BEST
Children's Program

ART HOUSE KIDS

Art House Kids is a fine-art studio offering creative art to children ages 2 to 15 and older, as well as adults. Classes include Little Picassos, a parent and child class, Art Explorers for preschoolers and kindergartners, Masterpiece Studio, an after-school class for children ages 5 to 12, adult evening workshops, art-themed birthday parties, and outreach art history and fine-arts curriculum for local schools and the community. There is also a cartooning class with nationally syndicated political cartoonist Scott Willis.

Co-owners Marylea Adams and Julie Stover teach the classes and described them as technique-based, rather than crafty. There are tables for free art exploration and a cozy corner for painting, too. A bright-blue painting wall serves as a great place to create a piece of art, and projects often focus on the works of different famous artists each day. The bright green and orange walls are cheery, and the colorful buckets of paint and brushes seem to invite children to put on an apron and become artists.

Art House Kids, www.arthousekids.com, 1043 Lincoln Ave., 408.975.9987.

BEST
Place to Take Kids

HICKLEBEE'S

A walk through the doors of Hicklebee's takes children into the world of their imagination, where books come alive. From Peter Rabbit and his friends, Corduroy the bear, Curious George, the Boxcar children, the Velveteen Rabbit or Clifford the Big Red Dog, this bookstore has it all. And if it doesn't have the book in stock, employees will order it.

Currently, the store has a whole section devoted to Halloween books and toys. There are also princess costumes, glow-in-the-dark stars, trucks, jump-ropes, tops, stickers and art accessories for sale, among other items, as well as a 75-percent-off hallway filled from floor to ceiling with children's literature. Children can be seen running around the store with pretend dragons, carrying Harry Potter books or lounging in a bathtub filled with pillows.

From classic fairy tales to books about how to become a pirate or the adventures of Angelina Ballerina and Spot the Dog, this bookstore can take a young child's mind anywhere it wants to explore. They also host events and autograph sessions with some of the world's best authors.

Hicklebee's, www.hicklebees.com, 1378 Lincoln Ave., 408.292.8880.

BEST
Playground

LINCOLN GLEN PARK

Lincoln Glen Park is a child's paradise, with open grassy fields and climbing structures for both older and younger children to explore. There are plenty of shady spots perfect for picnicking, snoozing, or just settling in with a good book. This is the third year in a row the park has won for best playground.

The expansive park's 6.2 acres are also fitting for birthday parties, corporate events and reunions. The bathrooms and green landscapes are well-maintained and the whole park is easily wheelchair accessible.

The highlight of the park, in addition to slides, ropes, pulleys, tunnels, wheels and hands-on interactive play areas, is a water-play station where children can soak themselves and their friends to their hearts' delight. Giant green frogs spit water every 20 seconds into a sand pit perfect for castle building. And a 17-inch-high wall is the base of a mini-waterfall, where there's also a button youngsters can push on a pole that sends water squirting out at them.

Lincoln Glen Park is located at the corner of Curtner and Radio avenues.

BEST
Restaurant for Kids

AQUI MEXICAN GRILL

Cheese quesadillas on whole wheat tortillas, burritos, rice and bean soft tacos, enchiladas, and chicken bowls are all child-sized at Aqui Mexican Grill. The items are also all under $3, so it's an inexpensive, healthy place for parents to take their children for lunch or dinner.

The real-cowhide seats and rustic Southwestern decor including skulls and beyond-the-border metalwork are also appealing to children of all ages—in a room intended just for youngsters and their parents. In addition, there are enough booster seats and highchairs to go around as well as an outdoor-eating patio complete with a fountain.

Children can be as loud as they'd like, since general manager Richard Weld says the restaurant expects the noise and supports a family-friendly environment.

Aqui Mexican Grill, 1145 Lincoln Ave., 408.995.0381.

Best Day Care/Preschool

WILLOW GLEN UNITED METHODIST CHURCH PRESCHOOL

Willow Glen United Methodist Church Preschool serves preschool and pre-kindergarten students through a variety of different sessions on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and Tuesday and Thursday in the morning and afternoon.

The Christian-based environment is a developmental preschool focused on play, games and learning. The students participate in creative projects, board games and building social and emotional skills.

The longtime staff of 10 teachers has a small, nurturing teacher-to-student ratio of 1:8. There are opportunities for outdoor play with sandboxes, bicycles and play structures as well as circle and story times indoors and a healthy snack time, too. There are also rooms for art, blocks and music. Director Lorene Sheridan says from the moment children arrive, they are busy. And sometimes, they even cry when it's time to go.

Willow Glen United Methodist Church Preschool, 1420 Newport Ave., 408.294.6072.