What do you think of when you think of Montauk?  Having lived in the NY/NJ area for under five years, I didn’t really think of anything except I knew that it was the easternmost point on Long Island.  This past weekend, we made an excursion to Montauk to attend a friend’s wedding and I was delighted with what we found there.

Although I’ve never been, I have seen pictures of the Hamptons and that was sort of what I was expecting.  Montauk, however, has an even more small-town feeling than the Hamptons and you feel immersed in nature.  We drove and that is the best way to enjoy the beautiful scenery on the way.  The Long Island Rail Road can get you to Montauk from Penn Station in under three and a half hours, which may be faster or slower than driving, depending on traffic.  The train station (really, just a platform) is just outside of town and there are normally waiting taxis but you can always call a service like Pink Tuna Taxi (631-668-3838, 24×7 service) to meet you.  Another option for getting to Montauk is the Hampton Jitney bus service.

Now is the time to go to take advantage of the off-season rates.  We stayed at the lovely Montauk Manor which is on a hill at the edge of town and another option in town is the Surf Club which is within walking distance to downtown.  We had a two-bedroom suite at Montauk Manor which is critical because my daughter is a very light sleeper and cannot sleep with somebody else in the room.  Having a kitchenette is always key for travelling with children, also.  With a bag of toys, a few DVD’s and a stop at the local IGA, we made ourselves right at home.

We didn’t have a lot of time for exploring the area because we were involved with wedding activities (Congrats, Diana & Sean!), but on Sunday we made it to the Montauk Point Lighthouse which was fantastic.  The views from the point are stunning and there is a museum at the base of the lighthouse which is interesting for both adults and children.  My kids enjoyed a scaled display of all of the lighthouses in the area where they could push buttons and the lighthouses lit up.  For adults, learning about the history of Montauk and the work of the Army Corps of Engineers to shore up the point from erosion is fascinating.  Intrepid travelers can climb to the top of the lighthouse which we decided not to do with our young kids.  There is a height limit for climbing and my two year-old daughter didn’t make the cutoff.  My son would have been able to climb but my husband didn’t relish the idea of carrying him after he got tired out at the halfway point!

One source that lists many attractions is Montauk Online.  There are lovely, very casual shops and restaurants in the downtown area of Montauk and there are plenty of nearby sites to explore, even in cooler weather.  Just driving around and enjoying the scenery, especially the fall colors, is worth the trip!

Photo Credit: PJ Kaiser

Did you know that one of the top ten science centers, according to Parents Magazine, is across the river from Manhattan in Jersey City?  That’s right – it’s the Liberty Science Center and it’s easily accessible from New York via car, ferry or subway.  LSC is a full-service science center with activities for all ages.

My son had the day off for a teacher’s conference and so off we went to the science center.  We have a membership, so it’s our favorite cool- or rainy-weather destination.  My kids are two and four and although there are many exhibits in the museum that appeal to them, their favorite spot is the IExplore exhibit, specially designed for children ages two to five.

My son spent most of his time with the ball contraption.  Children feed the balls into a funnel and turn a wheel and the balls are picked up and carried along until they spill down a variety of passageways.  He also spent a lot of time with the race cars - sticking wheels on car bodies and sending the cars down a ramp.  Children learn terrific lessons about how to get the cars to roll properly – for example, it works best when opposing wheels are the same size.

My daughter enjoyed the rice table – pouring rice from one container into another and sifting it with her fingers.  Having a shorter attention span than my son, she roamed around to many of the exhibits including water painting, drawing with crayons and a stone xylophone.

We were fortunate to run into some friends while at the IExplore exhibit and we went to lunch together at the cafe.  I wish that my daughter was more flexible with her nap and we would’ve stayed much longer today, but both children were content through lunchtime, so we decided to quit while we were ahead!

Liberty Science Center also has a variety of educational programs including classes designed for school groups on outings as well as classes offered to the public for a variety of ages.  My son did one of their early childhood classes last year – the Young Scientist Workshop – and absolutely loved it.  Each class included such things as reading, doing a craft or construction project, or taking a nature walk.  We can’t take it this year because he’s in school in the mornings and my daughter is too young.  Maybe next year!

We took advantage of the last days of summer and had an excursion to the New York Aquarium in Brooklyn. We drove from Hoboken, but it’s easy to get there on the subway from Manhattan.  The aquarium is in several separate buildings and is best enjoyed – especially with very young children – in warmer weather.

There is a large saltwater display just inside the entrance where we waited to meet our friends and my two kids – ages 2 and 4 – were so content to watch the fish in this large display that when our friends arrived it was difficult to pry them away!

In order to enjoy a large venue like the aquarium with young children (or any children, I suppose!) you need to stay flexible and move at their pace.  When my kids wanted to linger and watch the tank with the large animals like sea turtles and sharks, my friend and I made ourselves comfortable on the surrounding benches and waited until they were ready to move on.  When my kids got impatient with the small fish that were not as interesting to them, we picked up the speed and moved on.

Unfortunately the outdoor animals – walruses, seals, otters and penguins – were not very active on the day of our visit.  We were, however, lucky enough to see the divers entering the penguin tank to do some maintenance work and my children enjoyed that immensely!

The best spot of all is the “Explore the Shore” building which includes the “Alien Stingers” exhibit.  We spent a lot of time in this building enjoying the wide variety of exhibits.  My son’s favorite exhibits were simulations of waves where the water comes crashing in and you can see the effects on the soil and the fish.

Unfortunately we were there too early for the Halloween activities which are going on now through November 1.

We ended our trip with a short walk along the boardwalk at Coney Island and enjoyed ice cream cones by the water!

Photo credit: Oktaviani Marvikasari on Stock.xchng

Nobody could be more surprised than I am that I’m writing this article about the Brooklyn Book Festival as a kids destination … I am so surprised, in fact, that I went to the festival without my kids!  I wanted to go to the festival as an avid book reader and aspiring author and my husband was happy to watch the kids for the day, so I thought I had devised the perfect plan.  Then I arrived at the festival only to find that in addition to all of the wonderful stands and presentations for adults, a large portion of the festival was devoted to kids!

There was a section of the signing tables and stands dedicated to children’s authors and another dedicated to youth authors.  Part of the children’s area held craft tables for young children to occupy themselves decorating bookbags.  The other part of the children’s area had a seating area filled with cushions where kids (and their adults) could read their new purchases or watch book readings and other entertainment.

Panel discussions and readings were held at several outdoor stages.  All of these events were free, but in order to get a seat, a reserved ticket was required.  Most of the venues, however, were set up so that patrons could easily stand behind the seating area and still hear the discussion, which is perfect for parents with strollers.  I sat in on one panel discussion at an indoor venue and sat next to a couple with a two-year old in a stroller who was very well behaved during (most of) the discussion.

Beyond the wonderful array of children’s books that were available, I came across two wonderful nonprofit projects that I’d like to share with you:

• “Books For Kids” is a project sponsored by the Legal Aid Society Juvenile Rights Practice.  The mission of the project is to “promote literacy for children involved in Family Court cases in New York City.  The Books For Kids project accepts donations of virtually any type of book – particularly those for teenage clients.  There are drop-off locations in all five borroughs at the Juvenille Rights offices.  Contact information can be found in their directory.

• “Girls Write Now” is a mentoring program where high school girls with an interest in professional writing are partnered with women writers.  The pairs work together throughout the school year.  Each year, an anthology is produced and the girls participate in readings.

So, I’ve learned a valuable lesson from this experience.  Before deciding to leave the kiddos at home when attending an event like this, I need to do a bit of research to see if any kids activities will be available.  I could’ve easily alternated kid time with adult time if I had been on my own with the kids, or my husband and I could’ve taken turns with the kids if we had all been together.  You can bet that our book-loving family will all be there next year!

Photo credit: Sanja Gjenero on Stock.exchng

Growing up in a small town in Ohio with only 4,000 people, if you had told me that each subsequent move I made (except one) would be to a bigger city than the prior one, I wouldn’t have believed it.  I subsequently moved to 1) Columbus, Ohio, 2) Chicago, Illinois, 3) Mexico City (yes, the one in Mexico) and then 4) Hoboken, New Jersey.  Hoboken, to me, is a wonderful combination – we are right next door to one of the greatest cities in the world and yet the pace of life is a bit slower than Manhattan and although there is a thriving night-life Hoboken is also very family-friendly.  Driving up the West Side Highway in New York, you can look across the river to Hoboken. If you haven’t popped over for a visit, armed with your Google map, you should!  There are many summer activities put on by the city that you can enjoy.  I took my kids on a big circuit of the Hoboken river-front in our double stroller and you and your family can either do the entire circuit or stop anywhere along the way.

Getting there:  The easiest way to get to Hoboken is to take the  PATH train, but the most scenic way is to take the NY Waterway ferry.  Both the PATH train and the ferry will bring you into Hoboken Terminal.

First stop:  Pier A  Pier A is a park that juts out into the Hudson River and is adjacent to the Hoboken Terminal.  Having both a shady section and a sunny section, there are ample opportunities for sunbathing, picnicking or sports.  A shaded gazebo at the water’s edge is a terrific place to watch boats go by.  On a recent visit, we were surprised to see a class from the Parsons School gathered around the gazebo painting the spectacular views up and down the Hudson River.  There is also a fountain where children can cool off on a hot day.

Next stop:  Stevens Park  Walk north along the water until the walkway ends.  You’ll see on your right the new Pier C park that is under construction.  Take a left and walk one block.  On the hill on the right-hand side above the ball field, is Stevens Park.  It’s a small neighborhood park but complete with slide, swings and a small fountain.

Next stop:  Elysian Park and/or Maxwell Park Hudson Street runs along the eastern edge of Stevens Park.  Walk north on Hudson Street and you’ll come to Elysian Park just north of 10^th Street.  Elysian Park is a nice spot if you’re looking for shade.  If you keep walking on Hudson Street, cross over Sinatra Drive and angle off to the right, you’ll find Maxwell Park which is a nice, sunny gated park right on the water’s edge.  Both parks have grassy areas for picnicking.

There are several nice spots to eat close to the water along this circuit:

The Melting Pot – a fondue restaurant on Sinatra Drive (along the water) adjacent to Pier A.  The restaurant is somewhat upscale, but there are more casual tables outside.

Trinity – a restaurant on Sinatra Drive a couple of blocks north of the Melting Pot.  Again, it’s an upscale restaurant but there are outside tables.

The Crepe Grill – a casual cafe on the water adjacent to Stevens Park and the new Pier C.

Walking southbound on Hudson Street from either Stevens Park or Elysian Park will bring you back to the Hoboken Terminal.  If you’re still in the mood for some exploring, you can walk back on Washington Street and enjoy the shops, restaurants, bars and cafes along our main street.  

In the Little Italy neighborhood of Manhattan, the New York Children’s Museum of the Arts (CMA) is an undiscovered treasure (at least undiscovered by me!). My friend and I decided to try their “Wee Arts” class. This drop-in class has a wide age range – 10 months to 3.5 years – so my two kids (almost 2 and almost 4) and her son (almost 4) could all attend.

When the class began, we started by sitting at a large round table. Mounds of playdoh were in front of each child, along with colored styrofoam popcorn and pipe cleaners. Both of my kids had fun with this – we made a flower arrangement of sorts that unfortunately fell apart when my daughter tried to pick the flowers. There were large sheets of paper on the walls and fat crayons – both of my kids contributed to the mural which was created during the class.

After the first few minutes of class, the teachers opened a partition and revealed more activities and later they revealed still more. It was done in stages to encourage children to move through the space. There were many age-appropriate activities for the kids to choose from including Moon Sand, a Flubber table, water painting with sponges and chalk, several bead and block games and a painting table. The back room was primarily for kids doing more serious painting. Normally my son would’ve been drawn to that area, but he got interested in the Moon Sand and the Flubber and he and his friend played with those for nearly the whole class. My daughter bounced around between several activities and had a marvelous time – she enjoyed the freedom of being able to choose her own activity. The last part of the class was music and story time which was engaging enough for my son to participate (he normally can be found wandering among the other activities in the room during reading and singing time in groups).

After the class, we got to check out one of the highlights of CMA – the ball pit. This is a padded area filled with large balls (around the size of exercise balls) where the kids can jump and bounce. The boys went crazy in this area and ran off a lot of energy and – believe it or not – my daughter was right there with them. She wasn’t afraid of the balls and was not upset when she got knocked around by them. The kids played in the ball pit for 45 minutes until we finally realized we were well overdue for lunch. We had packed our lunch which we ate in the lobby area. Next time, I’m hoping to schedule our CMA visit so we can enjoy lunch in nearby Chinatown. I’ve been craving dim sum!

CMA’s website – and accompanying blog – have a wealth of information about the various classes offered to the public and to groups, so be sure to check their schedule to plan your visit.

Did you know that there is a wonderful nature getaway a short subway ride away in Brooklyn? The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a little (OK, not so little) swath of land carved out from the hustle and bustle in Brooklyn. It’s smaller than the New York Botanical Garden, but it’s a wonderful and accessible place to enjoy and learn about nature. It is small enough that if you set your mind to it, you could cover it in a day’s outing. At the same time, it’s big enough that there’s always something new to discover.

Getting there: There is one parking lot – it is nestled between the gardens and the Brooklyn Museum and is accessible from Washington Avenue. Via subway, you can arrive to the Eastern Parkway Gate via the 2 or 3 subway lines or you can arrive to the Flatbush Avenue Gate via the B, Q or S lines.

We drove over from Hoboken – a very easy drive across the Manhattan Bridge. We met my friend and her son who is the same age as my son at the entrance. Having been there once before, I already had the optimal route planned out in my mind. I knew that the high point for the kids would be the “Discovery Garden” which is just inside the Flatbush Avenue Gate. So we gradually made our way along the main paths which pass by the Visitor Center and the Lily Pools and then had a nice long visit in the Discovery Garden. There are many hands-on activities in the Discovery Garden and little paths for children to explore. My kids – almost 4 and almost 2 – just loved it. My little one gets frustrated spending time in the stroller – she is always eager to run around with her brother and in the Discovery Garden she could do just that. There are places to dig, to touch flowers and bushes, to survey the adjacent “Children’s Garden” (used for school groups), to splash in water that supports water plants, to explore a worm compost bin and many other things.

After exhausting the kids at the Discovery Garden, we headed back to the Visitor Center to use the restrooms and have lunch at the café which is adjacent to the Steinhardt Conservatory. Our only complaint is the limitation on bringing outside food and drink into the gardens, including into the café. We purchased lots of provisions in the café and supplemented with items we had brought and we got in a little hot water for that. It’s terribly difficult to have an outing with small children – especially picky eaters – without bringing some extra food and drink along. (We promise we won’t litter!)

After lunch we explored some of the other areas of the gardens including the Cherry Esplanade and the Cranford Rose Garden. The boys had a fun time running along the pathways and exploring, although they got into a few tussles over who would push the stroller. Who knew that pushing a stroller was such a desirable activity? It was quite a hot day – 94 degrees and hardly a cloud in the sky. After walking for awhile post-lunch we decided everybody was starting to melt and we should call it a day. Hopefully by the time you read this article it will be a bit cooler – a perfect time for a garden exploration!

Be sure to spend a few minutes on their website before your visit to see if there are any special exhibits or classes. They frequently have fun drop-in workshops for children in the Discovery Garden. Admission is free on Tuesdays year-round and every day from November 20 thru February 27. Also on their website, I was fascinated to read their botanical fieldwork blog and review their vast array of photos including a Flickr group of visitor photos.