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Looking for something to keep your kids busy this summer without breaking the bank? Check out some of these summer movie programs geared toward kids.

AMC Theaters runs $1 movies during its "Summer Movie Camp" every Tuesday at 10 a.m. The Southbay Galleria 16 in Redondo Beach and the Del Amo 18 and Rolling Hills 20 in Torrance are participating this year. Here's the schedule:

June 15: Shrek The Third
June 22: Imagine That
June 29: Monsters vs. Aliens
July 6: Madagascar
July 13: Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa
July 20: Hotel for Dogs
July 27: Kung Fu Panda
Aug. 3: The Spiderwick Chronicles
Aug. 10: Surprise Mystery Title!

The Promenade Stadium 13 in Rolling Hills Estates participates in Regal Cinema's "Free Family Film Festival." Every Tuesday and Wednesday during the program, movies are free at 10 a.m. for kids and their parents. Here's the movie schedule:

June 22-23: Hotel for Dogs (PG)
Planet 51 (PG)

June 29-30: Tale of Desperaux (G)
The Spy Next Door (PG)

July 6-7: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (PG)
The Waterhorse (PG)

July 13-14: Charlotte's Web (G)
Imagine That (PG)

July 20-21: Madagascar 2 (PG)
Where the Wild Things Are (PG)

July 27-28: Paul Blart: Mall Cop (PG)
Surf's Up (PG)

Aug. 3-4: Curious George (G)
Monsters vs. Aliens (PG)

Aug. 10-11: Doogal (G)
Night at the Museum II (PG)

Pacific Theaters don't have a kids program, but they do have Monday Morning Mommy Movies at the El Segundo theater each week at 11 a.m. Movie prices and themes are for grown-ups. Here's the spiel:

Moms, Dads and Caregivers - here's your chance to see a first run adult-themed movie...with your baby! No one will mind if your baby cries, everyone will have a baby and all babies cry. So pack up your diaper bag and stroller, and we'll see you at the movies!

June 7: Sex and the City 2
June 14: Killers
June 21: Toy Story 3
June 28: Knight and Day

Family-friendly films outdoors


The City of Torrance screens family movies in some city parks for free on Saturday evenings during the summer. Bring your own popcorn, lawn chairs and blankets and see a flick under the stars. Follow the links for more info. Here's what's showing:
June 26: Shrek (Paradise Park)
July 31: E.T. (Hickory Park)
Aug. 28: Cars (Victor Park)

Redondo Beach also sponsors a similar Outdoor Family Classic Film Festival. Here's the line-up:
July 23: An American in Paris
July 30: Rebecca
Aug. 6: Run Silent, Run Deep
Aug. 13: His Girl Friday

There will also be family-friendly films at Seaside Lagoon this year. Admission is free, and the window at Ruby's will be open for snacks. Here's what's showing:

July 23: Back to the future
July 30: Surf's Up
Aug. 6: The Sandlot
Aug. 13: School of Rock

RELATED LINKS:
Database of fun stuff to do with kids in the South Bay
Database of South Bay restaurants with kids eat free deals
Calendar listings for family-friendly South Bay events

You have presents to wrap, cookies to bake and halls to deck. The last thing you need to do this time of year is stand around waiting for Santa while he takes his state-mandated lunch breaks. Here's our annual guide to Santa's office hours in the South Bay:

Del Amo Fashion Center
310-542-8525

Santa will be at the mall during business hours through Dec. 24.
Those hours are:
Mon to Fri: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Breaks from 1 to 2 p.m. and 5:15 to 6 p.m.
Sat: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Breaks from 1 to 2 p.m. and 5:15 to 6 p.m.
Sun: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Breaks from 2 to 3 p.m.

Galleria at South Bay
310-371-7546

Santa will be there through Dec. 24.
Nov. 24 and Nov. 25: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Breaks from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:15 to 6 p.m.
Nov. 27 and Nov. 28: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Breaks from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:15 to 6 p.m.
Nov. 29: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Breaks from 2 to 3 p.m.
Nov. 30 to Dec. 4: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Breaks from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:15 to 6 p.m.
Dec. 5: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Breaks from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:15 to 6 p.m.
Dec. 6 to Dec. 11: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Breaks from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:15 to 6 p.m.
Dec. 12: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Breaks from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:15 to 6 p.m.
Dec. 13: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Breaks from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:15 to 6 p.m.
Dec. 14 to Dec. 20: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Breaks from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:15 to 6 p.m.
Dec. 21 to Dec. 23: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Breaks from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:15 to 6 p.m.
Dec. 24: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Breaks from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

The Web site also has a detailed list of photo packages and prices.

Manhattan Village Mall
310-546-5555

Santa arrives Nov. 27 and stays until Dec. 24.
Mon to Sat: 11a.m. to 8 p.m., breaks at 1-2 p.m. and 4:15-4:45 p.m.
Sun: Noon to 6 p.m., breaks from 2 to 3 p.m.
The Web site has a list of packages and prices.

Promenade on the Peninsula
310-541-0688

Pictures with Santa, on two Saturdays only: Nov. 28 and Dec. 19, 1-4 p.m. each day.

Santa's main focus while he's at the Promenade is to spread the holiday cheer, so please bring your own camera so you can get your holiday pictures for free. Free pictures may be especially popular this year, so bring a candy cane snack and be prepared to wait your turn.

Plaza El Segundo
310-647-3431

Santa will park his sleigh next to Toy Jungle for one day only.
Nov. 27: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

South Bay Pavilion at Carson
310-366-6636

Santa arrives on Nov. 27 and will hang around until Dec. 24.
Mon to Sat: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sun: Noon to 5 p.m.

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So your kid wants to be the next Beckham, but you've always been more of a Michael Jordan fan. Maybe iSoccer.org can help.

The Web site aims to provide the mentors of today's soccer-playing future with tools that assess players' skills as well as technical training videos for players of all skill levels.

"Knowing what to teach and how to teach it has always been a real challenge for youth soccer coaches, many of whom are well-meaning parent volunteers who lack formal training," says iSoccer founder Scott Leber.

If iSoccer is able to produce results similar to what Leber has achieved, the investment may be worth it. He was the Gatorade High School Player of the Year, and played NCAA Division 1 soccer at Stanford, where he studied industrial engineering. Before developing iSoccer, he started an East Coast youth soccer training business.

Leber's program tailors training guides to a player's current abilities. The cost of an individual session ranges from about $7 to $12 (you get a better rate when buying a package of sessions), and a session can include anywhere from nine to 22 exercises.

Covered topics and skills include laces, passing and aerial control, and each installment can be downloaded to an iPod and taken to the field. There, players practicing on their own or with their teams can watch the skill demonstrations and try out what they've learned on the spot.

Trying to help your kid learn to dribble, despite the fact the only game you've played in the past 20 years is office politics?

There's help. Weplay.com, a Web site that helps parents and coaches organize their kids' sports calendars, has a new video library just in time for the fall youth sports season.

The site offers free training videos from star athletes like Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees; 2006 MLB MVP Ryan Howard; 2008 NFL MVP Peyton Manning; USA Softball superstar and Olympic gold medalist pitcher Jennie Finch; gold medal winning soccer star Brandi Chastain; and dozens of other professional athletes. The videos provide everything from basic skills and drills to unique insights into how the pros prepare for the sports they play.
Here's what it's got:
Baseball Drills
Basketball Drills
Cheerleading Drills
Football Drills
Soccer Drills
Softball Drills

If you want to keep your kids' minds sharp this summer, two bookstore chains might help.

In Barnes & Noble's program, kids in first through sixth grades complete a downloadable journal by reading and writing about eight books. Return the journal to a store and the child can select a free book from a grade-appropriate list.

Borders offers a similar program. Children 12 and under read 8 books, list them on a form, and then return the form to the store where they will get a coupon to buy some selected items for $4.99.

And, if you're not sure what your child should be reading, check out the state of California's reading list for Kindergarten through 12th graders. The list is sorted by reading level as based on the California English-Language Arts Standards Test.

The recession is clearly fueling the popularity of mother-oriented blogs that focus on penny pinching. But it's difficult to estimate how many there are because many female bloggers who used to limit themselves to such areas as gardening and weddings now include money-saving tips.
Jessica Hogue, research director of Nielsen Online, which has studied more than 10,000 parenting and mother-oriented blogs, believes about two dozen mother-oriented blogs that focus on frugality are influential. She ranks them based on how much chatter they garner, their volume of followers on Twitter.com and the number of times consumers link to them from other blogs, among other criteria.
Here are the top five mom-oriented blogs with a frugal focus Nielsen found most influential.

1. www.commonsensewithmoney.com:
Founder: Mercedes Levy, 34, mother of two boys, ages 4, 18 months.
Based: Sheboygan, Wis.
Background: Certified Public Accountant, holds an MBA. Stay-at-home mother. Started blog October 2007.
Focus: Rock-bottom deals.
Philosophy: "I wanted people to see that you can not only make it on one income but you can thrive on one."

2. www.5dollardinners.com
Founder: Erin Chase, 31, mother of two boys, ages 4 and 2.
Based: Dayton, Ohio
Background: Former high school math and science teacher. Started blog summer 2008.
Focus: Cooking and planning nutritious family dinners for less than $5.
Philosophy: "I buy EVERYTHING on sale and most non-produce/meat items with a coupon."

3. www.couponmom.com
Founder: Stephanie Nelson, 45, mother of two boys ages, 13 and 16.
Based: Atlanta
Background: Bachelor's degree in finance, 10 years' experience in sales and marketing with Procter & Gamble Co. and MarriottZZTO International Inc. Left corporate world 1995. Started blog 2001.
Focus: Slashing your grocery bill in half.
Philosophy: "Strategic shopping is not about changing the way you eat; it is about changing the way you buy the food you like."

4. www.moneyssavingmom.com
Founder: Crystal Paine, 27, mother of two girls, ages 4, 23 months and a boy, 3 weeks old.
Based: Kansas
Background: Stay-at-home mom, learned to live on "beans and rice budget" when husband was in law school. Started blog in late 2007.
Focus: Living on less than you make by using coupons and finding other deals.
Philosophy: "After years of scrimping and sacrifice, we're reaping the benefits now of being able to live significantly below our means because we don't have any payments."

5. www.freebies4mom.blogspot.com:
Founder: Heather Hernandez, 33, mother of two boys, ages 4,2.
Based: Houston
Background: Civil engineer. Stay-at-home mom. Started blog October 2007.
Focus: Free samples, freebies on products that families use daily.
Philosophy: "Moms deserve to be spoiled, and I help them by sharing the hottest freebies as a fun way to save money."

-- The Associated Press

The National Park Service is looking to stimulate summer vacations at national parks.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Tuesday that entrance fees at 147 national parks and monuments -- including the Grand Canyon and Yosemite -- will be waived on three weekends this summer. The weekends are June 20-21, July 18-19 and August 15-16.
"During these tough economic times, our national parks provide opportunities for affordable vacations for families," Salazar said at a news conference at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. "I encourage everyone to visit one of our nation's crown jewels this summer and especially to take advantage of the three free-admission weekends."
Most Americans live less than a day's drive from a national park, Salazar said. Last year, national parks attracted more than 275 million visits, generating an estimated $10.6 billion for local economies and supporting more than 213,000 jobs, he said.
For the Park Service, the free weekends will mean a loss of an estimated half-million dollars a day from entrance fees that range from $3 to $25. A total of 147 parks and monuments charge entrance fees; the nation's other 244 parks are already free.
Kendra Barkoff, a spokeswoman for Salazar, said the lost revenue should be more than offset by an increase in park tourism. Many tour operators, hotels, restaurants, gift shops and other vendors near national parks will offer other discounts and special promotions on the free weekend dates, she said.
The waiver applies only to entrance fees and does not affect charges for camping, reservations, tours or concessions, Barkoff said.

Looking for something to keep your kids busy this summer without breaking the bank? Check out some of these summer movie programs geared toward kids.

AMC Theaters runs $1 movies during its "Summer Movie Camp" every Wednesday at 10 a.m. The Southbay Galleria 16 in Redondo Beach and the Del Amo 18 are participating this year. Here's the schedule:

June 17: Space Chimps
June 24: Kung Fu Panda
July 1: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
July 8: Tale of Despereaux
July 15: Horton Hears a Who
July 22: The Spiderwick Chronicles
July 29: Nim's Island
Aug. 5: Star Wars: The Clone Wars

The Promenade Stadium 13 in Rolling Hills Estates participates in Regal Cinema's "Free Family Film Festival." Every Tuesday and Wednesday during the program, movies are free at 10 a.m. for kids and their parents. Here's the movie schedule:

June 23-24: Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Veggie Tale Movie (G)
Inkheart (PG)

June 30-July 1: Everyone's Hero (G)
Madagascar 2: Escape To Africa (PG)

July 7-8: Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G)
Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)

July 14-15: Kit Kittredge: American Girl (G)
Igor (PG)

July 21-22: Doogal (G)
Surf's Up (PG)

July 28-29: Space Chimps (G)
Hotel For Dogs (PG)

Aug. 4-5: The Tale Of Despereaux (G)
Nim's Island (PG)

Aug. 11-12: Charlotte's Web (G)
Kung Fu Panda (PG)

Pacific Theaters don't have a kids program, but they do have Monday Morning Mommy Movies at the El Segundo theater each week at 11 a.m. Here's the spiel:

Moms, Dads and Caregivers - here's your chance to see a first run adult-themed movie...with your baby! No one will mind if your baby cries, everyone will have a baby and all babies cry. So pack up your diaper bag and stroller, and we'll see you at the movies!

The City of Torrance screens family movies in some city parks for free on Saturday evenings during the summer. Bring your own popcorn, lawn chairs and blankets and see a flick under the stars. Follow the links for more info. Here's what's showing:
July 18: Back to the Future
Aug. 1: Singin in the Rain
Aug. 15: Ratatouille

Redondo Beach also sponsors a similar Outdoor Family Classic Film Festival. Here's the line-up:
July 24: West Side Story
July 31: On the Waterfront
Aug. 7: The Searchers
Aug. 14: Breakfast at Tiffany's

RELATED LINKS:
Database of fun stuff to do with kids in the South Bay
Database of South Bay restaurants with kids eat free deals
Calendar listings for family-friendly South Bay events

Do your kids use your iPhone as much as you do? Want to load up before your summer vacation? If so, you may want to check out the list of child-friendly apps ranked by Internetsafety.com, the developer of software called Safe Eyes, which blocks inappropriate Internet content for children.
The top 10 titles are listed below with Apple's App store prices. Full descriptions and links for purchase are listed at http://blog.internetsafety.com/2009/05/12/kid-friendly-apps.

Games

• Memory Match Kids by Jirbo, $.99 (animal-based memory game, 4+)


• Wheels on the Bus by Duck Duck Moose $.99 (sing-along game, 4+)


• Baloonimals by Ideo Soft Lab $1.99 (interactive balloon animals, 4+)


• DisneyZZTO Fairies Fly by Walt DisneyZZTO $4.99 (Neverland exploration, 4+)

Education

• Kid's Math Fun by NSC Partners LLC $1.99 (different versions for


• grades K-4)


• Kindle for iPhone by Reinke LLC free (reader for ebooks from Amazon, all ages)

Creative

• Comic Touch by Plasq $2.99 (funny photo manipulation, all ages)


• Karma Art by Stylem Media $.99 (cut-and-paste drawing assembly, all ages)


• Kids Finger Painter by Third Frame Mobile $.99 (painting program, 4+)


• Ocarina by Smule $.99 (turns iPhone into a flute, all ages)

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A revamped government Web site offers a service that could help save your life.

The Associated Press reports:

It happens all the time: Filling out that clipboard at the doctor's office, you can't remember what cancer killed Aunt Sally or when Dad had his heart attack.

A good family health history is far more important than a gene test in predicting your future medical needs, but it's hugely underused. Today, the government begins offering a free new service to try to change that.
It will help people compile a family history at home, then e-mail it to relatives who can fill in the gaps and even pop it straight into doctors' computers.

It's private; users download the information to their own computers. Then they can e-mail a tree-in-progress to family members to fill in missing information.

And with a simple keystroke, relatives can "reindex" the tree so it shows the biggest risks for Cousin Bill's side of the family instead of the risks for Cousin Sue who started the project.

Finally, the tool is readable, even customizable, by many of the computer systems that doctors are using to create "electronic medical records," something Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt calls key to ushering in better quality health care.

Even if your doctor hasn't gone digital, keeping a printout of the tree's detailed information in a patient's chart still provides crucial information, such as steering someone away from gene tests they don't really need.