Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in silicon valley, CA

Like most parents, you probably treasure the bedtime story you read with your child every night.  But there may be times when your throat is sore.  Or you've already read twenty stories to your child.  Or you just need a break.  Whatever the reason, there may come a night when the thought of reading Dr. Seuss out loud makes you want to tear your hair out by the roots.  Fear not.  Here are some perfectly acceptable alternatives to reading a bedtime story:

1)  Play a story
I don't mind relinquishing reading duties to a book-on-cd once in a while; I can still snuggle up with my kids and I get to close my eyes to boot.  Besides, Jason Alexander and David Hyde Pierce , or Kelsey Grammer and John Cleese are waaaay better at reading Dr. Seuss than I am (No, really.  Even I like listening to them).  Sometimes, if it's a book they've read many times before, my kids like to kick me out, turn the lights off and listen in the dark.

2)  Make up your own story
Making up a bedtime story of your own can be a lot of fun.  You can lie down with your kids and tell it to them in the dark.  You can make it as silly as you want.  It doesn't even have to be a good story; they'll enjoy it anyway.   You can also turn the tables and let your child tell you a story.  Or make up a story together. 

3)  Go to a pajama storytime. 
Turn your regular bedtime story into a special occasion by attending an evening storytime at your local library.  It's even more fun for your kids if they get to go in their jammies.   Practically every city library in Silicon Valley has at least one regular pajama storytime. Here is a sample:

* Mondays at 6:00 pm: Fair Oaks Library (in Spanish)
* Mondays at 7:15 pm: Downtown Redwood City Library
* Tuesdays at 7:00 pm: Redwood Shores, San Jose's Biblioteca Latinoamericana (in Spanish), Milpitas, and Cupertino libraries
* Wednesdays at 7:00 pm, San Jose's Alviso Branch Library, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library and Vineland Branch Library (in Spanish)
* Thursdays at 7:00 pm, Los Altos Library

So get those bunny slippers, grab those blankies and go!