Tuesday afternoon fever!

Our Explorers Club tots are back at the play space after a long weekend, but many of our school-aged Explorers are still on winter break this week. With moms and dads back at work or planning for New Year's celebrations, what's a kid to do? Tour the city with Edwin at our Winter Break Discovery Camp, of course! Yesterday's adventure took the group to FAO Schwarz, where the kids took turns stomping out tunes on the "Big" floor piano before visiting Legoland to admire models of Batman and Chewbacca. After lunch (Grilled chicken and mac and cheese! Mmmm!) a trip to Rockefeller Center was in order to view the nation's most visited Christmas tree.
While Explorers Club is in session, many of our tots are absent nonetheless. With Lili and Simone visiting their grandma in England, Tessa and Rose celebrating with relatives stateside and Haven opting to spend the day with Edwin, Julian and Audrey as an unofficial Winter Break Discovery Camp member, it was a smaller group than Gayla and Amy are used to at our Schermerhorn play space today. Amongst the Explorers who did make it in today were Reza, Hana and Shelton, a crew known for loving to dance and having the pint-sized moves to back it up. What better way to prep for a dance party than a disco ball craft? Glittery paint, sequins and ribbon made for one groovy art project!

Gaga for vroom vroom!

Most of our little Explorers love toy cars and trains, and 22-month-old Isaac is no exception. When Amy arrived to babysit Isaac on Saturday night, it was all she could do to tear him away from the new Melissa and Doug car garage he just received as a Christmas gift in time for bed. While his mom and dad spent an evening out with friends from overseas, Isaac and Amy spent the evening parking cars, moving them up and down in the garage's freight lift, and towing the smaller cars in the back of a toy dump truck.
Isaac was filling up his toy cars with gas at his new toy garage, but last weekend Amy spent some time exploring a more environmentally friendly form of transportation. Sunday saw Amy and three-year-old Phillip spending a chilly afternoon at the Transit Museum where the two enjoyed a group tour of exhibits upstairs before Phillip enjoyed some time darting in and out of old subway cars and replicas of city buses. The trip was so fun that the the two couldn't resist a trip to the gift shop on their way out, where Amy snapped up an N train t-shirt!
As Phillip and his sitter walked from the museum to the train, passing our play space at 110 Schermerhorn on their way, Amy noticed the bright tyke stopping every few seconds to touch the mounds of fluffy white snow with his mittened hands. Under his breath, Phillip could be heard saying, "...seventeen, eighteen, nineteen..." When finally asked by his curious sitter what he was doing, the cutie pie replied, "I'm counting the snow." There's another one for Bill Cosby's retired show...

All aboard the birthday train!

New York City Explorers hopes that everyone enjoyed a Merry Christmas day yesterday, and that the long weekend is being enjoyed and spent with loved ones.
While both of our play space locations are closed this weekend to allow all of our Explorers and staff to enjoy the holiday, the scence at our Underhill location was far from quiet last weekend, as giggles and music filled the play space last Saturday. Luca, the son of Kisha's good friend, celebrated his 3rd birthday last Saturday with Audra and Amy on hand to facilitate his train-themed birthday party.
Luca's mom, who's expecting a little sibling for him any day now, enjoyed socializing with her friends and family over fruit, punch, ice cream and gluten-free chocolate cake---a treat even guest Kisha could eat! Prior to gobbling birthday cake and other treats, Luca and his friends enjoyed making train puppets and singing at a train-themed song circle, which included favorites such as "I've been working on the railroad and a creative rendition not of "The Wheels on the Bus", but "The Wheels on the Train"! Have your own little conductor at home? Try Amy and Audra's song on your own during your little one's next long car ride or bubble bath! Alternate verses to "The Wheels on the Bus" are as follows:
"The Wheels on the Train"
The Wheels on the train go round and round!
The whistle on the train goes toot toot toot!
The doors on the train go open and shut!
The conductor on the train says, "Tickets please!"
The tracks beneath the train go clackety clack!

...But the fire is so delightful!

As of Saturday evening, the weather outside matches the city's festive winter mood. It seems to be that if you build it---a merry holiday atmosphere, that is---the snow will come! Huge fluffy flakes began to fall early in the evening as holiday shoppers rushed home to beat the windy blizzard. While most of our Explorers had to wait until Sunday morning to scamper through the snow, both Brittany and Amy enjoyed the wintry city while it was still untouched by little feet, as both girls headed home from late night babysitting jobs in the wee hours of Sunday morning! After a weekend of celebration, Saturday's storm was the perfect Winter Wonderland finale.
On Friday evening, the Explorer's Club children and teachers packed up their crafts and alphabet blocks early to get ready for our holiday party at 110 Schermerhorn. In the usual rush of drop-off and pick-up, it's rare that the parents of our tykes have a chance to socialize with each other; Friday's gathering provided just such an opportunity, as parents, teachers and Explorers alike ate, drank and were merry! Our staff is so thankful to everyone who attended, and for the very thoughtful gifts that our Explorers' parents shared with us. Vino especially loved the candid photo of the too-cute-for-words twins, Lev and Shayna, that Gary attached to his gift.
After the play space was closed for the evening, Kisha, Edwin, Brittany and the rest of the crew met for dinner in Manhattan at Qi Thai, where the food was so fantastic that Ka Yiu was inspired to take pictures of each entree it arrived!

Cloudy with a chance of cute!

It may be the season of peace and joy, but Tommy arrived at 2: Cool for School on Monday with a war story to tell! Over the weekend, our squirmiest Explorer fell into a table while rough-housing with his cousin during a visit to New Jersey. Seventeen stitches later, our little Tommy is doing just fine, but Amy still kept a close eye on him all morning, limiting the day's activities to those that didn't require helmets!
With Jackson away visiting his grandparents, and a chill in the air, the mood was set for a low-key morning spent crafting and reading by the glow of our faux-fire. Lyouba was home recovering from an early winter cold, leaving Thelonius, Kiera and Tommy free to make as much noise as they pleased as they cheered each other on playing The Lady Bug Game, a board game Amy had been saving for just such a day. The little ones had so much fun gobbling aphids and escaping the praying mantis, the game's lone villain, that they didn't realize Amy and Yamileth were sneaking a math lesson into the fun!
Despite a chilly few days last week, the city has yet to see a snowflake, but that didn't stop the Explorers at Underhill from building snowmen---out of paper plates, craft sticks and glitter, that is! The kids' snowman masks were a big hit, with abstract placement of buttons and noses that would have made Picasso do a double-take!
It may have been a calm morning at Underhill, but once the afternoon rolled around, the energy level was kicked into high gear as Vino and Amy helped 4-year-old Cyrus and his friends celebrate his birthday. The tots had a dino-riffic time digging for dinosaur bones in a fun color-matching game, searching for t-rex and friends in a scavenger hunt and making fossils out of dough. The festivities were capped off with a make-your-own sundae station from Blue Marble. Yum!

Party Like a Rock Star!

The holiday season is truly upon us! Friday evening marked the beginning of Hanukkah, and the tots at 2: Cool for School ushered in the Festival of Light with the story, The Magic Dreidels, by, Eric A. Kimmel.
While Rose left Explorers Club early in the evening on Friday to begin the holiday weekend with her family, Tessa, Haven and the rest of the crew indulged their artistic sides baking and then decorating sugar cookies. New interns Regine and Taquesha mixed up batches of brightly colored royal icing for the Explorers to paint onto the cookies shaped like stars, candy canes, gingerbread houses and hearts! When the painting was done, Simone, Shelton and the rest of the bunch dusted the tops of the treats with colored sprinkles for good measure. When the decorating was done, the Explorers couldn't get home fast enough to show off the creations to proud parents. Shelton, Kisha's youngest daughter, was the exception, pitching such a fuss when Kisha picked her up on Friday night that her fellow Explorers must have been worried that Santa might add her name to his naughty list! That baby girl is so smart, cute and well-behaved every day, so I'm sure Kris Kringle made an allowance for one cranky afternoon!
The celebratory mood continued on Saturday morning at the Underhill play space, as 3-year-old Billy celebrated his birthday! He partied like a rock star to a guitarist/vocalist specializing in children's songs led him and his friends in a slew of favorites including "This Land is Your Land", "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", "ABCs", and "Happy Birthday". Can it be difficult to find child-friendly music that doesn't leave parents reaching for the ear buds? Natch. Did Billy's birthday performer pull it off? With flying colors!
With the final full week before Christmas ahead of us, and many of our Explorers' families busy baking, decorating and shopping, our Explorers will also be busy working on holiday crafts, learning winter songs and getting ready for this Friday's Explorers Club holiday party! With Cole, Tessa and Liliana and Simone all heading away for a couple of weeks this holiday season, Friday will be a last chance for all of our Explorers to spend time with each other before the New Year, and we can't wait for the fun to begin!

City sidewalks...

Gayla, Brittany and Amy love the holidays, and the best part of this season for for these three girls is cooking all manner of seasonal treats! Luckily for our three teachers, our new Schermerhorn play space, home to Explorers Club, is equipped with a full kitchen, with lots of room for little hands to get involved in the mixing, measuring, and especially gobbling! Brittany's first cooking class in the new space ushered in the holidays in delicious style, with the crew making colorful wreath cookies yesterday afternoon. While half the Explorers were in the kitchen with Brittany, the other half spent some time crafting tools of the trade for future culinary endeavors: puffy new chef hats were decorated with crayons, fabric markers and fun-shaped foam appliques. After all, for every job, there is a proper uniform, and our little chefs are no exception!
2: Cool for School may not have the kitchen that Schermerhorn does, but that hasn't stopped Lyouba, Amy and Yamileth from getting into the holiday spirit! Lyouba has decked the halls in red and silver, and it was with Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra crooning Christmas tunes in the background that Thelonius, Jackson, Tommy, Lena and Kiera fashioned snowflake magnets out of craft sticks and glitter. Thelonius plans to gift his to his older sister, Tigerlilly. It sounds like he understands that the best gifts truly are homemade and from the heart!

Welcome back!

After celebrating Thanksgiving with a long weekend with her parents, sister, brothers,and new sister-in-law, Gayla returned to Explorers Club this week refreshed and inspired. Luckily for our Explorers and staff at 110 Schermerhorn, Gayla channeled that energy into bringing to life our vision to transform the three classrooms downstairs into bright inspiring spaces in which to learn and grow. Colorful bulletin boards, alphabet borders on the wall, and life-sized human body charts greeted the Explorers as they entered the main classroom this week. When Liliana walked into the room, it was evident that she was excited not only by the new classroom, but by Amy's German lessons as well, as she pointed to the skeleton diagram and exclaimed, "Das Skelett!"
Our Explorers may have been sleepy-eyed on Monday morning, but by Tuesday, the tots at Schermerhorn were ready to work off the turkey and pumpkin pie in Vino's Kid Fitness class. An imaginary trip to Africa with Brenda the Butterfly and all of her animal friends had Simone, Hana and the rest of the gang searching for monkeys and swimming across rivers as they exercised brains and bodies!
Everyone was eager to greet friends after a long weekend away, but Reza's return to the group was extra-special: it had been over a week since the kids saw their friend after his long holiday vacation. Gayla and Amy were especially happy to see their little shadow! Tommy, Thelonius, Jackson and Kiera also welcomed back a friend after a week away. Lena returned to 2: Cool for School today after a week long visit to Grandma's house in Massachusetts. Always the mother hen of the group, Lena got right to work telling the boys what to eat and how to play! We'll all treasure every moment with the adorable Lena for the next few weeks, as at the end of the month she'll be leaving Brooklyn to embark on an exciting new journey: a move to Manhattan! While Yamileth, Amy and Lyouba will miss Lena's presence on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings more than words can tell, we wish Lena and her family all the best with their move.
Our staff couldn't be more delighted about finally beginning to feel at home in our new Schermerhorn space, and while it's bustling with neighborhood children, parents and caretakers during the week, on weekends our Prospect Heights location at 186 Underhill is the place to be! Escape the cold and join in the holiday spirit with Saturday and Sunday morning story hours at 11 AM and holiday craft workshops at 4 PM. Warm up with a bowl of soup from Blue Marble while your tykes warm up their imaginations with Amy! Crafts and stories are included in play space admission throughout December!