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Family Daycations

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Now is a perfect time for a break from city life.  From state parks to theme parks, beaches and mountains–here are 10 fun family day trips, all less than two hours from NYC.

City Island (drive time from NYC: 25 minutes)  Located just off the Bronx, City Island resembles a quaint New England town, right in our backyard.  Boating, beaches, a nautical museum, art galleries—and lots of fresh seafood can be found here.

Rockefeller State Park Preserve (drive time from NYC: 45 minutes; pictured)  Less than an hour from NYC, the preserve is great for strolling with the kids and great for a family picnic.  Enjoy chirping birds and a little taste of nature.  nysparks.com

Bear Mountain State Park (drive time from NYC: 1 hour)  An idyllic setting for the perfect day in the country:  There are shaded picnic areas, playing fields, swimming opportunities (lake and pool), fishing, hiking, biking–and a zoo, too!  nysparks.com

Robert Moses State Park (drive time from NYC: 75 minutes)  A great day at the beach–with five miles of clean, wide, sandy beach and grassy dunes.  Plus good fishing and playgrounds for kids—and don’t miss the Fire Island Lighthouse.

Six Flags Great Adventure (drive time from NYC: 75 minutes)  Located in Jackson, NJ, with lots of fun rides for parents, teens, and the little ones.  Daily shows and concerts, and a water park.  Your day also should include a visit to the Wild Safari–a sprawling, drive-through animal park, with exotic zebras, giraffes, elephants and more.

Sandy Hook, NJ (drive time from NYC: 75 minutes)  Seven miles of pristine beaches and lovely parkland.  Good swimming, surfing, boating, migratory bird watching, and a historic military base.  Instead of driving (and traffic!), try taking the high-speed ferry ride from Manhattan, then shuttle bus straight to the beach.

Rocking Horse Ranch (drive time from NYC: 90 minutes)  Kids will love the indoor water park with four heated pools and six water slides.  Plus outdoor pool and lovely private lake with water sports—and tons of fun activities, games, and entertaining shows.  But the real treat: a stable housing 100 horses!  All ages enjoy guided trail rides, from beginners to experienced riders.  A great place for your child’s first horseback ride or country hay ride.

Point Pleasant, NJ (drive time from NYC: 90 minutes)  Famous for the boardwalk, kids will love the aquarium, skee ball, rides, and the beautiful “Jersey Shore” beach.

Sesame Place (drive time from NYC: 90 minutes)  The Sesame Street fans in your family will love to get up close for a hug from Elmo, Bert, Ernie—or any of their favorite furry friends.  Located in Langhorne, PA, with plenty of exciting rides and a water park to cool off.  They also host special activities and events throughout the season, including kids concerts and entertainers.

Mystic, CT (drive time from NYC: 2 hours)  The village of Mystic offers lots of fun for families- including an aquarium, Mystic Seaport (the largest maritime museum in the country), hiking, birding, exploring nature.  Every Memorial Day weekend, the Rotary Club hosts their annual “Lobster Days”—a celebration of all things lobster.

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HudsonWay Immersion School

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" data-sheets-value="{" data-sheets-userformat="{">A pioneer in language immersion since 2005. After school language classes provide a fun and effective way for preschool and elementary children to learn Mandarin or Spanish language skills through project based learning and fun, engaging themes.</span></p>

The Language Workshop For Children

<p dir="ltr">After offering both group and private lessons for many years and analyzing the results over time, The Language Workshop for Children, founded in1973, has decided to emphasize private remote lessons at shorter intervals. Our skilled educators will focus their attention exclusively on the unique needs, learning style, and interests of your child. This allows a bond to develop between teacher and student, which has been shown to drastically improve retention. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>OUR METHOD </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Developed by the pioneers of language education for children, our programs bring decades of experience to your living room with individualized, active language classes. Each lesson is based on proven methods and materials perfected to capture your child’s attention during the ages when he/she absorbs information the fastest.   </p> <p dir="ltr">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 Technique which has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and many other well-respected publications.  </p> <p dir="ltr">Our short one-on-one lessons give kids the chance to focus, hear pronunciation clearly, and practice speaking in their target language. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>THE PROCESS</strong> </p> <p dir="ltr">First, students have a short meeting with our Director Francois Thibaut, in English, with their parent(s) present. Mr. Thibaut will determine the best course of study, including class length and frequency, the right teacher, lesson format and materials (or action games for younger students.) Then the learning begins! Mr. Thibaut will continually check in on your child’s learning to assure they are getting the most of their classes. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>OTHER OFFERINGS </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">We can also help your child prepare for: the French subject tests for SAT, AP & CLEP, the European DELF/DALF, the Canadian TEF and other standardized testing, college entry exams, studying or traveling abroad, cultural changes when moving abroad, and much more! </p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-a97d759c-7fff-6e4d-8e93-70e093aa10f1"> </span></p>

Cucu's PlayHouse

<div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;">Interactive, live-streaming music and movement class in Spanish for babies, toddlers and preschoolers!<br />Join us every day from Monday through Saturday at 1:30 pm EST to sing, dance and play together while learning Spanish from your home.</div> <div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;"> </div> <div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;">This class is part of a Spanish Immersion Program where your child will be introduced to basic concepts like the animals, colors, numbers and letters. All of these through the universal language of Music. Each session is fun, interactive and engaging.<br />A selection of Children Songs in Spanish guides the class from start to finish. Activities are related to the lyrics, in order to familiarize the children with the words and their meanings. Some of the songs encourage the children to dance. Nilda uses puppets, musical instruments, and props to teach children basic vocabulary through action and interaction, rather than through translation.</div> <div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;"><br />The classes are streamed on Zoom's webinar platform. Participants (children, parents, nannies) are able to join the video from their homes and interact with us in real-time, it is a fun and engaging experience.</div>