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How To Host Your Own Super Fun Children's Reading Party, Just Like We Did
Author Suzanne Lang talks to children about a certain Grumpy monkey.
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Louis Felix
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LAist
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The communities around Southern California have been vital in how they’ve informed our early childhood coverage over the years.
Last year, though, we decided to offer something new that families could enjoy together. And that’s how we created Super-Fun Saturday — a morning of infectious fun, with bilingual readings, performances, singing, dancing, and art for children 5 and under and their families.
For our second annual Super-Fun Saturday, we partnered with more than two dozen community partners, along with several local Los Angeles authors and performers, for an event that drew more than 700 people to our Pasadena headquarters.
If you couldn’t make it this year — or if you did and just want to relive the memories — then we’ve compiled a recap here for you. Use it as inspiration to make your own Saturdays … super fun!
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Have storytime in English, Spanish, and Mandarin
There are countless benefits to reading aloud with kids— from helping babies bond with their caregivers to building a toddler’s vocabulary.
The Super-Fun Saturday readers brought us stories with lessons in colors, shapes and identifying — and embracing — emotions.
We also made a point to feature multilingual readers because more than half of California kids live in a home that speaks a language other than English and there are many benefits to being bilingual.
Lulu Cheng is one of the parents who have led the charge here in L.A. to bring new perspectives to children’s books that better reflect today’s multicultural kids.
Cheng is the co-founder of local bilingual children’s book publisher Bitty Bao along with fellow mom Lacey Benard.
Grow your home library
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Throughout the story we include links to purchase these titles through MiJA Books, a local independent bookseller that partnered with LAist for Super-Fun Saturday. You can find many of these books at your local library— for free!
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Since 2020 Bitty Bao has published more than a dozen board books in English, simplified and traditional Chinese.
Cheng read Dragon Boat Festival, which uses the celebration’s trappings to teach the basics of shapes.
Create your own fearsome — and colorful! — vessel at home with this printable activity.
Juan Moreno originally created El Pato y Sus Zapatos for his family— and to celebrate his own love of sneakers.
“It was something I never thought would be published,” Moreno said.
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But local bilingual children’s book publisher Lil’ Libros took notice and brought the book to a larger audience in 2023.
With this craft, your little one can practice decorating and tying their own paper shoe.
We heard not one, but two stories about everyone’s favorite pouty primate — Grumpy Monkey Yuck! and the forthcoming Too Many Bugs.
Jim Panzee helps kids and adults alike make peace with life’s grumpier moments in a series that includes board books for the littlest readers and Spanish translations.
Author Suzanne Lang writes the series and husband Max creates Jim’s signature scowl— which you can turn into a wearable mask.
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The Colors of Us highlights the many different shades of brown skin from peanut butter to peachy tan.
Actress Zuri Miles read this book through LAist’s partnership with Multiracial Americans of Southern California.
FOMO? No need! Try out these activities at home
There were a ton of super-fun happenings throughout the event — a lot of which you can recreate on your own!
We had a little music corner with a ton of tiny instruments where kids rocked out on the drums or jammed on the key-tar.
It's never too early to learn how to rock a keytar.
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Stefanie Ritoper
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LAist
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“We want the kids to feel free to like experiment with the sounds and, the way the instruments feel and you never know, I think maybe someone is going to discover that they love music here and I think we're gonna, you know, they're gonna say, you know, I really want an axe and I really want to rock,” said music station creator Caitlin Biljan. “I just hope it captures the spirit of what a joy it is to listen to music, but also to perform for an audience.”
There were tons of arts and crafts with items you can find in your home, like:
- This coffee filter butterfly that Options for Learning had.
- You can host your own toddler dance party like Encore Music & Performing Arts.
- Or listen to tunes by LoveBug & Me.
The Office of the Young Child Pasadena created an art station at Super-Fun Saturday 2024.
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Stefanie Ritoper
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LAist
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Plug in! Find partners in learning
If you want to catch up with any of the vendors and community organizations who were at Super-Fun Saturday, here’s who was there:
- Autry Museum of the American West is a museum in Griffith Park that features stories of all peoples of the American West. The Autry is also home to one of the largest collections of Native American materials in the United States. (Good timing: It hosts the American Indian Arts Festival this weekend, June 8-9).
- Bewilder is an outdoor education company that blends art, games, storytelling, and gear to inspire busy families to spend time outside. Kids climbed into the camping tent they set up onsite to make wildflower seed bombs.
- Bread Lounge graced Super-Fun Saturday with the very necessary coffee and pastries. Based in downtown L.A., they sell a wide range of fresh bread and pastries daily, including croissants, danishes, and Jerusalem bagels.
- CurlyKids, a product line for children with curly hair, was at Super-Fun Saturday braiding kids’ hair.
- The Discovery Cube is a SoCal museum with a mission to instill a passion for sciences in kids.
- Encore Music & Performing Arts, based in San Marino and Pasadena, provides music lessons, theater classes, and summer camps.
- LoveBug & Me provides music classes to SoCal toddlers, often accompanied by LoveBug, the puppet.
- Mutiracial Americans of Southern California builds community and advocates on behalf of multiracial families.
- Metro co-sponsored Super-Fun Saturday, offering free fruit cups from Rosita’s fruits to anyone who took public transit to the event.
- MiJa Books showcases multicultural and diverse children’s books and helps indie and self-publishers to reach a greater audience. MiJa invited all the authors who were featured at this year’s event.
- Options for Learning assists families regardless of income in locating licensed child care free of charge. If you want to keep the party going, they will also be holding a Summer Kick-off resource fair next Saturday, on June 8, with games, activities, and resources.
- Pasadena Office of the Young Child, run by the City of Pasadena, shapes Pasadena’s vision for early childhood policies and services. One resource they shared was Pasadena Public Library’s 1000 Books Before Kindergarten campaign, which shares gifts to families as they log the books they read with their children.
- Pasadena Playhouse, a theater that has been in Pasadena since 1917, taught kids how to juggle with scarves.
- Quality Start Los Angeles shared resources to support families in developing their child’s abilities to speak multiple languages as part of their initiative to support dual language learning.
- Self-Help Graphics was onsite screen printing Super-Fun Saturday bags for families. Founded in 1973, Self-Help Graphics supports Chicana/o and Latinx artists through workshops, cultural events, and youth outreach.
- Southern California Children's Museum, based in Pasadena, hosts interactive exhibits, creative experiences, and dramatic play at their facilities and collaborates with local schools and organizations.
- Vivi’s food truck was right outside, serving up Colombian eats.
Make a photo album to capture memories
It's always good to take some photos. Here are some of our favorites from Super-Fun Saturday.
Making faces at Super-Fun Saturday 2024.
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Louis Felix
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LAist
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Getting some art experience at Super-Fun Saturday 2024.
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Louis Felix
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LAist
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Getting some music experience at Super-Fun Saturday 2024.
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Louis Felix
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LAist
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Ms. Alison of Encore Music and Performing Arts teaches children some moves.
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Louis Felix
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LAist
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Children learn a dance routine at Super-Fun Saturday.
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Louis Felix
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LAist
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Dinosaurs are super fun!
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Louis Felix
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LAist
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Families out at Super-Fun Saturday 2024.
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Louis Felix
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LAist
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LAist's Super-Fun Saturday featured bilingual readings, art tables, and may lead to a few future musicians.
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Stefanie Ritoper
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LAist
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Author Juan Moreno reads from his book El Pato y Sus Zapatos.
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Louis Felix
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LAist
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Sign up for a super-special newsletter
Our Early Childhood newsletter features all our recent stories, plus links to things we’ve read elsewhere that we think will speak to parents. And it has event listings! The people who subscribed to the newsletter, along with our LAist members, were among the first to know about Super-Fun Saturday.
Education editor Ross Brenneman contributed to this article.
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