Gobble Gobble!

Our week of pre-Thanksgiving activities culminated in yesterday's day off for everyone, as our Explorers and their families ate, drank, and were merry (despite a disappointing day in New York football!) The kids were well-primed and warmed up for the day of feasting after a Wednesday afternoon snack. Edwin roasted the squash that Lili, Simone and Haven picked out at the Borough Hall Green Market on Tuesday morning, and after he sprinkled it with some cinnamon, the tykes couldn't gobble it fast enough! Not only was the squash fresh and naturally sweet, but adding cinnamon gave it an extra health-boost, as cinnamon stabilizes blood sugar instead of raising it.
Our staff Thanksgiving potluck was also a success. Although Haven wanted to begin the meal with the turkey-shaped cookies Amy brought from Joyce bakery in Prospect Heights, once she got a whiff of Edwins rotisserie chicken straight from Washington Heights, she was happy to put thoughts of dessert on the back burner. We didn't think it was possible to beat Coco Roco's juicy chicken, but Edwin may have just upped the ante!
With many of the Explorers still away for the long holiday weekend, today's groups were smaller than usual. In an effort to consolidate the fun and encourage some new friendships, Explorers Club and 2: Cool for School both met at our Underhill play space. Simone and Liliana were so excited to have both the dress-up clothes and the doll stroller to themselves that they didn't even mind when the boys from 2: Cool for School took some time to themselves to finish putting the sails on the model pirate ships that they've been working on for the past week. Pirate ships, lunch from Cataldo's and well-rested energetic tots and teachers made this the most fun cross-over since "The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones"!

Mmm mmm good!

For so many of our Explorers, the most exciting part of the holidays is the anticipation of yummy food and thoughtful gifts. In New York City, we are surrounded by Green Markets that offer the best of both worlds: all of the homemade breads, jams and wine anyone could desire to give or receive! With a chill in the air and fresh produce on the brain, Amy, Thelonius and Jackson rode the Q uptown to Union Square, where every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday the square clears out to host the mother of all Green Markets!
First stop after arrival at the market? The bake stand, of course, where Jackson chose a double chocolate chip cookie and Thelonius made a more worldly snack choice: a fresh almond croissant! While they munched the treats, the cutie pies browsed the market's stands, taking in the chili pepper wreaths, fresh cheeses and milticolored broccoli. Although Tommy got a late start on Monday, his father, Bob, was kind enough to not only meet the crew in Union Square, but to tag along for the morning as an impromptu extra chaperone. While the time comes in every child's life that he or she tries to break away from family and assert some independence, Tommy, Thelonius and Jackson are still years away from that stage, and all three boys were more than happy to have Bob's company as he and Amy led the boys through the market and into one of the most kid-friendly spots in Union Square--- Petco! After weaving their way through the many school groups that were also at the market on Monday morning, the crew stepped into the doors of Petco and down the stairs to enjoy the only thing these boys appreciate more than treats: critters! Tree frogs, water dragons, chinchillas and snakes filled the tanks in the store's small pet room, and while Thelonius and Jackson couldn't get enough of the slimy creatures, Tommy, ever the lover of power tools, couldn't take his eyes off of the staff member who was using a shop vac to clean out the gerbil cages. After stopping by the bird room, it was finally time to head out of the tropical environs of the store and back into reality---November in the Northeast... The weather has been moderate so far, but it won't be for long, so in anticipation of those long winter nights ahead, Amy detoured the boys toward the homemade soup stand en route to the train, where she picked up her very favorite comfort food: potato leek soup. Support the local economy and fill up a warm belly all at once? Check!

Did you see us?

It's a Barter-friendly Economy...

...and the kids at 2: Cool for School are no exception. This morning began as most morning s at Underhill's twos program do: with a toy exchange between Tommy and Jackson. True to habit, Jackson greeted Tommy and his dad at the door this morning to hand over his toy steam roller in exchange for Tommy's offering: a tiny toy train car. These boys are so good at sharing, and thrifty too! What better way to make the most on one's toy collection without a trip to the store?
The goods had to be put aside soon after the boys' transaction was made, however, since Amy had plans for a trip to the library at Grand Army Plaza. Lena, Jackson, Tommy, Thelonius and Keira sang their morning songs and the bundled up for the walk. There was a chill in the air, and Amy was just about to second-guess the outing when Yamileth showed everyone a shortcut leading right to the children's section at the back of the library. Each tyke chose a book to read, and the whole crew gathered 'round a table to hear today's selections: The Puddle by, David McPhail; Another Monster at the End of this Book by, Jon Stone; Anansi the Spider by, Gerald McDermott; My Truck is Stuck! by, Kevin Lewis and Daniel Kirk; All for Pie Pie for All by, David Martin; and The Little Fire Engine by, Lois Lenski. Amy was delighted to find Another Monster at the End of this Book, a follow-up to one of her childhood favorites starring Sesame Street's Grover! The library in general was filled with all things Sesame Street, as they help the beloved children's show ring in its fortieth year!
After the stories had been read, the crew headed to the back of the library and climbed the stairs to Mount Prospect Park. After a snack of golden raisins and organic chocolate chip cookies (Thelonius loved the magical-sounding name of the golden raisins) the kids enjoyed playing on the slide, jungle gym and swings before heading out of the cold back toward the play space. The walk was lovely, even though Thelonius had be shielded from two over-friendly dogs and Tommy tried to escape the group to walk across the street himself. Luckily for the adorable Tommy, Amy was one step ahead of him, and scooped him up before he could make his getaway. Even after explaining to Tommy that it's dangerous to cross the street without an adult, Tommy insisted that he is an adult, and that he didn't need to hold hands like a baby! As it's impossible to be upset with such a cutie pie, Amy just carried him the rest of the way back to prevent any more close calls.
Once everyone was safely back at Underhill, the y gathered 'round the reading nook to hear On the Moon by, Anna Melbourne and Benji Davies in anticipation of Friday's rocket-building craft. The group plans to launch the baking soda-fueled rockets in the backyard on Friday morning, and they can't wait! Thelonius has spoken of little else for days!
The next few sessions of 2: Cool for School are being highly anticipated in general, with a trip to the Union Square Green Market planned for Monday morning followed by the group's first German language exposure class! The kid's at Schermerhorn's Explorers Club program began their new session of German lessons last week, along with sessions of Spanish and their regular Tuesday afternoon Mandarin classes. Mandarin is taught by Lango, and has been such a success that even Tessa, one of our youngest Explorers has been using her new words at home! We all know that the early years of language development are the best ones for teaching secondary languages as well, and Tessa's immediate embrace of Mandarin is just one more example of that. We a re so proud of our Explorers!
The staff of New York City Explorers works hard seven days a week to ensure that our dynamic programming is constantly improving and evolving to meet the needs of our Explorers and the families of Explorers, and there's no way we could do that without a team of people who are friends as well as colleagues. In that spirit, we look forward to celebrating an early Thanksgiving together on Saturday afternoon. Our Underhill location will close at 4:00 PM on Saturday so that Kisha, Keyanna and their staff can enjoy a potluck gathering. We can't wait to share our holidays with each other, and we hope that your holiday plans are just as wonderful!

Sugar Rush

There was an empty place at the table today at 2: Cool for School. Our friend Nakai has moved to the Explorers Club program at 110 Schermerhorn. Nakai has only spent 3 weeks with Thelonius, Kiera and the gang, but already he has become an integral part of the group, with his silly comments during circle time and contagious smite. The girls at Underhill know Nakai will be in great hands with Gayla and Brittany, but they'll miss him just the same!
Saturday afternoon was almost warm enough to warrant a fan or air conditioner, and although today wasn't quite that unseasonable, it was nice enough to play outside, where a gentle breeze and brisk air was just enough to power the windmill craft that was in store for the kids when they came inside. Windmills, the outdoors, a cool breeze... The only thing that was separating this morning from a New England summer day: ice cream! Fortunately for Keira, Tommy, Jackson and Thelonius, Amy had some delicious tricks up her sleeve.
While we love our roommate Blue Marble, and think that there's no better ice cream in Brooklyn, a lesson in frugality as well as in science is always a welcome one, espeially in trying eceonomic times. It was with craft and thrift in mind that Amy and the tykes made homemade vanilla icecream, using milk, sugar, some zipper bags and a bath of ice and salt. To try this activity and other edutaining projects with your own tyke, be sure to attend one of our Savvy Scientist classes. The Winter session begins December 7th: for details or to register your child, call (718)399-6923 or visit our website at www.nycityexplorers.com.
Our Explorers at Underhill only tasted a few bites of ice cream each, but the sugar rush must have been a powerful one, because the scrreaming, chasing and running around that followed was enough to inspire Amy to cancel plans for storytime and lead the group into the back yard for the second time in one day. Tommy found some beautiful leaves, and the girls at Blue Marble found some respite from Tommy's indoor use of his outdoor voice!

When it's 60 degrees in November...

...we can't complain about a few rain drops! Nor did the group at 2: Cool for School let today's rain get in the way of an absolutely fantastic Friday morning!
With a new baby sister at home with a still resting Mama, the adorable Cole was happy to spend a morning visiting her friends at Underhill with Amy before spending the afternoon at our new Schermerhorn location with the Explorers Club, and no one was happier to see her than Thelonius. He may have the vocabulary of an adult, but Thelonius still went "gaga" for Coley, leading her around the play space at Underhill as they built block castles, sang songs and listened to Yamileth and Amy read stories.
The day was spattered with lazy rain showers, but luckily for the tykes, the sun broke through long enough for them to enjoy some time in the back yard! The appearance of some rain clouds may have sent the group indoors, but there was still fun with water to be had. After taking off coats and hats and warming up near the faux-fire, the Underhill crew sat down to paint the most beautiful watercolor pictures Lyouba has ever seen. While Tommy was eager to take his painting home, Nakai, Cole, Lena and the rest of the bunch left artwork on display at our Prospect Heights location; Stop by anytime to view the masterpieces. For some more grown-up paintings, be sure to visit Christopher Gandsy's holiday pop-up store at 399 Atlantic Avenue (entrance downstairs on Bond Street) to purchase work by our own Explorers Club teacher, Gayla Martin, along with pieces by other local artists.
Creativity must be fed, and for Tommy, Jackson, Nakai and the crew, there was no better snack to have than a homemade snack. Fresh raspberries were paired today with bread and homemade butter! A little cream, a pinch of salt, and some vigorous shaking yielded delicious sweet cream butter that rivaled the farm stand wares at the city's many Green Markets. After proudly giving his mom a tasting of today's group endeavor, it was with a full belly that Thelonius headed to the Museum of Natural History for a picnic lunch and a special beaver exhibit this afternoon. We can't wait to hear all about it!

Tommy and the Terrible, Horrible, No-good, Very Bad Day

Friday has long been known as the favorite weekday of adults nationwide. With most jobs coming to a weekend siesta on Friday evening, it's not wonder that spirits are often high all day long in offices everywhere. Today has been thoroughly enjoyed not just by Brooklyn's breadwinners, but by the Explorers at 2: Cool for School as well, with Thelonius announcing to Lyouba in between crafts, "I love my school!" The star of today's storytime was in a different mood altogether in the book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day. While reading the story about a little boy who wakes up on the wrong side of bed to find a world in which nothing goes right for him, Amy prompted the Explorers to find out what constitutes a bad day for each of them. While Thelonius predictably said that a bad day for his older sister can often mean a bad day for him, and Lena said that she has a bad day when her mom is cranky, Tommy surprised everyone when he told his teachers and fellow Explorers that a bad day for him is when "dad gets really mad and throws food on the floor!" While we know that Robert loves to cook, we didn't know his passion for food had such a dark side! Tommy's imagination is truly a thing of wonder!
Parents of toddlers and lovers of Bill Cosby know too well that kids do indeed say the darndest things, and it is a major job perk for all of our teachers to have the pleasure of hearing many such statements firsthand. 2: Cool for School's Tommy is the source of so many hilarious utterances that it sometimes difficult not to laugh when Tommy is around. Before storytime today, after Amy asked the tots to "Open your ears and zip up your mouth" in order to hear the story, Tommy made a zipping motion, stopped in the middle of his mouth, pointed to the side of his mouth that he hadn't "zipped" and said, "This part is still open. If I close it I won't be able to talk." And indeed it was, as Tommy continued to chatter his way through the rest of the books that were read!
For most people, one of the pleasures of moving is the opportunity it affords one to explore a new neighborhood: the restaurants, the book stores, even the grocery stores in a new place can seem exciting and promising. The crew at Explorers Club, housed in our new location at 110 Schermerhorn spent today exploring their new neighborhood, and they loved what they found! Cobble Hill Playground was the site of some very active imaginations today, when Gayla, Brittany and Natalie took the Explorers to play in the sand box before lunch. As neighborhood regulars know, the playground is home to a giant dolphin statue, which Simone, lover of creatures real or pretend, was feeding "fish" made from sand. After enjoying the crisp fall air, it was time for the Explorers to enjoy some real fish of their own: delicious broiled salmon from Brooklyn Fare. Now that's a catch!
We are so excited to continue discovering treasured spots in our new neighborhood, and we are just as excited to share a new neighborhood treasure that will be emerging in our previous temporary location at 399 Atlantic Ave. Beginning next week, Kisha's loving and creative husband Chris, dad to Haven and Shelton, will be launching his new holiday pop-up store! The space will act as a store and showroom for independent designers, and the collection will be merchandized and curated by Christopher Gandsy. The showroom will feature apparel, jewelry, accessories, shoes, lighting, toys and more. A boutique holiday market without the trek to Union Square? Yes, please!

Vote or Cry!

Most of our Explorers are still at least 12 years away from having to engage in the dirty business of politics, as almost half of them deal with the dirty business of diapers every day! Nonetheless, Election Day 2009 held some excitement for many of Brooklyn's tots, as schools across the city closed or operated under a shortened schedule in order to perform double-duty as polling places for mommies, grandpas, and other grown-ups.
As neighborhood parents have come to know (and love!), when school is out, we are in! A Discover New York Day Trip, planned by co-owner Keyanna Murrill, was headed by our Explorers' favorite jock and big kid, Edwin! With Audrey, Julian, Frankie and Ben all casting votes to spend the day off at Central Park and Sony Wonderlab with Edwin, and the weather holding up its end of the bargain with a comfortable brisk clear day, it was shaping up to be much more fun than spending the day debating about 3rd-term candidates and high taxes... until Tuesday morning rolled around and only one Explorer rolled in! Audrey, Frankie and Julian called out sick from fun, and we hope for speedy recoveries on all counts, the timing of said illnesses, just after Halloween, suggests a candy hangover is more likely than the flu! Could this be a case of the Monster Mash follwed by a sugar crash? While they would have loved the company, Edwin and Ben made the best of their circumstances and had fun on their own. Following a picnic in Central Park and a jaunt in the playground, the two walked off the picnic on a stroll to Sony Wonderlab, where Ben created a virtual identity that enable him to play video games, animate pictures and more!
Out with the old and in with the new! Well, maybe not for the New York City Mayor's office, but for New York City Explorers, this week has brought many exciting and long-awaited changes. Our new home at 110 Schermerhorn is finally a reality! With a beautiful, clean playspace on the main level for play and classes and three amazing classrooms downstair for our Explorers Club enrichment program, this is a space that can grown with us, with plenty of room to house new programming and usher back in our old favorite, like Mathletes, Kid Fitness, Savvy Scientists and Miles, Marley and Mozart, all slated to begin Winter 2009/2010 sessions on December 7th! Be sure to check our newly designed website at www.nycityexplorers.com for details and information on how to sign up the little Explorer in your life! While all of our Explorers are so happy with the new child-sized potties, quiet rooms for naptime and extra space to learn and grown in, Lili and Simone and Laudan are especially happy to welcome back their daddies from business trips this week. Laudan's dad and the twins' dad have both been in England for two weeks working, and while Liliana and Simone have been lucky enough to have their grandma visiting in the meantime, nothing beats the love of a dad for these little girls!
While our new space is exciting for everyone at Schermerhorn, the little ones at 2: Cool for School at our Underhill location were delighted this week to welcome two cool new additions to class: Nakai and Kira are joining the group, and while Tommy, Thelonius and Jackson are delighted that Nakai loves trains as much as they do, Lena and Ocean are even b=more delighted to welcome another little girl! Welcome to the Explorers family, Nakai and Kira!

'Tis the Season!

While turkeys won't be stuffed nor trees trimmed for another month, for many Brooklyn families, the 2009 Holiday Season is already unofficially underway! As the Village Halloween Parade showcased the best adult costumes in New York City, the tiny cardboard box N trains, miniature princesses and pint-sized superheroes that flooded the streets of Brooklyn during the Park Slope Halloween Parade proved that for our city's tiny residents, the season of magic has begun.
Parents and other astute observers of children know that for several weeks beginning in mid-October, children become filled with an energy and playful spirit in anticipation of candy and costume parties, which makes it difficult to focus their attention anywhere else. For the Explorers in 2: Cool for School on Friday, that meant a fun day of games and crafts were in store for them, as Amy and Yamileth abandoned any hopes of flashcards in favor of bowling and board games (Chutes and Ladders, anyone? Thelonius will give you a run for your money!)
At the temporary home of Explorers Club on Atlantic Avenue, Gayla and Brittany opted for a full-blown celebration. After all, not only was Friday the day before Halloween, it was also the very last day that the most enriching pre-school program in Brooklyn spent at the location before moving to New York City Explorers' amazing new home on Schermerhorn! Black and orange balloons, ghosts and bats hung from the ceiling and walls, and goody bags waited to be placed in the eager hands of the Explorers, as games, dancing and singing made our pre-Halloween celebration one to remember. We didn't think Laudan, Lev or Shayna could get any more adorable, but dressed as a kitten, a fuzzy Elmo, and a super-huggable Cookie Monster, the three of them were too cute for words! The afternoon was made extra special by visits from Reza (as Handy Manny) and his dad; Philip (as a dinosaur) and his mom; Noe's parents; Coley's dad; and Lili and Simone's mom and grammy!
We hope everyone had a very Happy Halloween, and that Noe and his parents, who enjoyed the American custom for the first time since arriving from France, enjoyed seeing their neighborhood transformed into a wonderland of cute characters!
So far it's shapin up to be a "boo"-tiful season!