Go for the Gold!

Vino hopped his way into our Underhill play space this morning to teach our Explorers' favorite music and fitness classes. Vino has been teaching the class since Kisha left for her South Carolina family vacation last month, and his energy and enthusiasm have been such a hit that he just may steal the spot light from Kisha next class session and teach the class all on his own!
It may be a toddler enrichment class, but that doesn't mean that the adult chaperones in Vino's class get to take a break! When it's time for the parachute to come out, it's all hands on deck, as the adults move the colorful parachute up and down and around and around while the children play underneath, around and even on top of the fabric. Especially appreciated is the effort displayed by Carly, Luca's nanny, who gets so involved in class that we're beginning to suspect she's using it to save money o a gym membership!
Any of our neighborhood Explorers can sign up for one of our classes, but our resident tots at Explorers Club enjoy benefits even beyond our in-house classes. Beginning in March, Brittany and Gayla will lead the 1-4 years-old children down the road to Brooklyn Ballet, where they'll be enjoying once weekly ballet class on Tuesday afternoons. For a fully well-rounded arts educations, the group will also being taking art classes at a local artist's studio. At their weekly art camp, they'll begin by learning the art of storytelling through puppetry.
The Olympics have drawn to a close, and with the Americans winning a record number of medals, let's take a moment to recognize our Explorers Club tykes, who all performed wonderfully in their own athletic games, including the egg and spoon race; the feather between the toes race; and the balloon between the knees race. Congratulations to the cutest athletes in the borough!

New Classes, New Sitters, New Camp Trips, Oh My!

Amy spent her last afternoon with the adorable Lola today, as she introduced the clever and cute toddler to Melissa, who will be taking over the ongoing sitting job next week. While Lola and her mom loved Amy, Melissa is already well on her way to endearing herself to the wonderful Brooklyn family. With her degree in child psychology and years of experience working in her campus nursery and at summer camps, there could be no better choice for Amy's replacement.
While Melissa will be busy getting to know Lola next week, New York City Explorers as a whole has a busy week ahead. When Explorers Liliana and Simone begin their first week at Explorers Club as 4-year-olds, it will also be a week of new classes! Beginning next week, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays will see feature 2 new classes for Explorers Club members: Little Historians and Savvy Scientists! We think the Explorers will find the first Savvy Scientists lesson about the Universe to be far out!
While the new classes will be for Explorers Club tots only, there are classes galore for other neighborhood little ones to sign up for. With class bundles available starting at $25/class, sign up for one today! Better yet, families who use a New York City Explorers nanny enjoy the added perk of attending one free class per week! With our nanny share program taking off this month, there's no better time than now to secure quality child care for your own little one.
Last week's snow storm may have closed our play spaces early, but Tuesday's all-day flakes didn't even phase Keyanna, Edwin and their winter campers, as the crew braved the elements to visit the Weeksville Heritage Center(www.weeksvillesociety.org). After a tour of one of the first free black settlements in the country, it was with brighter minds and tired feet that the campers headed back to the play space at 110 Schermerhorn to await the sweetest end of day reward: a snack and a ride home from mom!
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XOXOXO!

New York may not be the city of love, but it sure is a city to love! With more restaurants than some cities have people, there was surely a prixe fixe meal for each and every New Yorker to enjoy yesterday, as Explorers in every corner of Brooklyn welcomed sitters into their homes so that parents could enjoy some oft much-needed time alone! We hope everyone enjoyed a lovely Valentine's Day weekend!
The Explorers Club tots were full of love of fellow man themselves today, as they shared the Underhill play space with the kids from 2: Cool for School. Our Schermerhorn play space was closed for the holiday today, so it was with much delight that the children from 110 Schermerhorn gathered in Prospect Heights to play with new toys and new friends. They've all met Tommy and Jackson before, but new to the crew since last week is Amaya, a cute-as-can-be 2-year-old with curl hair, big brown eyes, and a personality that shines! Amaya wasted no time getting to know the new kids, taking charge of the room and introducing everyone to her good friend Bob, the stuffed dog that joins her everywhere she goes.
While new friends were aplenty this morning, the kids were missing some of their old buddies. With Haven and Shelton enjoying the last week of their South Carolina vacation, it was almost too much to bear that Gayla was away too! We hope our most artistic Explorers Club teacher had fun tapping into her athletic side this weekend, as she enjoyed a long weekend away skiing with her beau. We know she's enjoying snuggling by the fire, hot chocolate in hand, but by the time she returns to the crew on Wednesday, she'll be all the more excited to snuggle up to some hugs from her favorite Brooklyn Explorers!

They say it's your birthday!

Happy Birthday to our oldest Explorers Club member, Hana, who turns 4-years-young today! Hana and her friends at the Schermerhorn play space, including fellow seniors, Lili and Simone, celebrated her special day with cupcakes from One Girl Cookies (onegirlcookies.com) that were almost as sweet as the birthday girl herself. Hana isn't the only Explorers having a birthday this month. Laudan, Lili and Simone, Max and Emmett, and even Teacher Gayla are hot on her trail, all with birthdays occurring within the next few weeks. While Lili and Simone won't be turning 4 until the 21st of this month, they've been talking about the special day for almost six months, inviting and uninviting friends and teachers alike to their "4 Birthday" as the mood demanded. The situation became so unnerving to their parents that at one point the twin cuties were forbidden to discuss birthday plans at all! Laudan may not be giving reminders of her upcoming birthday as frequently as Liliana and Simone have been, but then again, who could forget a Valentine's Day baby?! The little ball of love will celebrate not only her birthday, but Valentine's Day as well at the play space on Friday, as the afternoon will be met with a cookie decorating session with Amy! The only thing that could make the birthday season more fun is if Haven and Shelton were here to celebrate with us. I'm not sure the sentiment is being echoes by the Gandsy girls themselves, though. After all, they're in the midst of a vacation in South Carolina that has them visiting Grandma and enjoying warm weather. Rush back to New York in February? I think not!
With cupcakes gracing the snack table this afternoon, how will Brittany keep anyone's attention in the early evening? With homemade volcanoes, of course! The letter of the day is V, and the mood is set to fun, as the group prepares to fashion their own natural disasters out of paper cups, foil, vinegar and baking soda!