While our parched region may be praying for more rain, it is pretty apparent that spring has sprung. The asparagus spears are tender; wildflowers bloom, St. Paddy’s Day is here, and Easter is on its way. Celebrate the season of life with egg hunting and nest building in San Juan Capistrano, where the cyclical return of the swallows (who build their nests in the building’s eaves) on St. Joseph’s Day is an annual miracle – and something to experience at least once. Then clean out your closet for SoCal’s largest consignment sale. 

Living in Los Angeles, there's no shortage of choices when it comes to educating our children. Even so, finding a school with a unique approach to teaching, inspiring, and mentoring students can get parents truly excited about their children's education. And that's just what happened to me after a recent tour of our sponsor, Highland Hall, the first Waldorf school in the western US for children in nursery through 12th grade.

At the heart of the Waldorf approach is the recognition that children pass through distinct stages of development, and that both the subject matter and the way it is taught need to be age-specific. The focus is to engage the whole child in the learning process, with the arts integrated into every subject, using movement, music, storytelling, and rhythm to bring the material to life and make learning a stress-free process. Nature also plays an important role in students' education.

When it comes to birthday parties, I am all for the spirit of inviting the whole class. There is no worse feeling than being excluded or not making the A list, and encouraging our kids to be inclusive is surely the right thing to do. However, public school class sizes being what they are, this can sometimes be an unmanageable proposition. And most of our kids have lots of other friends from other places, too, like pre-school or extracurricular activities. If you approach your child’s party with the good intention of inviting everybody, the guest list is likely to have at least 20-30 kids on it. So, if you don't have an acre of rolling lawn behind your family estate, how is this remotely feasible on a budget? We've got 10 great ideas that don't cost a bundle.