This week’s “guest blogger,” Josh S., provides a detailed class review of the NYC Dads Meet Up Group at Kidville on the Upper East Side. Josh is an active member of our at-home-dads group who juggles two energetic ‘not so’ little guys!
“This week’s event was held in the basement of Kidville in their Little Maestros studio. As we entered the room, we were greeted by a couple with the guy on guitar and the woman singing fun songs to greet us. Behind them on the stage was a drummer and a a woman playing keyboards. The dads group sat in a circle around the singers and they led the group in a bunch of songs spanning many genres.
There were several young babies at Kidville and the oldest kid was my four-year-old, Oliver, who said over and over that he didn’t want to go, but by the time it was over, he didn’t want to leave. The singers were very enthusiastic and were able to grab and hold the attention of the kids very well. They handed out little bells for the kids to shake, we made a circle around a parachute while the kids rolled around and the MC even did a passable cover of the Sugar Hill Gang’s rap classic, “Rapper’s Delight.”
There was a lot of energy in the room as some kids sat on their dads’ laps, some kids wandered around, some played with the instruments, and some just marveled at the sights and sounds. The class itself was very well-organized and each activity flowed seamlessly into the next. The singers had a good rapport and the variety of music that they played, from Carole King to Michael Jackson, was very entertaining for everyone.
After the class, we were invited to one of their playspaces on the second floor. There were tunnels to crawl through, uneven parallel bars, mats, stairs, balls, basketball hoops and lots more. We had two assistants from the space to supervise/assist, and all the kids seemed to have a great time roaming around the bright and airy space.
I have been to Kidville a few times before for events but I got to see much more of it today and I really liked it. Personally I think most of the kids might have been a little too young (ages were mostly between 4 1/2 months – 22 months) to really appreciate the music, but they all definitely enjoyed the vibe and the energy. All in all, I would say it was a great meetup for the dads and we even had 2 new dads joining us for the first time who I think will be back for more soon.”
Location: Kidville
163 E 84th St., New York, NY 10028
(Photo courtesy: Kidville)
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