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10 Fun Things to do on Mother’s Day 2017 with the Kids in NYC

May 8, 2017/in Celebrate, Fun, Guide, Learn, Play/by Shine

Moms deserve to be celebrated every day, but if there’s one day that demands it- it’s Mother’s Day. With the big day fast approaching, the pressure is on to make the perfect plan. New York City is a vast playground, so we’ve narrowed down a few of the best options that go beyond the standard brunch.

Go where the wild things are. The Central Park Zoo is hosting a family-friendly party for mothers and children ages 2-10 on May 14^th.Meet zoo animal moms and babies, enjoy tasty treats, make Mom a special gift, and go on a scavenger hunt.

Set sail. Sail out of Port 40 on a relaxing two-hour Hudson River cruise that includes a brunch buffet and dessert station, coffee, tea, “free-flowing” Mimosas and Sangria, and a live jazz band. Along the way, you’ll enjoy views of Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, Governors Island, and the Manhattan skyline.

Explore the city on a scavenger hunt. If “relax” isn’t really in your family’s vocabulary, you may love a Mother’s Day Scavenger Hunt. This three-hour event starts at Slattery’s Midtown Pub (8 East 36^th Street) and leads you around the city with the ScanQuest app. It’s a fun, interactive journey that will challenge your party mentally and physically. Winners receive a NYC gift package.

Create a work of art. Mother’s Day is the perfect excuse to visit the Children’s Museum of the Arts in SoHo. Moms enjoy free admission to watch their young artists create upcycled picture frames, painted portraits, spiky sculptures, tie-dye tissue paper composites, clay farm animals, dot marker cards, and more.

Get your fill of thrills at Coney Island. Though the beach is closed, everything else is open – the restored B&B carousel and rides at Luna Park, Deno’s Wonder Wheel, the New York Aquarium, and the Coney Island Circus Sideshow (which offers kid-friendly attractions during the day). Grab a hotdogs at Nathan’s and ice cream at Coney’s Cones to enjoy the simple pleasures in life with the ones you love most.

Have a picnic in Central Park. Picnics can be easy with pre-made picnic boxes by Perfect Picnic NYC, Picnic in the Park, or Chelsea Market. Park your clan anywhere in Sheep Meadow, Strawberry Fields, or the Pond and enjoy one of Manhattan’s most iconic landmarks.

Enjoy nature at Wave Hill. The brunch always sells out quickly, but you can always bring a picnic lunch or reserve a basket from The Café. Wave Hill offers bird watching, open-air yoga classes, crafts at the Family Art Project, jewelry shopping, and a Family Nature Walk.

Stop and smell the lilacs. This year, the New York Botanical Garden’s Mother’s Day Garden Party will show off the newly reopened Lilac Collection. You can watch dancers perform on the Daffodil Hill stage, play a game of Giant Chess, putt a few rounds of croquet on the green, take a guided walking tour, get professional photographs taken, and take the kids to the craft room to make homemade watercolor cards. Picnic brunch is also available by reservation.

Roadtrip! Less than two hours from NYC is kid-favorite, Rocking Horse Ranch, an all-inclusive Hudson Valley resort that offers an indoor waterpark and an abundance of organized family activities. Other activities include horseback riding, miniature golf, bowling, ping-pong, archery, rock climbing, and more! Ask about their Mother’s Day weekend promotion where kids are 50% off.

Spice things up with a private cooking class. Freshmade NYC teaches knife skills, kitchen safety, and how to prepare delicious, easy recipes. Book a private one-on-one cooking session with a chef or create your own cooking class if you have at least four children in your group. Recipes cover a wide range of different flavors, with items like: sweet and savory crepes, mini sweet potato and kale lasagnas, BBQ chicken-apple pizzas, wild salmon burgers, and baked falafel, to name a few. Family cooking classes are suitable for kids ages 2 to teen.

By Jenn Fusion for Shine

Create a Sustainable Arts Lab at Home!

April 20, 2016/in Guide, Learn, Make/by Shine

As a part of our continued effort to stay green and reduce, reuse, and recycle, we love using household items to create art and as loose parts in our play. While not everyone has the space for an art studio, we suggest creating a mini Sustainable Arts Lab of any size in your home!

In addition to some basic art supplies (paper, glue, scissors, paint, etc.) the following items help to inspire imagination and play, but most of all turn waste into something that can really shine!

Berry Baskets
Biscuit/Cookie Cutters
Bottle Tops
Brownie/Baking/Muffin Pans
Bubble pack
Buttons
Cardboard
Caps of old markers
Clothespins
Coffee Cans
Coffee Filters
Dish Tubs
Egg Cartons
Funnels
Grocery Bags
Ice cube Trays
Large Piece Styrofoam
Marbles
Measuring Cups/Spoons
Meat/Produce Trays
Old Crayons
Paper Boxes
Paper Towel/Toilet Paper Rolls
Paper Plates
Pie Pans
Pitchers
Plastic Milk Bottles
Plastic Tubs (butter, yogurt, etc.)
Popsicle Molds
Ribbon
Rubber Bands
Scoops
Shoe Boxes
Sponges (unused)
Spools
Squeeze Bottles
String/Twine/Yarn
Styrofoam popcorn
Textured/Wall/Wrapping Paper
Tiles/Gems/Stones/Shells
Unbreakable Shaker Bottles
Wide Jar Lids
Wood Bits

Shine’s Spring Gardening: Let’s Get Dirty!

April 4, 2016/in Fun, Guide, Learn, Make/by Shine

To most people, spring is when the birds starts to chirp, flower buds manifest, and the sun rays dial up to warm. But for me, from the time I can remember, spring was when I got dirty!

From spring to the end of summer, I was always dirty. My shirt was stained from the constant popsicles dripping from my mouth. My knees were scabby or bloody from rolling down the hill in our backyard. And my face was permanently smeared with dirt from trying to grab the pesky gopher that lived in our vegetable patch (I turned him into my pet and named him Bucky). After a while, my parents just gave up and never dressed me in nice clothes unless it was for a special occasion – preferably one that would keep me indoors, or when it was time to go to school. You could say that for a few months a year, I was the girl version of Pigpen, but loved a stuffed monkey instead of a blanket.

Growing up as a California girl, I thought backyards with mini-fields of happy white daisies were the norm. Fresh strawberries, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers that I’d pick and eat off the vines were just part of my day. For some reason, once my mother cooked them, they lost their appeal. But if they were warm from the sunshine and covered in dirt, they were delicious! To this day, I prefer almost green, under-ripe peaches and nectarines, as I was never patient enough to wait for them to mature on Pinksy, our nectarine tree.

One of my fondest memories involves my whole family planting in the spring and harvesting their goodness throughout the summer. Those thoughts are vivid and clear, recalling each year I got to play with dirt, watch our plants grow, and taste the fruits of our labor.

So by all means, if you have a yard, plant something! But for all the city parents and kids, you can experience a similar pleasure by making a little window garden of your own. No grass needed. All you need is a little moxie and creativity.

Here is Shine’s guide to creating the simplest windowsill herb gardens with your kids!

What you’ll need:

Young starter herbs: Available at garden centers and some supermarkets, herbs such as oregano and basil for spaghetti or pizza sauce, cilantro to add to tacos and salsa, and lavender for the pretty flowers to make into potpourri.

Containers with Drainage Holes: They can be planters from garden center or you can make them from colanders or coffee cans! Just avoid plastic that might break or melt in the sun, and anything that might contain lead paint. Make sure the containers have enough room for the plants to grow. Once the containers are bought or found, punch or drill holes in the bottom for drainage and you’re set. (Make sure you put a plate under the pot to catch the excess water!) Then kids can paint and decorate the containers before they start planting. Let paint dry before handling soil.

Potting Mix and Plant Food: Available at garden centers and some supermarkets.

Sunny Spot: Most herbs need about six or more hours of sunlight a day to thrive.

With your kids, add potting mix to container and plant your starter herbs, leaving plenty of space between each plant to grow. Also be sure to check the information that comes with the plant for spacing requirements. Then mix plant food and water and place in a sunny spot.

Continue to water according to the instructions that come with each plant. Kids can harvest the herbs continually through the summer once the plant has enough foliage to sustain growth. Then get cookin’!

By Claudia Chung, Assistant Teacher

All Kinds Of Love: Shine’s Picture Book Picks for Valentine’s Day

January 27, 2016/in Celebrate, Guide, Learn, Read/by Shine

At the tender age of four, I fell madly and deeply in love. His big brown eyes made my heart pitter, and his round button nose made it patter. My guy was warm, tender and fuzzy. And yes – he was a stuffed monkey named George. No relation to Curious George.

When George had to take a spin in the washing machine and dry out in the sun, I often sang to him knowing that the process of getting clean was a dizzying ordeal. Love is comforting. When the mischievous boy down the road tried to steal George away, I bit him and ran as fast as I could with George in tow. Love is fearless. And finally, when his plastic eyeballs fell off his face, I stuck them back on with black electrical tape and pretended they were super cool shades for my super cool guy. Love is blind.

Spreading the Love of Music

February 26, 2015/in Fun, Guide, Learn, Play/by Shine

“Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand. With an equal opportunity, for all to sing, dance, and clap their hands…”

– Stevie Wonder, Sir Duke

These lyrics are all encompassing when it comes to understanding children, their love for music, and why it is so important in their lives.

Children are inherently musical beings. They love to sing, dance, shake, rattle, and roll! Adults who provide developmentally appropriate learning environments for children incorporate music as a major component of a healthy and natural daily experience. Teachers, caregivers, and parents must do so by offering playful and creative music experiences in both structured and unstructured settings. Healthy and natural encouragement in engaging children in musical play is essential to their musical development. Listening and observing a child’s spontaneous musical play, such as invented song, helps adults around them (parents, teachers, caregivers, etc.) better understand their methods of learning, communicating, and awareness of their place in society. More importantly, it gives children a fun outlet to express their feelings, wants, and needs!

Parents and caregivers:

By playing music in your home during homework time, dinnertime or while getting ready in the morning, you can naturally expose your children to different genres of music. Music also affects mood so starting your day off right with an upbeat tune will positively affect the chemical make-up of your child. Turning on some smooth jazz during homework time or before bedtime is proven to naturally help concentration and winding down.

Classroom teachers:

Turn on some background music during the school day. This might fit into free art time, reading, reflection, and/or journaling. This would, of course, be an addition to your regularly scheduled music class 😉

One of my most important and sacred ideals is making children feel comfortable in a given learning environment. Although music is the universal language of the world, it is not understood and received the same way by all. Thus, customized programming is essential in the musical development of children, beginning from birth through the adolescent years. My mission is to provide my students with the capacity to go out into the world feeling special, loved, and confident shining their inner light.

Spread the love of music!

By Taylor Feygin, MA, Music Education & Shine Music Specialist

Top 10 Indoor Activities

September 26, 2014/in Guide, Learn, Make, Play, Read/by Shine

Whether it’s inclement weather or someone is home with the sniffles, filling an day inside with fun, enriched activities that DON’T involve putting in a DVD can be a challenge. Here is our list of stay-at-home activities that prove to be a good time for both child and adult.

1. Make play dough.

2 cups of flour, 2 cups of water, 4 tsp. cream of tartar (found in spice area of any supermarket), 2 Tbs. oil, 1 cup of salt, food coloring (mix into the water before adding to saucepan). Place all the ingredients into a saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously. The mixture will be watery at first, then lumpy. Keep stirring until the mixture is one big lump, about 5 minutes. Take out of the pan and knead until smooth. Make sure not to overcook. The dough will be softer and last longer if it is taken off the heat sooner and kneaded longer. Let cool and store in an airtight container. For an added treat, add some glitter while kneading!

2. Use shaving cream in the bathtub or shower.

Children love the feeling of thick, smooth shaving cream and spreading it all over the tub walls and themselves. Grown-ups love the easy clean-up; just rinse and it’s done.

3. Read a book. Or three.

Nothing is as important as reading to and with your child. Use the stories as a jumping off point for discussion and conversation. Books inspire language. Read more

Let Reading Take You On an Adventure

August 27, 2014/in Guide, Learn, Read/by Shine

I’m obsessed with children’s books. I can’t get enough. I have a personal collection of over 1000. I am a Scholastic Book Club teacher. I have two good friends in children’s publishing who keep me stocked up on new releases. And I’m embarrassed to say that my Amazon bill at the end of every month includes more children’s titles than anything for adults. I don’t know when this obsession started but I’m pretty sure my mother had something to do with it. It usually comes back to her. I remember making weekly trips to the public library to take out a dozen books or so. I remember her reading to me voraciously. I remember books being made just as important as toys in our home. As an early-childhood educator I’m so thankful I had this foundation laid for me at a young age. My love of books helped me to excel in school and provided me the opportunity to expand my imagination, vocabulary, and ideas about the world. But most of all, books have been and still are some of the best companions and where I love to escape when I need some alone time.

Early literacy is so important. There are countless ways to incorporate books into the lives of children. Bari Snyder, a literacy coach and reading specialist, shares some ways that you can letting reading take your child (and you!) on an adventure.

Continue to shine your light –
Aaron Goldschmidt, founder & director

In a world where an answer to a question is just a click away, how do we engage our children long enough to sit and actually listen to or read a book? How do we instill that excitement of opening a book for the first time? How do we guide our children to want to be life-long readers?

Selecting terrific books for your child will put them on the road to learning, build their vocabulary and object recognition skills, spark their curiosity about the world, and create wonderful memories. But what’s just as important as the book you choose, it how you read it with your child. Read more

Little Scientists

August 21, 2014/in Learn, Play/by Shine

Scientists may use complex lab techniques to make discoveries, but their first observations are much the same as a child’s. The questions children ask naturally are based on the observations they have of the world around them. Allowing them to flesh out their curiosity with hands-on explorations and experiments will provide a fabulous foundation for learning and a love of the different sciences.

Gathering and organizing information are core science skills, and information-hungry kids practice them naturally and enthusiastically. With a little organization from you, you could turn a child’s question into an afternoon of fun learning using the very grown up scientific method.

Look and ask: Pick up on an observation your child makes that inspires a question.
Guess: Ask your child to guess why it’s so.
Test: Create an experiment to put that guess to a test.
Find Out: Can your child make a conclusion based on the test?
Look and ask again: Finding answers leads to more questions and by generating new questions and tests, the whole process can start again.

Tips for Choosing a Summer Day Camp

June 2, 2014/in Guide, Learn, Play/by Shine

I have always loved summer camp. From my days at large outdoor day camps in the rolling hills of Western New York to my summers at overnight camp in the Finger Lakes, my childhood was filled with memories of boondoggle, popsicle stick boats, field days, color wars, and hours of outdoor exploration. I believe camp should be an experience available to all children and with so many options choosing the right one for your family can be daunting.

Here are Shine’s top tips for choosing a summer day camp:

1. Target practice.
There is a big difference between a summer camp with a general, “classic experience” with lots of activities and one with a particular focus. Older children can target in on their interests easier than younger ones. Try to find out what he/she really loves and really wants to be doing over the summer and then look for a camp that specializes in that. Just because your sporty girl is on the field all year doesn’t mean she wants to go to sports camp. Ask. And for younger campers, look for camps that offer the classic, wide range of activities including arts and crafts, music, outdoor nature and science, and sports. Exposing younger campers to a variety of activities will keep them interested and engaged and help you and them figure out what it is they love most about summer camp.

2. Location, location, location.
If you have a younger child going to day camp, you may not be ready to put them on a bus. That means someone has to drop-off and pick-up. But since summer is already about juggling schedules, you may want to chose a camp that’s close to home or work to make it all a little easier. And having a friend or two with whom to carpool makes it even more so. Read more

Literacy in the First Five Years

February 26, 2014/in Guide, Learn, Read/by Shine

We at Shine love books and believe it is never too early to encourage literacy development. As educators, we make sure to create classes rich with books, games, puzzles, and projects all of which promote a strong foundation in literacy skills. It is important, especially during the early years, that these ideas are encouraged in the home as well. This week Kristin Michaelson, M.Ed., president of Advantage Development, provides some very helpful ideas on how to make your home environment more supportive for literacy during your child’s first five years. After all, the greatest gift to give a child is the foundation for the love of reading and learning.

Continue to shine your light and read –
Aaron Goldschmidt, founder & director

Literacy is a process that begins with the simple experiences of hearing language from caregivers and the shared reading and handling of books. To encourage literacy development at home: talk to (and with) your child, create a print-rich environment, sing songs, and read books together. Read on for more specific activities, important milestones, and ideas on how to make your home environment supportive for literacy. Note: although activities are listed in a certain age group, they can be used indefinitely as long as they seem helpful to your child.

Early Infancy (0-8 months):

What can my baby do? Babble, hold books, put books in her mouth, focus on books, sit up on her own.

Activities: Make your home a print-rich environment. The first step is having a lot of books for your baby. Especially at this age, plush, wooden, or board books are almost indestructible and can withstand going in the mouth. Make labels, with both writing and a small picture of the contents, for boxes of toys and post their name in multiple places. Children should see their parents reading and using writing in their daily lives. Read more

10 Fun Things to do on Mother’s Day 2017 with the Kids in NYC

“Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand. With an equal opportunity, for all to sing, dance, and clap their hands…”

– Stevie Wonder, Sir Duke

Parents and caregivers:

Classroom teachers: