The School District of Philadelphia is inviting parents and guardians of prospective students to Kindergarten open houses this week. During the District’s Kindergarten Open House Week, running May 7 through 11, schools across the city open their doors so that prospective students and parents can visit and get acquainted with their neighborhood schools, ask teachers and principals questions, and even register for school.

A full list of Kindergarten Open House Week events and schedules can be found online here. Children are eligible for kindergarten for the 2018-2019 school year if they will be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2018. More information about kindergarten registration can be found here.

Science in the Park was held April 21 at Clark Park (Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Science Festival).

The Philadelphia Science Festival kicked off Friday, April 20 with tons of fun and educational events being held around the city. The goal of this annual event is to “educate, inspire, and engage the region with the science and technology that surrounds our everyday world.”

In West Philadelphia, West Philly Star Party and Science in the Park were held last weekend. This Friday (April 27), West Philly STEM-A-THON will take place at White Rock Baptist Church. More details are below.  Continue Reading

Several Easter Egg hunts will be held this weekend – at local parks, schools, churches and libraries. Check out the list below for more details. If you know of more egg hunts happening this weekend feel free to post them in the comments section below.

Saturday, March 31

West Philly Egg Hunt with 10K eggs, West Philadelphia High School (4901 Chestnut St)

11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Transform Church is hosting its first annual “Epic Easter Egg Hunt” this Saturday at West Philadelphia High School. More than 400 children between the ages of 1 to 10 years old, invited from the neighborhood and area schools are registered to attend. Youth will search for over 11,000 eggs (including 300 golden eggs) in both the outdoor field and inside the gym of the school. Additional activities including face painting, games, and prizes will be held just after the egg hunts. Event registration is still open to the public. To register, email: hello@transformphilly.church or call (484) 452-4107.  Continue Reading

It’s summer camp sign-up time already. A West Philly staple, Lavner Camps and Programs, is offering an expanded selection of specialty day camps for kids ages 6 to 15 on the University of Pennsylvania campus.

The program, which is accredited by the American Camp Association, has expanded over the last few years and now offers over 35 summer enrichment camps in sports, technology, the arts and education at 12 Philadelphia Metro area locations and 21 locations throughout the United States – in New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Maryland, Washington DC, St. Louis, Nashville and Los Angeles.

One of the first camp locations was the University of Pennsylvania, which hundreds of campers enjoy each summer.

“We started with a tennis camp geared towards junior tennis tournament players. We had lots of top ranked players in Philadelphia, Middle States, and the United States,” says Lavner Camps founder and CEO Justin Lavner, who grew up in the Philadelphia area and is a Penn graduate.  Continue Reading

Do you like chess and enjoy working with kids? Then consider this volunteer opportunity at the Walnut Street West Library. The library’s Chess Club, which meets every Wednesday from 5:15-7 p.m., is looking for volunteer chess coaches to help its young members, 6 years to 13 years of age. You don’t have to be a chess master, just patient when working with kids.

The Chess Club won the first place in the 2017 MasterMinds Scholastic Summer Chess League Championship.

The library is located at 201 S. 40th Street (corner of 40th and Walnut).

If you are interested to volunteer on a regular basis – once a month or more – please contact Mary Goldman: marylgoldman@gmail.com.

Here’s a reminder that the annual Halloween Tot Parade will be held in Spruce Hill on Tuesday, Oct. 31. As always, the parade will begin at 45th and Baltimore and end on the 4200 block of Osage Avenue (“Little Osage”). The parade is a great opportunity for families with young children to showcase their Halloween costumes (many parents are into it just as much as kids and some folks get really creative – check out photos from previous parades).

Gathering will begin at 4 p.m. outside of Milk and Honey on 45th Street and the parade will kick off at 4:30 sharp.

After the parade, Little Osage (4200 block) residents and local businesses will throw a Halloween block party with cider and baked goods.

For more Halloween events, check out our Events page. If you’re hosting an event, feel free to submit it here.