by Jeri Dansky

All Aboard! The song “Little Red Caboose” inspires a train dance at Ms. Kitty’s Harmony Road. Photo: Kitty Rae.

What is there for kids to do on the coast this summer? A lot! While the following listing is far from comprehensive, it gives you an idea of the wide range of resources available.

Parks and Recreation Departments

The Half Moon Bay Recreation Department has its Make Me a Pro camps for soccer, baseball, cheerleading and flag football. There’s also the Hoop Dreams basketball camp, and camps specializing in many other sports: surfing, kayaking, lacrosse, tennis, volleyball and golf. Beyond sports, there’s Lego camp, a new Kids Make Movies class, a new magic class, and much more. For more information, call 650-726-8297 or visit tinyurl.com/hmb-rec-dept.

© Dario Diament | Dreamstime.com

The Pacifica Parks, Beaches & Recreation Department has a wide range of offerings, including Adventure Camp, Wet and Wild Water Camp, and field trips to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Great America, Raging Waters and more.

The department also maintains the city’s many parks and beaches. Frontierland Park has barbeque pits and plenty of space for a family picnic. Sharp Park Beach also has picnic facilities. There’s also the Pacifica Skatepark.

For more information on the department’s many offerings, call 650-738-7376 or visit www.cityofpacifica.org/ depts/rec_department/.

State and County Parks and Beaches

© Dgrilla | Dreamstime.com

Año Nuevo State Park, south of Pescadero, has the wonderful elephant seals; the walk out to them might be long for little ones, but kids and adults alike love the seals. For more information, call 650-879-2025 or visit www.parks.ca. gov/?page_id=523.

Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach has tidepools and docent tours. For more information, call 650-728-3584 or visit tinyurl.com/ycuxr89.

Half Moon Bay State Beach has picnic facilities and a campground. For more information, call 650-726-8819 or visit www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=531.

Libraries

The Pacifica Library (Sanchez branch) has a number of storytimes — for babies, toddlers and preschoolers — and even a pajama storytime. There’s also a Mother/Daughter Book Club for girls ages 8-11 and a Mother/Daughter Older Girls’ Book Club for girls ages 12-14. For more information on any of the library’s program, call 650-359-3397 or visit www.smcl.org.

The Pacifica Library (Sharp Park branch) also has a number of storytimes — for babies, preschoolers and families. For children age 6 and up, there’s the monthly reading-to-dogs program called Paws for Tales — a fun way to practice reading skills! For more information, call 650-355-5196 or visit www.smcl.org.

The Pacifica libraries also have a monthly movie-and-games event for young adults; this event alternates between the two branches.

© Monkey Business Images | Dreamstime.com

The Half Moon Bay Library will have something special for children almost every day during the summer: crafts projects, performers and more. Popular programs include musicians, magicians, puppet shows and wild animals. Another summer program is Teen Tuesday — a special teen-focused event each week at 2 p.m. For more information on any of the library’s programs, call 650-726-2316 (extension 223) or visit www.smcl.org.

And all the San Mateo County libraries will have special summer reading programs for both children and teens. There’s a theme each year; this year, the theme is “water.”

Farm Visits

Harley Farms in Pescadero, with its award-winning goat cheese, provides tours for school groups and others by reservation only. You can even milk a goat! Call 650-879-0480 or visit www.harleyfarms.com/tours.php.

© Nadezhda Bolotina | Dreamstime.com

Phipps Country Store and Farm in Pescadero has a barnyard with a variety of animals and birds. From May through September you can pick your own berries. Children under age 5 (and seniors age 60 and up) can visit for free; there’s a charge for others. Call 650-879-1032 or visit www.phippscountry.com.

Swimming and Surfing Schools

Jetty Betty offers private surf lessons for beginners, mostly in Half Moon Bay but sometimes up the coast at Montara Beach or Miramar Beach. For more information, call 650-455-8141 or visit jettybetty.com.

La Petite Baleen in Half Moon Bay offers classes for children ages 2 months and up. Call 866-896-3603 or visit swimlpb.com.

© Marzanna Syncerz | Dreamstime.com

Open Ocean Surfing provides surf camps through the Half Moon Bay Parks and Recreation Department, as well as private lessons. For more information, call 650-867-0315 or visit www.openoceansurfing.com.

Surf Camp Pacifica provides surf camps for kids and families, and also has birthday packages. For more information, call 650-245-2924 or 650-245-3188, or visit www.surfpacifica.com.

Art

Clay Creations in Pacifica has open studio pottery painting, classes for kids, clay camps for kids ages 7-13, and advanced clay camps for ages 12-15. For more information, call 650-557-0683 or visit www.claycreationspacifica.com.

Fly on the Wall in Half Moon Bay offers a variety of summer art camps. For more information, call 650-726-8125 or visit www.flyonthewallartist.com.

Music, Theater and Dance

© Kate Clark | Dreamstime.com

Harmony Road has a variety of summer programs, including music camp for kids ages 5-8 and keyboard classes for ages 5-17. For more information, call 650-728-8637.

The Coastal Theatre Conservatory has a summer conservatory program that teaches children backstage skills — set design, lighting, costuming and more — as well as giving them an opportunity to perform. For more information, call 650-726-0628 or visit www.ctchmb.com.

The Susan Hayward School of Dance in Montara has a dance and theater arts camp for ages 5-8, 8-12 and 12-16. For more information, call 650-728-7519 or visit www.shayward dance.com.

Science and Technology

Sea Crest School in Half Moon Bay is offering four week-long science camps for children in grades 1-5 as well as classes such as High-Tech Math and Radical Robotics. For more information, call 650-712-9892 or visit www.seacrestschool.org/html/ summer_program.html.

Sports, Martial Arts and More

Group biking on the beach with Coastside Children’s Program Camp 2009. Photo courtesy of Coastside Children’s Program.

The North Coast Hockey League provides youth roller hockey in Half Moon Bay. For more information, call 650-244-4635 or visit www.coastsiderollerhockey.com.

Shintaikido of Pacifica provides martial arts training for children ages 4 and up. Classes are available Monday-Thursday afternoons and Saturday mornings; there’s also a camp program Aug. 2-5. For more information, call 650-355-7661 or visit www.shintaikido.com.

Coastside Children’s Programs in Half Moon Bay runs an Exploring the Coast summer camp program; the kids will do some gardening, explore beaches and tide pools, and much more. CCP also offers a summer sports camp. For more information, call 650-726-7413 or visit www.coastsidechildren.org/summer-program.html.

Hopefully this list will help you find educational and entertaining activities for your child — for this summer, and beyond.