Weekend Planner: Fun Family Activities in NYC (April 11-13)

28518_BAMkids2014_cat_Images_613x463 — “The Cat Who Went To Heaven” At BAM Fisher

HOT OFF THE BLOG

*As the kids gear up for some time off, check out our guide to spring break happenings at places like the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. There’s plenty to keep little ones occupied! CLICK HERE!

*Also, Easter is just around the corner. Here’s our roundup of the best egg hunts, bunny pictures, and pre-parade fanfare taking place throughout the five boroughs. CLICK HERE!

WEEKEND PLANNER

STARTING FRIDAY

*Kids ages 4 to 8 are invited to a special class at Karma Kids Yoga. Poses are followed by storytelling, foot rubs, and milk and cookies. Wear your pajamas! (Friday)

*Enjoy a free live performance by students from the Bronx’s Hyde Leadership Charter School band in the Sony Plaza Atrium. Listen to the beat! (Friday)

*Join a mini Easter egg hunt and participate in a spring-inspired craft-making class at Tribeca’s Torly Kid shop. Happy holidays! (Friday)

STARTING SATURDAY

*Adapted from the award-winning children’s book by Elizabeth Coatsworth, “The Cat Who Went To Heaven” is a beautiful play at BAM Fisher featuring bunraku, shadow puppetry, and jazz music. Enjoy the show! (Saturday and Sunday)

*At the 11-day Makers’ Festival at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, kids can meet scientists, engineers, and artists in a series of workshops celebrating STEM education. Learn lots! (Saturday through April 22)

*Stop by the New York Transit Museum for an original musical called “Sharin’ a Ride,” which tells the tale of public transportation. Sing along! (Saturday and Sunday)

*It’s Boy Scout Day at the Intrepid Museum—educators will lead little ones through a slew of cool aviation and space-related activities. Go Boy Scouts! (Saturday)

*Proceeds from the Prospect Heights Craft Fair fund arts programs at the neighborhood’s public elementary school, P.S. 9. Browse an array of handcrafted treasures and munch on delectable treats from local eateries. Have a blast! (Saturday)

*Help the Alliance at Lefferts Historic House prep a potato plant plot at Prospect Park and then plant a seed of your own to take home. Get planting! (Saturday)

*The Wave Hill Garden has scheduled a nature walk for the whole family. See blooming flowers, birds, and garden animals as you stroll. Head outdoors! (Saturday)

STARTING SUNDAY

*Come to the American Museum of Natural History to learn about aquatic poisons and the medicinal benefits that the ocean can provide in a unique program. Explore the ocean! (Sunday)

*Check out Baby Loves Disco, an innovative dance party perfect for children at the kid-proofed nightclub Le Poisson Rouge. Boogie down! (Sunday)

*The annual Easter egg hunt takes place at Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum. Search for eggs, do arts and crafts, enjoy light refreshments, and snap photos with the Easter bunny. Strike a pose! (Sunday)

*Shira Kline and friends tell the story of the Exodus through song for Passover at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Honor traditions! (Sunday)

*It’s a picture book bonanza at Books of Wonder, where young readers can meet and greet beloved children’s book authors, including Marc Brown and Sharon Robinson. Say hello! (Sunday)

Click here for our full calendar of events!

Super Soccer Stars

Soccer Stars is New York&rsquo;s most popular youth educational soccer program! With 24 years of experience under our cleats, we have positively impacted over one million kids in our local community by putting the FUN in FUNdamentals in our weekly classes and camps. At Soccer Stars, we use the soccer ball as a vehicle to help children not only improve their soccer skills, but develop self-confidence and physical literacy, improve gross motor skills, build teamwork, and hone socialization skills. Our highly trained coaches and early childhood experts lead an age-specific curriculum with a low kid-to-coach ratio so every child gets individual attention and can grow at their own pace. Kids ages 1-12+ can join our seasonal programs, including Parent &amp; Me, FUNdamentals, Development Training, and Travel Soccer. Join us at one of over 80 locations in neighborhoods across across Westchester County, Connecticut and New York, available 7 days-a-week: Connecticut: <ul> <li>Cos Cob</li> <li>Greenwich</li> <li>Port Chester</li> </ul> &nbsp; Westchester: <ul> <li>Briarcliff</li> <li>Eastchester</li> <li>Mt. Kisco</li> <li>New Rochelle</li> <li>Ridgefield</li> <li>Scarsdale</li> <li>White Plains</li> </ul> &nbsp; New York City: <ul> <li>Bronx</li> <li>Inwood</li> <li>Upper West Side</li> <li>Upper East Side</li> </ul> &nbsp; Can&rsquo;t find a class or location that fits your schedule? Soccer Stars also offers private classes for small groups or individual training. Let our coaches come to you with a completely customizable program, anytime, anywhere. Birthday parties are also available!&nbsp;

Laurissa Jane Music

Laurissa Jane Music Studio is a dedicated institution that offers a solid foundation for students to explore the captivating world of music and arts. With experienced instructors, we offer private and group lessons in piano, voice, and guitar, for all ages and skill levels. We provide year-round training for renowned programs such as NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) and ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music). LJMS runs an annual Summer Musical Theatre Arts Program from July-August which offers a creative environment for young individuals with a passion for acting, singing, and dancing. We are proud to serve the vibrant communities of Jamaica Queens and can also provide classes virtually. At LJMS, we firmly believe in the transformative power of the arts. Call us today!

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;