A Sampling of Activities to Help Fill Days During Winter Break

For many parents of children enrolled in the Los Angeles Unified School District, this is the week in which the hard reality of the extended winter break is hitting home.

Five weeks remain in the break for all single-track L.A. Unified schools. For the benefit of parents who are wondering just how to keep the children occupied, here are some suggestions.

Although the private sector hasn’t come to the rescue with as many programs as school officials had hoped, city recreation centers and public libraries are doing a lot to fill the gap.

Here’s a sampling of events that have been organized to fit the new winter break schedule. If the park or recreation center nearest you is not listed, I recommend calling. Centers are listed in the Los Angeles city government listings at the beginning of the phone book, under “Recreation and Parks.”

Brentwood--The Barrington Recreation Center, (310) 476-4866, is offering arts and crafts classes that are free or inexpensive for children ages 5 through 12.

Classes run Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and feature painting, drawing, making stained glass and other crafts.

Sports are offered there four days a week.

A nice feature of the programs is that children may drop in when they wish.

A winter camp, consisting of two-week sessions, is also in the works; call for more details.

The Barrington library, (310) 826-6579, is hosting a book club for children at fourth- through sixth-grade reading levels. They’ll read three books, discuss them, then nominate one for the California Young Readers Medal Award.

The first of six meetings will be held Jan. 21 at 4 p.m.

Venice--The Venice library’s reading program is open. Unlike other reading programs, this one offers prizes for the length of participation, rather than the number of books read, giving slower readers a chance to have a sense of achievement.

The library is also sponsoring a series of programs every Wednesday at 1 p.m. through Feb. 5. Call (310) 821-1769 for details.

Mar Vista--The Mar Vista Recreation Center, (310) 398-5982, has room in its two remaining winter camp sessions, beginning Jan. 21 and Feb. 3. The sessions feature sports, field trips, crafts and special theme days.

They run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Day care is available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at an extra cost.

A two-week session of winter camp costs $135.

The Mar Vista library, (310) 390-3454, is sponsoring a reading program that awards prizes for books completed. There are also accompanying activities every Wednesday at 3 p.m., including films, storytelling, puppet shows and book talks.

The program ends with a party Feb. 12.

Pacific Palisades--One-week sessions of winter camp at the Palisades Recreation Center, (310) 454-1412, are open for about $90 each.

The camp operates Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with extended day care offered from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Activities include sports, crafts, cooking, movies and field trips, all organized according to age groups. Classes in dance, cooking, crafts and other subjects are open too.

At the Palisades library, (310) 459-2754, a book-sharing club, intended for children ages 9 and up, meets on most Friday afternoons during the winter break. There also is a story craft program for all ages every Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. through Feb. 12.

Palms--The Palms Recreation Center, (310) 838-3838, offers a winter camp that children can attend for two, three or five days a week. Each session, featuring sports, crafts, cooking and science, lasts a week and costs $45 to $75. Extended day care is also offered.

The Palms center is also continuing its after-school club from 2 to 6 p.m. each day. It offers camp activities and academic tutoring for children in kindergarten through 12th grade, and costs about $20 per week.

The Palms-Rancho Park library, (310) 838-2157, has space in its winter reading program for children in preschool through sixth grade.

Storytelling, puppet shows and other events are also scheduled.

Westchester--Arts, sports, field trips and cookouts are on the menu for day camp at the Westchester Recreation Center, (310) 670-7473.

The sessions run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and cost $60 to $85 a week. Extended day care from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. is available at an additional cost.

The center will continue to offer its usual schedule of classes, which includes drama, martial arts and cheerleading.

At the Westchester library, (310) 645-6082, children in grades three through six may attend meetings of the library club every Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. They’ll talk about books, make murals and sew a quilt.