Ready Reading Library is a bilingual library opened in October 2016 by two mothers, Mia Wang and Jane Fang. The space has lockers, a café, two classrooms that host arts and crafts activities, an arena for story tellers, and an outdoor space. Ready Reading also sells kids’ toys. A one-year membership costs RMB 1,280 and includes unlimited book borrowing throughout the year, 10 books borrowed at a time, online book ordering and free delivery/pick up, a 20 percent discount on new books, and an entrance ticket per session discounted to RMB 100. A single entry ticket includes access to the reading library, two cups of free coffee, unlimited stay for the day, and entry for one child and two adults.

Open daily, 9am-6pm. Guanghua Lu Soho, Level 15, Block 1 No.22 Guanghua Road, Chaoyang 朝阳区光华路SOHO一期一单元15层，光华路南侧，都是圈的那个楼 (5368 5569)

Peekabook Library was launched by two Chinese-American mothers and includes a vast collection of English language children’s books. The founders of the space are based in the US and bring children’s books to China with the goal of exposing children in Beijing to more Western books in an affordable way. At Peekabook, a full-year membership costs RMB 800, and half the year, RMB 500. The library also rewards kids for returning books, giving them RMB 1 each time. Membership also includes Chinese and English reading sessions twice a day and crafts classes in the afternoon.

Open Tues-Sun 9.30am-8.30pm. Room 203, #1 Building, Bishui Community, WanliuZhonglu, Haidian 海淀区万柳中路碧水云天社区1号楼底商302室 (8256 7276, WeChat: Peekabooklibrary_WL)

Our Little Library is tailored towards toddlers aged 1 to 4 years. The library hosts baby storytimes twice a week from 10-11.30am, Tuesdays for 1 to 2 year olds and Thursdays for 2 to 4 year olds. There is no membership fee and parents can sign up on WeChat and pay RMB 100 a session. Groups are small so registering beforehand is highly recommended. During a storytime, the group will engage in singing, storytelling, and will participate in other activities related to books. After that, attendees can borrow books for two weeks, paying a RMB 100 deposit which will be refunded upon their return. The library has mostly English and Chinese books and a small selection of books in other languages. The books are generally for ages 7 and below.

Open Tues and Thurs 10-11.30am. Beijing, Chaoyang, Sanlitun DRC 北京朝阳区三里屯外交公寓 (WeChat: skutella)

R3 Discovery aims to provide a space for children to read and discover the fun of learning English. Focused on children ages 5 to 12, R3 Discovery hosts reading programs for three different reading levels: guided reading, independent reading, and advanced reading. There is also a flexible schedule for weekends, seasonal workshops, and parenting talks and workshops held weekdays at 10-11am. There are no membership fees, and children go through reading assessments to find out which level reading group from which they would most benefit. Program fees are RMB 270/1.5 hrs.

Open Monday to Friday at 3.30- 5pm. InnCube, 9th Floor, Jingchao Building, No.5Nongzhan South Road, Chaoyang   朝阳区农展南路5号京朝 大厦9层众舍空间 (151 0160 5805, WeChat: R3Discovery, r3discovery@sina.com)

The National Library of China 国家图书馆 is the largest library in Asia and the third largest in the world. In addition to holding the world’s largest collection of Chinese literature and historical sources, the NLC also has a peaceful children’s section for ages 15 and below. This section boasts hundreds of English-Mandarin bilingual books as well as books for China’s minority languages. Kids can enter the NLC Children’s Library by presenting a reader’s card or valid IDs. In order to get a reader’s card, children must be accompanied by an adult and show valid ID. All publications in the Children’s Library can only be read within the NLC and readers are only allowed to take three books off the shelf at a time.

Open Mon-Fri at 9am-5pm (open in public holidays). National Library of China, #33 ZhongguancunNandajie, Haidian 海淀区 中关村南大街33号 国家图书馆 (8854 5080, webmaster@nlc.gov.cn)

Star Kids 书店 is open Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm. Room 201, Heng Tong Building, No. 1, Shun Chang Avenue, Nan Fa Xin Town, Shunyi 顺义区南法信空港物流园顺畅大道1号恒通大厦201号  (84727131, WeChat: StarKidschina, www.starkidschina.com, alex@starkidschina.com)

Page One 叶一堂 has a wide variety of Chinese and English children’s books, at one point selling the Hunger Games book series. For addresses, hours of operation, and contact information, please refer to www.pageonegroup.com

The Poplar Kids Republic 蒲蒲兰绘本馆 provides kids with English language books that can help foster an appreciation for stories and language learning. Open daily 10am-7pm. Rm 1362, Bldg 13, Jianwai Soho, 39 Dongsanhuan Zhonglu, Chaoyang 朝阳区东三环中路39号建外Soho13号楼1362 (5869 3032)

The Bookworm 老书虫吧 hosts Bookworm Kids Club sessions every weekend. On Friday mornings from 10.30-11.30am, kids aged three months to 2 years can join in mom and baby activities. On Saturday mornings starting from 10.30am, children aged 4 to 10 can join the Bookworm for storytelling and crafts. The Bookworm has Chinese and English children’s and young adult books. Open daily from 9am to midnight. Courtyard 4, GongtiBeilu, Chaoyang 朝阳区工体北路4号院 (6586 9507, peter@chinabookworm.com)

Foreign Languages Bookstore 外文书店 has a wide variety of English books, mostly for ages 4 to 5. Open daily 9.30am-9pm. 235 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng 东城区王府井大街235号 (6512 6911, bxwjsjb@public.bta.net.cn)

Sisyphe Bookstore has a wide variety of English language books including National Geographic Kids magazine, Captain Underpants, and picture books. Open daily 10am-10pm. L1 Building 1, Solana Mall, Chaoyang Park, Chaoyang 朝阳区朝阳公园蓝色港湾国际商区1号楼L1（14号线枣营站A出口）(5905 6490)

Photos courtesy of Ready Reading Library and R3

In a bid to make our inside pollution days happy ones I decided to start a collection of arts and crafts tutorials, that can be done at home with the kids. All the art supplies will be sourced from online stores so parents don’t have to brave the pollution. I am a big fan of kids craft that both look cool and are usable. A crafty child is a happy child, and a happy child is a happy life.

This time I wanted to do some textile stamping. I bought some cotton napkins here. Napkins are woven tighter than kitchen towels, which makes napkins more suitable for textile stamping as the paint won’t blur. I choose a dark blue textile paint that matches the interior of my kitchen.

In this craft adventure I made use of an old kitchen towel to prevent paint from spilling onto our table. This craft is better for older kids as you don’t want the paint getting on their hands. My daughter is almost 4 and still rolls naked through paint. The art of textile stamping was a bit lost on her. I, however, found a new pastime and had a blast stamping the fabric.

I found a great website explaining how to paint textiles. The website said that it is best to wash and iron the fabric first before applying the paint. However, since I was not as prepared as the woman from the website, we did not end up following either of the first two recommendations. Either way, I tend to live on the wild side of life and like to wing instructions and see what happens.

After the stamping phase it is important to iron the fabric (again) to set the paint. We did do that, as I was scared that I would paint the inside of my washing machine. It is best to iron the other side with a cloth in between the iron and the cloth so as to keep the iron paint-free. Afterword, the fabric can be washed and used as napkins or tea towels. These fantastic arts and craft towels or napkins would make make perfect gifts for grandparents

Pauline van Hasselt has been working for beijingkids since October 2016. Born in Wassenaar, The Netherlands, she moved with her husband and her 3 year-old daughter to Beijing in June of this year. Prior she lived in the Netherlands, Belgium, Paraguay, Texas, and London, studying and working as a chef. Pauline enjoys biking around Beijing, finding markets and new restaurants, reading crime and fantasy books in bed, and most importantly, turning her house into a home for her family.

As summer slowly passes, kids in Beijing are doing their best to get the most of these hot days. And while some of us can only move outside with short breaks in air-conditioned spots, younger generation is feeling pretty enthusiastic for all kinds of activities. Skateboarding is a favorite sport for many children, and if the words Caballerial, McTwist and ollie are more than just words for you and your kids, then this is the right place to spend a weekend afternoon!

The Beijing International Fashion Sports Park is extremely popular among Beijing skaters. The previous name of the place, Woodward Skate Park, may be more familiar to Beijingers as it was renamed about a year ago. Still, the park offers a great variety of sport facilities, including BMX freestyle, dry land snowboarding, and skateboarding. The skateboarding facilities are on spacious outdoor and indoor areas with all kinds of ramps that can satisfy the requirements of everyone from newcomers to professionals. There are also some food booths, from where you can safely film your child making his or her first grinds.

The park is open every day 9am – 5.30pm, with the last visitors entry at 5pm. There are no age restrictions, and no time limit after purchasing an entrance ticket (RMB 100). A tip from the experienced Beijing skater, Uni You,
“Bring kneepads and a helmet, as there might be problems with renting them on the spot.”

The Beijing International Fashion Sports Park is located in Weigongcun subway station. Address: Xingming Lake Resort, Weishanzhuang, Daxing District北京市大兴区魏善庄镇 北京星明湖度假村内; phone 010 8923 1818/+86 10 8923 1818. We were also told that the location might be a bit tricky to find at first – so better upload its location in advance or make sure your data is topped up.

Photos: Uni You, bjxmh.com 

Kids can spend hours, especially in the summer, creating artwork on the sidewalk using colorful chalk. However, have you ever heard of mess-free sidewalk chalk? It doesn’t exist!

But Sean Kelly, an Art teacher at Beijing International Bilingual Academy (BIBA), was inspired to think outside the box and come up with a ‘mess-free’ substitute that’s super fun. He enlisted Nathan Yu, a student in Grade 1, to help him create something practical, environmentally friendly and easy to use. They call it the ‘Sidewalk Sponge Brush’: the age-old Chinese art of calligraphy fused with the western tradition of sidewalk chalk! It was an instant hit with Nathan who mastered it in minutes. He showed off his artistic abilities with elaborate scenes, and later challenged Kelly to a race to see who could finish spelling out their name on the sidewalk first. Needless to say, Nathan won!

It’s a simple idea which does not involve staring at a screen; instead, it encourages kids to be outdoors creating something fun, working together with their friends to make landscapes and little scenes or write messages to each other. Kelly was inspired by the water-based sidewalk calligraphy we typically witness in and around Beijing. We all know that children love to use water in any kind of play. Bringing these two ideas together, the Sponge Brush is a perfect tool to keep kids busy and entertained.

Estimated time:
10 minutes

Suitable for:
Age 4+

Materials:
• An old broom or dust pan, or alternatively a PVC pipe
• A plastic bottle, cut in half (assisted by an adult)
• A stiff sponge
• Duct tape
• Bucket of water

Instructions

1. Take an old broom or a dustpan and unscrew it, to get a good size pole. Alternatively, you can use a regular PVC pipe, and cut it to the appropriate height.

2. Next, take an old plastic bottle and cut it in half across the middle.

3. Duct tape the pole to the mouth of the cut bottle. If the sizes don’t quite match, use a filler such as plasticine or blu-tack before binding them together with duct tape.

4. Get a sponge that’s bigger than the diameter of the bottle (it works best if the sponge is stiff). Stuff the sponge into the open space of the cut bottle. You’ll need to squeeze it in and it should hold itself in place without any glue or binding agent.

5. Finally, trim the tip with a scissor to give it the appearance of a giant paint brush, with a nice point on the top. Voila! Your nifty little Sidewalk Sponge Brush, is now ready to put to use to create your next masterpiece!

This article originally appeared on page 30-31 of the 2016 June-July Issue of beijingkids magazine. Click here for your free online copy. To find out how you can obtain a hard copy, contact distribution@truerun.com.
Photos: Dave’s Studio

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My son, John (13) was impressed with the big red Porsche hanging on the wall when he, my husband, Kevin, and daughter, Julia (10) walked into U-Speed Kart Event Center in Chaoyang District.  They were all anxious to get into their own cars, or go-karts, but it was a Saturday afternoon and they had to wait 40 minutes to get out on the track.  While they waited they played foosball (RMB 60) in the game room and sucked down Cokes.  From the second floor, they gazed down from the glass windows onto the 350m track to watch people drive, and crash.  That proved to be very entertaining.

When it was their turn to drive, Julia, who was wearing flip-flops, had to change into slippers that the center provided.  She told Kevin that next time she’ll remember to bring her running shoes because the center didn’t have her size (the slippers were too big).  Some of the women customers, who were wearing high-heels, had to change into the slippers too.  When Julia climbed into her kart she could reach the  pedals but an employee from U-Speed put a pillow behind her back to make her ride more comfortable.

On the track, Kevin and the kids had a blast racing.  “The coolest part was racing each other and then comparing times,” John said.

When they were done racing the center gave them a printed time sheet showing them how many laps they did and how fast they went. The kids took the time sheets home as souvenirs.  “It was kind of expensive,” Kevin said, “but it was a great way to spend an afternoon with the kids.”

RMB 110 for 6min (non-members), RMB 77 for 6min (members), RMB 200 (yearly membership), RMB 1,280 (14 rounds with one membership card and a pair of gloves). Mon-Fri 1pm-1am, Sat-Sun 11am-1am. 1 Siyuan Bridge, Jingshun Lu (near Courtyard by Marriott Beijing Northeast Hotel), Chaoyang District (8472 9399, 136 0128 1318, rockqoffroad@yahoo.com.cn) www.u-speed.com 朝阳区四元桥一号(京密路进京方向辅路四元桥旁）