New York offers tons of activities for children from museums to Broadway which are well-known but there are so many undiscovered family-friendly entertainment options. Recently, I discovered New York University’s Big Red Chair Family Series when I was looking for birthday events for my daughter. We ended up attending “Darwin“, a touching story of Darwin the Dinosaur and his encounters with flowers and pre-historic birds, acted out by cartoon-like characters only seen by their outlined lit bodies, all set to a moving and entertaining soundtrack.

While Darwin the Dinosaur, is no longer playing, there are two shows left in the 2009/ 2010 season that should prove entertaining to both children and adults.

Michael Moshen
Mr. Moshen is a juggler but not just any juggler. He combines the magic of light and movement to change your notion of juggling.
April 17 @ 7:00PM
Recommended for all ages

The Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences on Tour presents Nobody’s Perfect
Based on the children’s book by Marlee Matlin and Doug Cooney, whose main character is Megan, a deaf fourth grader. Megan is at odds with a new student Alexis is who not exactly nice to her making, Megan wonder, “Does she not like me because I am deaf?” The girls discover from having to work together on a science project that “Nobody’s Perfect.”
May 8 @ 2:00PM
Recommended for ages 8 and up.

Skirball Center for the Performing Arts
566 LaGuardia Place (at Washington Square South)
212.352.3101
www.skirballcenter.nyedu

After years of waiting, Peridance has finally opened in new location. The Peridance Capezio Center is now open on E. 13th Street. My daughter has been taking ballet at Peridance since she was four years old but unfortunately at less than ideal, rented space while the renovations took place at the E. 13th Street location.

The new location is three floors with open windows so the parents can watch their little ballerinas dance away if they so choose or wait upstairs in a cafe area. The downstairs waiting area is filled with toys for younger siblings to occupy themselves along with a locker room for dancers to store their things.

Peridance offers a very robust child’s program that ranges from the traditional ballet class to the more stylized, modern dance like hip-hop and jazz and even offers the youngest dancer a place to dance. The Young Movers Program takes in children as young as 18 months.

For the adult set, Peridance is renowned for the depth and breath of the teachers and classes offered. The types of dance offered includes, salsa, limon, Graham &Taylor based, Afro-Caribbean and many more.

Spring Session is about to begin February 1.

For more information on classes, times and prices:

Peridance.com
Peridance Capezio Center
126 E. 13th Street b/w 3rd and 4th Avenue
212-505-0886

The holidays are upon us, and the kids are off from school. Great fun indeed, until the cabin fever starts to set in. What to do? What to do? If you’re the New York Metro area you are in luck!

This Holiday week is full of tons of things to do, and though the tourists have sort of replaced the residents in larger numbers, it still means that a lot of your favorite places might not be as crowded as usual (if you get there earlier than most especially).

From now to tomorrow, Dec. 24, catch a The Miracle on 34th St. at Macy’s Herald Square’s new Puppet Theater presented by The Puppetworks, Inc., a puppeteering group based in Park Slope, Brooklyn. If you miss this show, Puppetworks is also presenting The Nutcraker Sweets and The Steadfast Tin Soldier from Dec, 26 through Jan 10.  Check their site for more info.

If you love puppets, but don’t want to travel outside of Manhattan to enjoy a show, than check out Central Park’s own Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater’s The Three Bears Holiday Bash. On now through Jan. 3.

Don’t miss the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden. A holiday favorite, the recreations are works of art, made of natural materials, celebrating the beauty of New York City.  Display is on from now till Jan. 10. Enjoy some hot drinks and gingersnaps. A wonderful adventure for the entire family! Check their site for more info.

If you love trains, but want to stay in Manhattan, head on over to Grand Central Terminal, and catch NY Transit Museum’s 8th Annual Holiday Train Show, a display of awesome Lionel trains (from now through Jan. 18). While there don’t forget to also stay to watch  their Holiday Light Show (till Dec. 31) and Holiday Fair (till Dec. 24).

Our we can go a’Caroling! In Washington Square Park, on Dec. 24 from 5:00PM-6:00PM, or head on over to Stuyvesant Square from 6:00PM to 8:00PM for a Candelight Caroling celebration.

The Queens Theater in Flushing Meadow park is presenting Santa Meets The Wicked Wizard on Dec. 26 and The Nutcracker from Dec. 29 to Dec. 30). Tickets are $12.00.

The Children’s Museum of Manhattan has several events going on during the Holidays as well, from Holiday gift card making going on today, Dec. 23 and tomorrow, Dec. 24, to Highbridge Voices Holiday Concert. Check out their site for event listing and tickets.

Get out, have fun! And from our family to yours, we wish you a Happy Holiday Season!

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

Before I was a mommy, I shamelessly used my Godchildren to live vicariously through during the holidays.  I’d lie and say I was just excited for the children, but deep down inside I was happy that I got to get dressed up in a Halloween costume, or that I was walking over to the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center, or going to see the Christmas windows on Fifth Avenue, etc., etc.  Now that I’m a mommy, I get to use my own child to thoroughly enjoy the holidays through, and boy-oh-boy am I excited!

This year, now that my little guy is two years old and super-aware of what is going on around him, I have a ton of options for exposing him to some Halloween revelry.  I don’t want to overdo it because he is still very small and easily overwhelmed, but the options are there and it makes for an exciting time.  Here are the three that I will be sure to make it to this year:

Boo at the Zoo

Every Saturday and Sunday in October, starting October 10^th, the Bronx Zoo offers some spooky fun for you and your children!  During the Boo at the Zoo weekends, you and your family can experience wildlife magic shows, pumpkin carving demonstrations, haunted hayrides, and this year, for the first time ever, the Bronx Zoo will have their first Haunted Safari.  The best thing about these weekends is that if your children come to the Bronx Zoo wearing a wildlife costume, they will receive a free General Admission ticket when accompanied by an adult purchasing a full-priced admission ticket (limit one free child per paying adult).  Good thing my little guy is going to be a Tiger this year.  October 10 – 12, 18-18, 24-25, and October 31 – November 1 (Bronx Zoo, Bronx River Parkway at Fordham Road).

Baby Loves Disco’s Boo Baby Boo Halloween Party

Baby Loves Disco is one of my all-time favorite hangouts in NYC, and I’ve been taking my little guy to their parties since he was 7 months old.  He always has so much fun, but the truth is, he is merely the excuse I use to go out and party to music I actually like listening to!  While I adore Laurie Berkner, sometimes I miss shaking my tail feathers to classic 70s and 80s disco music, and Baby Loves Disco plays all the old goodies, and during their annual Halloween Party, Boo Baby Boo, you get to have fun with classics like the Monster Mash and Thriller as well.  Best of all, you can dress up right along with your little guys and get in on the Halloween fun!  Sunday, October 18^th from 12noon to 3pm (Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleeker Street).

Washington Square Park’s Children’s Halloween Parade

The great thing about this parade is that you won’t have to explain to your little ones why the man in the bushy moustache and beard is wearing nothing but a bikini bottom and a floor-length golden wig.  It is the MUCH more child-friendly version of Greenwich Village’s bawdy and extremely fun adult Halloween parade (that you should check out as well, just probably not with children under 11).  On Halloween Day, October 31^st, the Children’s Parade begins with costumed children gathering at 3:00pm by the arch at Washington Square North and then they begin marching at 3:30pm.   After the parade, kids have an opportunity to get their faces painted, watch live entertainment, and of course, get lots and lots of treats!

So now, go forth, and make mischief of one kind or another!

Photo credit: Mrsnorth / Stock Xchng