Events: Top Kid-Friendly Activities For The Week

Bryant Park will host its second annual Winter Carnival this weekend! Photo via wintervillage.org.

February will start off with some fairly mild temps, so get on out there and check out the fun-packed activities we have in store for you and the fam. A wonderful winter carnival, a fabulous fest for the Lunar New Year, an interesting intro to Sinatra for young fans, a hilarious “Henry & Mudge” show, and a great Gershwin tribute are all on our events agenda this week. Happy Monday!

Beginning Tuesday, February 2

“Sew What?” Exhibit
Children’s Museum of the Arts
Various times
The Children’s Museum of the Arts’ latest exhibit, “Sew What,”focuses on the diversity of textiles and gives a closer look at how textiles are transformed by contemporary artists. The artists featured in this exhibition interweave personal and cultural narratives and connect ideas old and new through the textile and fiber mediums. Runs through Sunday, May 22. Free with museum admission.

Friday, February 5-Saturday, February 6

Winter Carnival
Bryant Park
12pm-10pm
Come one, come all to the Winter Carnival in Bryant Park’s Bank of America Winter Village! For the second year in a row, the park will host its winter fest this weekend. All ages can chill out with outdoor activities such as ice golf, curling lessons, live music, a ping pong tournament, photo ops, an ice ball dance party, and much more. On Friday during the Skating Showcase, visitors can enjoy pro skating performances from the 2016 US National Champion Adam Rippon, synchronized skating team The Skyliners, and others. Plus, Saturday’s festivities will conclude with a free Silent Disco. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Admission is free.

Saturday, February 6

Lunar New Year: Year of the Monkey Festival
Metropolitan Museum of Art
11am-6pm
Honor the Chinese Lunar New Year this Saturday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art! Families with children of all ages are in for a lively day of arts and crafts, live performances, music, storytimes, and more. Participating organizations include the Chinese Theatre Works, Lotus Music & Dance, and the China Youth Orchestra. Fest-goers should be sure to check out the Sesame Street puppeteers’ performance with Alan Muraoka, the Chinese tea ceremony, Chinese opera mask making with the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, the New Year parade with the Chinese Center on Long Island Lion Troupe, and the hand-pulled noodle demo with Chef Zhang of Noodle Q. Free with museum admission; admission is free for children under the age of 12.

Family Concert: “Who is Frank Sinatra?”
The Rose Theater, Lincoln Center
1pm & 3pm
Celebrate Frank Sinatra’s centennial birthday during the Jazz for Young People’s season finale concert: “Who is Frank Sinatra?” Singer Kenny Washington will join Andy Farber & His Orchestra in performing some of Sinatra’s most famous songs while musician and storyteller Allan Harris hosts. Tickets start at $10.

“Henry & Mudge”
Tribeca Performing Arts Center
1:30pm
Theatreworks USA will present its theatrical production of “Henry & Mudge” this Saturday. Based on the bestselling book series by Cynthia Rylant, “Henry & Mudge” tells the tale of a boy and his dog and their adventures in a new town. Best for ages 3 and up, this hour-long musical performance will charm both the young and the young at heart. Tickets are $25.

Saturday, February 6-Sunday, February 7

The Little Orchestra Society: “Gershwin: Got Rhythm?”
The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College
Various times
The Little Orchestra Society is well-known for its family concerts, music education, and community engagement programs. Its core belief is that access to live classical music should be readily available to all members of the community. In its inaugural season, LOS Kids, a new concert series for 3-7 years olds, introduces youngsters to some of the classical greats. This weekend’s concert, “Gershwin: Got Rhythm?,” will focus on the work of the legendary American composer, George Gershwin. Tickets are $28.

Sunday, February 7

New York Family Camp Fair on the Upper West Side
Congregation Rodeph Sholom – 7 West 83rd Street
12-3pm
Discover dozens of day camps and sleepaway camps at the New York Family Camp Fairs, coming up on February 7 & 27, and March 5 & 6.The fairs are informative, free, and fun for the whole family. The Camp Fairs (the largest in NYC) offer families the unprecedented opportunity to speak with a big host of camp directors and get essential questions answered: What kinds of camps are right for my child? Should my child go to day camp in the city or out of the city? Is my child ready for sleepaway camp? Should we look at general camps or specialty camps? The camp fairs are sponsored with the American Camp Association-NY/NJ. Click the link above to pre-register!

Collina Italiana - Italian Language and Cultural Center

Italian Fun for Kids and Teens! Learning a new language isn&rsquo;t just fun&mdash;it&rsquo;s also great for the brain! Did you know that it can help develop essential skills for life? Studies show that learning a second language at a young age can improve problem-solving, critical thinking, and listening abilities, while boosting memory, focus, and multitasking skills. Children who are fluent in multiple languages also demonstrate increased creativity and mental flexibility. At Collina Italiana, we make learning fun with stories, games, activities, and conversation. Each class blends art, storytelling, singing, and dancing to keep kids engaged. For older children, our classes focus on grammar and vocabulary, providing the tools they need to learn and practice Italian in a small group setting, all while having fun with a variety of resources. Kids love exploring the stories behind our cultural traditions, adding a rich, hands-on experience to their language learning journey. &nbsp; &nbsp;

Explore MetroWest Boston

<h1>Turn Whining into Winning in MetroWest Boston</h1> From beer gardens to corn mazes, state parks to beautiful art, MetroWest Boston is a great destination for a weekend trip! Enjoy <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/get-outside/?imgoing-place=hopkinton-state-park-61a91acef30b531a665ab64d">Hopkinton State Park</a>&rsquo;s gorgeous foliage while kayaking on the lake or hiking, mountain biking, or snowshoeing on the amazing trails. In the evening, catch a play, musical, concert, art exhibition, dance performance, or immersive theatrical event at <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/culture/?imgoing-place=hopkinton-center-for-the-arts-63c03d7e0d792d753263b4d1">Hopkinton Center for the Arts</a>. Get a great night&rsquo;s sleep at one of the region&rsquo;s hotels, such as <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/where-to-stay/?imgoing-place=the-verve-hotel-boston-natick-tapestry-collection-by-hilton-61aa4790f30b531a666119e4">The VERVE</a>, with its fun and funky pop art d&eacute;cor, or <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/where-to-stay/?imgoing-place=aloft-framingham-6216279ccc891d1d0862c8c2">Aloft</a> with their pool tables and lobby games. In the morning, visit the <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/culture/?imgoing-place=danforth-art-school-61a8e11cf30b531a66592d90">Danforth Art Museum</a>, a jewel box housing 3,500+ artworks from three centuries, including groundbreaking sculptures depicting the African and African American experience by Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller. Cross the street to the <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/culture/?imgoing-place=framingham-history-center-61a8e11cf30b531a66592d92">Framingham History Center</a> to explore their new multilingual exhibit that traces the city&rsquo;s immigration story, from those fleeing the 1690s Salem Witch trials, to the Irish and Italian influx in the 1800-1900s, to the current migration of Brazilians. &ldquo;Framingham&rsquo;s Collective Journeys&rdquo; includes oral histories, interactives, and artifacts. No visit to Framingham is complete without stopping at legendary <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/eat/?imgoing-place=jacks-abby-craft-lagers-61a8e11cf30b531a66592da0">Jack&rsquo;s Abby Craft Lagers</a>, one of 17 breweries in MetroWest, where you can enjoy a flight with a schnitzel sandwich or their famous Framinghamburger. Afterwards, spend a few hours at <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/activities/?imgoing-place=level99-64a8389c51f92a351a6a3f06">Level99</a> testing each other with 50+ mental and physical escape rooms and challenges. The next day, tour the <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/where-to-stay/?imgoing-place=longfellows-wayside-inn-61aa7aa3f30b531a66621f57">Wayside Inn</a>. The oldest inn in America&rsquo;s 100-acre property includes the Old Barn, now a farm stand with displays of antique farming tools, the historic Grist Mill, and beautiful grounds containing the Longfellow Memorial Garden, the Redstone Schoolhouse from the poem &ldquo;Mary Had a Little Lamb&rdquo;, the Martha-Mary Chapel, and Josephine's Pond for fishing. Stay for a delicious gourmet meal in their historic dining room. Spend the afternoon at the <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/culture/?imgoing-place=american-heritage-museum-61a92852f30b531a665b17bf">American Heritage Museum</a>. Start your tour in the depths of a WWI trench listening to a nurse&rsquo;s first-hand account from the Western Front while bombs explode above you and the floor begins to shake. This extraordinary museum features one-of-a-kind historic aircraft, tanks, cars and rare relics from the Revolutionary War to today, in immersive exhibits and living history events. Afterwards, wander the charming shops and boutiques of downtown Hudson. <h3>MetroWest Boston offers these and many other attractions, activities and events for the whole family!</h3>

The Language Workshop For Children

After offering both group and private lessons for many years and analyzing the results over&nbsp;time, The&nbsp;Language Workshop for&nbsp;Children, founded&nbsp;in1973, has decided&nbsp;to emphasize private remote lessons at shorter intervals.&nbsp;Our skilled educators&nbsp;will&nbsp;focus their attention exclusively on the&nbsp;unique needs, learning style, and interests of your child.&nbsp;This allows a&nbsp;bond&nbsp;to develop&nbsp;between teacher and student, which&nbsp;has been&nbsp;shown to&nbsp;drastically improve retention.&nbsp; OUR METHOD&nbsp; Developed by the pioneers of language education for children, our programs bring decades of&nbsp;experience to your living room with individualized, active language classes. Each lesson is based on proven methods and materials perfected to capture your&nbsp;child&rsquo;s attention during the ages when he/she absorbs information the fastest. &nbsp;&nbsp; While other online language classes rely on videos for passive learning, we deliver interactive, and engaging lessons with native-fluent teachers. In addition, all our teachers are certified in the Thibaut&nbsp;Technique which has been featured&nbsp;in the New York&nbsp;Times, the&nbsp;Wall Street Journal, and many other well-respected&nbsp;publications.&nbsp;&nbsp; Our short one-on-one lessons give kids the chance to focus, hear pronunciation clearly, and practice speaking in their target language.  THE PROCESS&nbsp; First, students have a short meeting with our Director&nbsp;Francois&nbsp;Thibaut, in&nbsp;English, with&nbsp;their parent(s)&nbsp;present.&nbsp;Mr. Thibaut&nbsp;will determine&nbsp;the best course of study, including&nbsp;class length and&nbsp;frequency, the&nbsp;right&nbsp;teacher, lesson&nbsp;format and materials (or action games for younger students.) Then the learning&nbsp;begins!&nbsp;Mr. Thibaut will continually check in on your child&rsquo;s learning to assure they are getting the most&nbsp;of&nbsp;their&nbsp;classes.&nbsp; OTHER OFFERINGS&nbsp; We can also help your child prepare for: the French subject tests for SAT, AP &amp; CLEP, the European DELF/DALF, the Canadian TEF and other standardized testing, college entry exams, studying or traveling abroad,&nbsp;cultural changes when moving abroad,&nbsp;and much more!&nbsp; &nbsp;