WHAT: Seasonal table cloths


DETAILS:  Tired of paying big bucks for cute holiday table clothes? Make your own out of a bed sheet and fabric paint.

AGES: 2 ½ and up. When we started doing these shortly after Little Guy’s second birthday, he wasn’t that interested. He is now.

HOW IT WENT: The guys have a blast, and they love showing off their work to visitors. The first one was a fish theme, for summer. In early October, we did autumn trees on a burgundy sheet. I painted the trunk and the guys applied the leaves. Hand-print turkeys would work well for Thanksgiving, and preschools could handle Christmas trees and snowmen as well.

COST:  Shop for the sheets on sale and you often can find a single flat twin for $7 or so. Fitted sheets also will fit our kitchen table, so I’ll pick up a set for $11 at times. Fabric paint runs $1.50 or so a bottle. You’ll also want brushes, which sometimes they’ll even use. There’s also the cost of clothes forever ruined – you didn’t expect fabric paint to wash out, did you?

This week's offering is from Bee staff writer John Holland. His children are 2 and 4.

WHAT: Tenth Street Place and Modesto Centre Plaza

WHERE:  Tenth and K streets, Modesto

WHEN:  Anytime

DETAILS:  In the heart of downtown, this is a mostly car-free place where kids can splash in several fountains and run around amid movie-goers and office workers and street dwellers. Rosa, my 4-year-old, loves the idea of walking freely in the middle of what used to be 10th Street before this block was closed off. Two-year-old Annie has splashed in the Tenth Street Place fountain in summer and winter. She has no patience for the philistines who think it is an ugly piece of modern art. Across K Street, in front of Centre Plaza, are grass and more fountains, plus steps up to what used to be a closed-off area.

WHAT: The California State University, Stanislaus campus

WHERE: 801 W. Monte Vista Ave., Turlock

HOURS: Any, though late Sunday mornings in August get a little crowded, as every youth sports league in the southern half of the county heads there for pictures. Not that I blame them – it’s a photogenic location. In fact, it’s where we had our wedding pictures taken.

DETAILS:  The  campus is about as family-friendly as a place can get without being an actual park. In many ways, I prefer it to a park because it’s so unstructured. There’s nothing there that tells them how to play, other than their imaginations. The amphitheater is a great air concert venue. The knolls near the ponds make for great mountain climbing. The wide-open spaces are wonderful runways and race tracks. And when they want to chill for a while, there are shady picnic tables and ducks clamoring for bread.

This week's suggestion is brought to you by Bee director of information resources Melissa Van Diepen. Her children are 5 and 3.

WHAT: Saturday trip to the Modesto Certified Farmers Market

WHERE: 16th Street between H & I

WHAT: Resendiz Fruit Barn

WHERE:  4342 Geer Rd, Hughson – corner of Geer and Santa Fe

WHEN: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily

DETAILS:  There’s a playground, a fish pond, a petting zoo and all the fresh fruit a kid can stuff in his face. There’s even an adjoining railroad track, and trains regularly zip by. That’s a huge attraction for boys of the “Thomas” age. Most of all, there’s room to run and play. That makes Resendiz Fruit Barn a great “destination” for a quick, low-maintenance outing with small fry. For adults, there’s a coffee and pastry bar, plus a chance to chill while the young’uns run amuck outdoors.

Bee photographer Joan Barnett Lee, whose son is 4, offers a suggestion for this weekend and throughout the summer.

WHERE:  Various Stanislaus County library branches

WHEN: Continuing through Saturday at:

11 a.m. Thursday, 550 Minaret Avenue, Turlock
2:30 p.m. Thursday, 1305 Kern St., Newman;
4 p.m. Thursday, 46 North Salado Ave., Patterson;
1:30 p.m. Friday, 4420 Maud Ave., Keyes;
3:30 p.m. Friday, 2250 Magnolia St., Ceres
11 a.m. and noon Saturday, 1500 I St., Modesto
2:30 p.m. Saturday, 4835 Sisk Road, Salida

WHAT: Picnic at Graceada Park

WHERE: 401 Needham St., Modesto

DETAILS:  It’s cheap, it’s close and it gives the kids a chance to let off steam. What’s not to love about an afternoon in Graceada Park? We headed out fairly late – had to wait until after Little Guy’s nap – so we didn’t get much time in the wading fountain. Packing the picnic gave Big Guy something to do in between asking every five minutes, “When’s he going to wake up? When’s he going to wake up?”

HOW IT WENT: Fantastic. This was on a holiday weekend, so the park was busy, but not unbearably crowded. Plenty of activities to keep the kids amused, from the wading fountain to three sets of playground equipment designed to serve different ages. I liked this part best – the kids could challenge themselves on set-ups meant for older children, or they could chill out on gear designed for their age.