FOR THE KIDS : Stage-Struck : Dancing, singing, jumping and clapping are just a few of the benefits of joining the O.K. Club at a Thousand Oaks mall.

The strollers came out of nowhere, converging 15 minutes before show time.

By 10:30 a.m., 30 to 40 of them were parked against a wall at the Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks. About 200 mothers and wiggly preschoolers sat on the floor in front of a portable stage.

This was another Thursday morning at the O.K. Club, and the week’s entertainment--a singing duo called Bright Ideas--was preparing to take the stage and infuse the crowd with up-beat feel-good songs.

Next week it will be Mr. Al and the Coconuts. As clubs go, this one doesn’t require anything of its little members. Joining is free. But membership offers free weekly entertainment, provided by some of the best children’s performers in the Los Angeles area.

“You can do it, you can really do it,” crooned Kevin Anthony, who with Lisa Marie Nelson makes up Bright Ideas. It was a catchy refrain, the kind of self-esteem-boosting lyric the group has made as its trademark.

Below the stage children danced, sang, jumped up and down, held hands and hugged each other. Pretty soon they were singing with Anthony, “I can do it, I can really do it.”

Mothers jiggled babies to the beat and held the hands of toddlers taking their first dancing steps. There were kids in backpacks, front packs, on shoulders and laps and in strollers.

Every week another 10 to 40 children officially join the club. Since August, 1990, when the club started out, nearly 2,000 youngsters have signed on as members, according to the mall’s marketing department.

When they join, they get a cassette tape of the O.K. Club’s theme song, sung every week by emcee Caren Glasser who opens the show. Other freebies include a membership card, certificate and quarterly newsletter. For $5, they can get an O.K. Club T-shirt.

Sometimes the show attracts as many as 300 parents and kids who pack the courtyard adjacent to the Broadway where the stage is set up, according to Diane Boyd, who does public relations for the mall. Sometimes preschools or day-care centers bring their children.

As a marketing tool, it apparently works. The club membership card entitles parents to discounts from mall merchants each Thursday until 2 p.m.

“The stores have reported an increase in traffic and sales on Thursday mornings,” Boyd said. There are no studies to show exactly how much, she said.

The Oaks Mall isn’t the only mall in the Los Angeles area with a kids club, but it’s believed to be the only one in Ventura County that puts on entertainment every week.

The week’s offering is usually music, according to Boyd. The mall has featured a number of recognized performers--David Jack, Dan Crow, Janet and Judy, Craig ‘n Co., Lois Young, Jonathan Sprout, Dennis Hysom, J.P. Nightingale, and Glasser. Every six weeks the Scott Land Marionettes put in a performance.

Sometimes it’s something totally different, like a scavenger hunt. And they’ve made valentines for servicemen and holiday tree decorations to benefit abused children.

For Thousand Oaks mother Paula Stevens, the weekly outing is as much for her as for her two children, Justin, 3 months, and Brandon, 3 years. They have been attending regularly since the club opened.

“I’ve met so many other stay-home moms,” she said as she held a squirmy Justin. Brandon was up front near the stage, taking in the beat of Anthony’s rap song--”You’ve got potential, p-o-t-e-n-t-i-a-l.”

Her favorite performer is the Pennsylvania-based Jack, who makes appearances at the club while he’s on tour through California.

“He got one of the dads to go up on the stage and do the twist,” she said.

A few dads are always sprinkled through the audience. Bob Mahoney of Thousand Oaks held his 3-year-old son, Devin, on his shoulders as they watched the show. Mahoney, a full-time at-home dad, makes it to the mall about every other week.

“This is what I do,” he said. He and his son usually stop for an Orange Julius and visit the video arcade.

Mahoney and his wife, who also have a 5-year-old daughter, switched roles about a year ago.

“I love it,” he said. “I do the Daddy and Me classes, the whole bit.”

Diana Bendas held her 2-year-old daughter Rachel’s hand while she danced to the music. Coming to the club is a ritual, she said.

When the show was over, the children immediately flocked to a table near the stage where they picked up their loot. This week’s offering? A sponge from Taco Bell and a teddy bear cookie.

* WHERE AND WHEN

The O.K. Club (O.K. for Oaks Kids) features free children’s entertainment each Thursday, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., near the Broadway store inside the Oaks Mall, 222 W. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks.