Hi everyone!
So life is back to normal with Spring break all done and hope everyone has settled into their routines again!
For those of you with young children don’t worry there are lots of activities to do this week in NYC! The Brooklyn Central Library is having a The Big Brooklyn Playdate this week and the Williamsburgh branch is celebrating Children’s Book Day! with The Three Little Pigs in English and Spanish! You can try a Creative Dance class at Pipsqueak Children’s Shoppe, check out the Play Group at The Stomping Ground, Playspace at BAXBrooklyn Arts Exchange and listen to Mo Willems’s Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus at DiMenna Children’s History Museum at the Little New Yorkers event! Also starting up this week is Preschool Art at Rockerfeller Park in Battery Park City! Don’t think there will be good weather for it but it goes on May-October!
So check out the calendar for everything going on this week in Brooklyn & NYC! Also please remember to check with the venue to see if there are any cancellations or schedule changes! If you know of an event you can submit it to our calendar via this link. Also A Child Grows is on Facebook so like us for last minute events and news!
Have a great week!
Deirdre (mom to O & C)
Monday April 28th
Playspace at BAXBrooklyn Arts Exchange (Park Slope)
Mondays 930a-1130a Ages 1 to 4y, with a caregiver. Admission: $10 per family or $80 for 10 class card
Activities include hoops, tunnels, coloring, balls, books and are with the help of the Playspace facilitator. Children can bring special toys, books, or other childhood comfort items, but must bring their own diapers, wipes, snacks and drinks. Parents must remain on site. Playspace is a peanut free environment. This is a wonderful activity to incorporate into your weekly routine and provides an opportunity to meet new friends, socialize and engage in a bright and open space.
Día de los Niños Día de los Libros/ Children’s Day Book Day!: The Three Little Pigs/Los Tres Cerditos at Brooklyn Public Williamsburgh Library
Mon April 28th 10-11a. Free.
Take a journey full of surprises! This play offers a twist on the classic story when the third little pig that loved to read decided to use his knowledge and built his house of bricks. Besides the performance, there will also be balloon art! The program will be in English and Spanish.
Creative Dance at Pipsqueak Children’s Shoppe (Bedford Stuyvesant)
Mon April 28th 12n-1245p. $5 trial class. For ages 2.5 –5y. Drop in or RSVP! Contact@dancingmamas.com
Classes are concept-based with a focus on natural movement as well as an introduction to the principles of ballet technique. Creative dance will encourage self-confidence, body awareness and focus while fostering coordination, rhythm and basic dance steps. Children will work on large and small motor skills, spatial awareness and flexibility. Imagery, music and literary forms are used to explore the concepts of dance. Dance is a fantastic way to introduce children to self- expression, self- awareness and instruction in a group setting.
For more Monday events please click here!
Tuesday April 29th
Play Group at The Stomping Ground (Crown Heights)
Tuesdays 10a. $5 for non member. Free for members.
This weekly play group for children between the ages of 9 and 24 months is facilitated by parents and includes fun, familiar songs and unstructured free play in The Stomping Ground’s colorful, active space. Play group provides an opportunity for families to get to know each other while their children play. The group includes parent led songs and stories during circle time at the beginning and end of the group. *We are looking for a member to volunteer to lead a play group for ages 0-9 months. If interested please email stompingground2014@gmail.com
Mommy & Me Yoga at lucky lotus yoga (Fort Greene)
Tuesdays 130-230p. $18
This class focuses on asana to rejuvenate your body and to restore physical, mental and emotional balance after childbirth. It is an open Vinyasa class for moms and care givers focusing on rebuilding core strength, toning back and releasing tension in the shoulders, while babies play, crawl, and take some nap. Open to all parents and caregivers and newborn babies up to crawlers.
Little New Yorkers: Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems at DiMenna Children’s History Museum (UWS)
Tuesday April 29th 330-415p (also Fri May 2nd) Free with museum admission, for ages 3-5y.
Each class will include time with historic toys, a special Little New-Yorkers hello song, story readings, and a related craft project. Our favourite trouble maker pigeon is joining us this week. We find out why it’s a bad idea to let the pigeon drive a bus. Then we’ll make a moving pigeon.
For more fun Tuesday events click here!
Wednesday April 30th
The Big Brooklyn Playdate at Brooklyn Public Central Library (Prospect Heights)
Wed April 30th 1030a-12p. Free. At the Dweck Center. For babies and toddlers 0 – 3 years old and their caregivers.
Stop by the Big Brooklyn Playdate to enjoy fun games and activities that delight young children and encourage literacy. Come to play and leave ready to turn ordinary objects in your home into your child’s favorite toys.
Revelations: Sid the Science Kid – LIVE! at Kupferberg Center for the Arts (Flushing)
Wed, April 30th 1030a. Grades Pre-K to 2. Ages 4 to 7y. Colden Auditorium at Kupferberg Center for the Arts. Tickets $8
Based on the enormously popular PBS Kids series, Sid the Science Kid – Live! stars Sid, an inquisitive youngster who uses comedy to tackle questions kids have about basic scientific principles and why things work the way they do. With mysteries to explain and wonders to discover, Sid and his friends set off on a day of excitement and adventure, asking curious questions and finding cool answers. Teacher Susie is along to keep the music flowing as the kids explore the world around them with audience interactive activities, cooperative problem solving, and plenty of laughs to go around. Sid the Science Kid – Live! will have kids cheering, exploring, dancing, and excited to figure out more about the great unknown, together!
Author Visit: Sarah Mlynowski at The Scholastic Store (SOHO)
Wed April 30th 6p. Ages 6+. Free.
Enjoy an evening of fractured fairy tales with the Whatever After series and author Sarah Mlynowski, who will be reading and signing from the newest book in the series, Whatever After #5: Bad Hair Day. This time, the magic mirror sucks Abby and Jonah into the story of Rapunzel. When the siblings get the famous tale all tangled up, they have to find a way to set things right…with hilarious results!
For more fun Wednesday events click here!
Thursday May 1st
Preschool Art at Rockerfeller Park (Battery Park City)
Thursdays May 1st-Oct 30th 2014 10:30-noon, Rockefeller Park. Free.
Very young artists are introduced to paper, clay, wood and paint with projects planned by an art educator/artist. Dress for a mess! Location: North end of Battery Park City, west of River Terrace.
tinkergarten May Day Celebration in Prospect Park
Thursday, May 1st from 3:30-5:00pm. In Prospect Park, Brooklyn, on Sullivan Hill (just northeast of the picnic house).
Festivals are a key part of the human experience. They help us connect to our environment and to the people around us. When we share them with our kids, they develop a sense of time, an appreciation for natural cycles and a simple but powerful mindset that life is to be celebrated. What a gift?!
Dating back as far as pre-Christian Rome, May Day, in its many forms, has helped people in the Northern Hemisphere join together to mark the coming of Spring. Come take time with us to stop, smell the May flowers, make crowns, dance and play in celebration of Spring.
New York Philharmonic: Pixar in Concert at Avery Fisher Hall (UWS)
Thu May 1st 730p. Tickets $40 and up. For adults and children ages five and up (due to Avery Fisher Hall policies, children four and under are not permitted in the hall for these concerts). From the Toy Story trilogy to Finding Nemo, Wall-E and UP, Pixar has given audiences of all ages some of the most touching and memorable moments in movie history. Now, together with visually stunning film clips from all 14 Pixar hits, you can enjoy these remarkable scores performed as only the New York Philharmonic can.
For more fun Thursday events click here!
Ongoing
Bessies’s Big Shot at Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre (Central Park)
Tue- Fri 1030a & 12n and Sat & Sun 1p. (also ongoing until June 29th) Tickets: $7 children under 12y & $10 all others. For all ages. Based on the famed PuppetMobile show of the same name, this popular production makes its Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre debut! Directed by Bruce Cannon and co-written by Douglas Strich, Alexander Bartenieff and Bruce Cannon, this version of the beloved show will feature several new puppets in addition to new and extended scenes. It’s a bird … it’s a plane … no … it’s Bessie the cow! CPF’s original production, Bessie’s Big Shot, follows Bessie the cow’s dream of joining the circus. Can she lift more than Ziegfried, the strongest man in the world? Fly on a trapeze high above the crowd? Train Munson the Monkey? This variety show cheers Bessie on as she attempts the impossible and searches for her special talents.
Brooklyn Block Laboratory at Brooklyn Children’s Museum (Crown Heights)
Ongoing until August 31st 10a-5p. Free with museum admission.
Brooklyn Block Laboratory is a new 1,000 sq. ft. pop-up activity area that provides engaging hands-on learning experiences through block play. Children and families design and experiment with different building blocks, creating imaginative structures, stacking, sorting, and talking. Utilizing a curated selection of wood, foam, and magnetic blocks, families and teachers examine how children interact and speak during the building process.
Pterosaurs: Flight in the Age of Dinosaurs at the American Museum of Natural History (UWS)
Now until January 4, 2015 10a-545p. Free with General Admission Plus One
In the new exhibition Pterosaurs: Flight in the Age of Dinosaurs, rare fossils, life-size models, and hands-on interactives bring these ancient animals to life. Step back in time to see pterosaurs, including giants such as Tropeognathus mesembrinus,with a wingspan of more than 25 feet, and find out how they moved on land and in the air. Get a first-hand look at the rare pterosaur fossils that have helped paleontologists learn all that we know about these animals. In a virtual flight lab, use your body to pilot a pterosaur over a prehistoric landscape. Encounter the exceptional creatures that flew in the age of dinosaurs.
Dinosaur Safari: Mysteries Revealed at the Bronx Zoo
On going until November 4th 10a-5p. Admission included in total experience ticket price.
Dinosaur Safari: Mysteries Revealed! Nine new dinosaur species have been added this year including the deinonychus, prodohadros, stegosaurus, and edmontonia. Returning for the Dinosaur Safari: Mysteries Revealed, the ever-popular 40-foot long tyrannosaurus rex will send chills up the spines of Bronx Zoo adventurers. At the end of the experience, there is a field site that includes a fossil dig for children; a Tyrannosaurus rex photo-op; a paleontologist’s tent that includes a fossil museum; and an interactive robotic dinosaur that illustrates how the animatronics work.
Book Swap Month! at Torly Kid (Tribeca)
Now until April 30th! Book Swap Month! Exchange your old picture and chapter books for a “new” book from our selection of community donated books. All excess books will be donated to a local school or charity.
Play Space Spring Schedule at Juguemos a Cantar South Slope
Tue-Thu 9a-12n April 1st-June 12th. $10 per visit / Sibling $2 per visit. Playpasses also available.
Drop in play space.
Play Space Spring Schedule at Juguemos a Cantar North Slope
Tue-Thu 9a-12n. April 1st-June 12th. $10 per visit / Sibling $2 per visit. Playpasses also available.
Drop in play space with activities: Tue 1030a Story time with Alejandra, Wed 9a-12p Arts & Crafts, Thu 1030a sing with Ale.
Play Space Spring Schedule at Juguemos a Cantar South Slope
Tue-Thu 330-5p April 1st-June 12th. $10 per visit / Sibling $2 per visit. Playpasses also available.
Drop in play space With singalongs: Tue 4p Story time with Alejandra, Wed 4p sing with Ale, Thu 4p Sing with Damian
Free Storytime at the Scholastic Store (SOHO)
Tuesdays, Wednesday & Thursdays at 11a for all ages. Join The Scholastic Storyteller for readings of all-time favorite children’s books or new releases from Scholastic! Perfect for babies and toddlers, these stories will spark imagination and fun in your budding bookworm. Stroller Entrance: 130 Mercer Street.
Open Play at The Learning Garden (Prospect Heights)
Mondays-Fridays 11a-6p. For 0-4y. Daily pass $12. Pass packages also available.
Our popular Open Play program is a time that offers a social learning environment for your children (ages 0-4) to grow and learn through creative play. With our space changing and growing every week, your little explorer will have lots to discover. Materials and activities are provided to engage you and your child while sparking their imagination.
Sing Along & Open Play at Creative Arts Studio (Cobble Hill/Boerum Hill)
Monday-Thursday 1-230p. Drop-In Parent/caregiver supervised with an ArtsCetera staffer on hand. $10 per session. Experts say our children are not getting enough unstructured play time, which they report is essential for healthy development. Here’s a great way to add more free play time to your child’s lif in a safe, welcoming environment. Some sessions include a short Sing Along segment to add to the fun. Creative play for all ages from infants up to 5 years. Toys, coloring, lego table, puzzles, reading corner.
To see all the events click here for the calendar!