take Them Out to a Ball Game

The Neptune Beach Pearl, a new collegiate summer league baseball team, plays its home games just down the road in Alameda — and they are free! Players come from Division I college teams across the country and they are happy to meet fans, pose for photos and sign autographs after each game.

The team plays at Willie Stargell Field behind Encinal High School, 210 Central Ave., Alameda. Several midday and late afternoon home games are scheduled between now and July 29.

You can learn more about the team, see its schedule and get driving directions at the team website here.

If you want to eat out after a game, Alameda Patch editor Eve Pearlman recommends Otaez, a nearby Mexican restaurant with a kids' menu. Other reasonably priced choices include Mint Leaf Vietnamese Cuisine and East Ocean, especially good for a dim sum lunch.

Have a Playground Adventure

It's a bit farther away, but Adventure Playground at the Berkeley Marina in unique among East Bay parks.

Modeled on post-World War II European playgrounds, it's a place where kids can hammer, saw and build, clamber over existing structures and ride a kid-sized zip line. Park staff members lead free activities on weekday afternoons during the summer.

If you have errands or appointments in the Berkeley area, you can leave kids (ages 7 and older) at the playground for up to three hours. You'll need to have a registration form on file; click on the link above for details and for more information about the playground.

Picante, about a half-mile away at 1328 Sixth St., Berkeley, is a Mexican restaurant that's popular with families for both lunch and dinner. It has a kids' menu and two parking lots.

Give Them a Job

Families differ about whether kids should be paid for household chores, but if you have a project you'd really like to hand off to someone else, money can be a great incentive.

Depending on age, washing the car, pulling weeds, cleaning out a closet or the garage, folding laundry, babysitting siblings or preparing main dishes that can be frozen for future meals are all possibilities. For younger kids, it helps to break a project down into simple steps. For teens, figuring out how to proceed can be part of the learning process.

Learn Something They Don't Teach in School

We've all heard how important it is for children to maintain their academic skills over the summer, but sometimes big rewards come from something, well, frivolous.

If your kids show an interest in something a bit off-the-wall, encourage them to explore it and take it seriously — even if it's Hula Hoop tricks. And if they don't have ideas of their own, explore possibilities with them. With in the limelight right now, learning some sleight-of-hand comes to mind. Kids who like to cook might take responsibility for planning and making a family meal once a week.

The , the Internet and how-to books available through Amazon.com are all possible sources for inspiration and instruction.

If you prefer formal lessons, check out the summertime offerings from the Hayward Area Recreation District (HARD). New sessions of group swimming lessons begin July 18 and Aug. 1 at the  Swim Center. Other late-summer classes are offered, too. You can download a copy of of HARD's summer brochure here.

Ride the Merry-Go-Round

Kennedy Park in Hayward is a local treasure and perennial kids' favorite. The pony ride, train ride, merry-go-round and Triple Pines Ranch are open 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. during school vacation, with a bounce house on some weekends. 

An extended visit can get expensive — tickets for most rides are $1.50, the pony ride is $3, with some discounts available — but plan it right and you can escape with your bank account mostly intact. Maybe let the kids ride first, then lure them away to for an ice cream cone afterward.