We’ve been working with Eileen Levine, the Director and Founder of Creative Play for Kids, for over a year to set up an opportunity for the NYC Dads Group to try this very well-regarded program. Thank you very much to Eileen for inviting us to try Creative Play for Kids. Here is a guest entry from an increasingly active member of our group, David L.
It was almost too cold a day to head into NYC from Jersey City, but I’m glad Penny put up with me bundling her up to go to this week’s Meetup with Creative Play for Kids. New Jersey actually had a great turnout at the event, accounting for about half of the attendees. Yeah, Jersey! Of course, Penny was so cozy and bundled that she fell fast asleep during the (longer than I realized) walk from the Path Train.
The class started and mine was still snoozing. She eventually (and happily) woke up to the sweet sounds of singing and rattle-shaking. In no time at all she wiped the sleep out of her eyes and joined in the fun. That first song was about starting and stopping (shake, shake, shake and freeze!), with all the children picking up the choreography almost immediately. After more dancing and jumping to music, out came the bubbles! And who doesn’t love bubbles? Seriously, try not to join your kid in popping bubbles when it’s bubble-popping time.
This was followed by an enthusiastic reading of Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear. To gear up for the story, the teacher (who was joined by a guitarist) introduced and handed out various animal puppets. Impressively, she was able to give each child a puppet without anyone crying, grabbing or getting too impatient. While hugging their animal puppets, the kids joined in reading the story, adding an adorable – if not always accurate – soundtrack. The day ended with some free-play. In addition to a bag full of bouncy balls, there were soft blocks for building, and a small tunnel to get momentarily lost in.
Creative Play kept the kids thoroughly entertained and involved, and allowed the dads to relax, participate, and just hang out and chat. This was a fun event and definitely worth the trip from Jersey.
Check out the Creative Play website to get more information about the program and find a location near you!
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