The holidays bring lots of days off from school and this can add to the stress of the season. We are here to help. Here are some of our old favorite holiday camps as well as a few new ones. Good luck finding a good fit and having some time to clean the house in peace! __________________________ One World Project: GLOBAL ARTIST WORKSHOP Feb 19-23; 9:30 to 12:30/ (or) 3:00/ (or) 5:00 Please join OWP’s Global Artist Workshop, a week-long camp over February break (February 19 to February 23). Throughout the week, we will be learning about an incredible line up of visual artists from near and far ..read more

This recommendation list is from an old contributor to A Child Grows. Some of the books on this list are not new anymore but they are also not what we see every day. New ideas are always welcome! _____________ When I was a full-time employee at Barnes and Noble (for far too long at the age of 21 and 22 years), I invested my paycheck in books. I didn’t just buy art books or fiction books, but children’s’ books. I have a grand collection of children’s books from that time. After all, I did work in the children’s department when I got kicked out of the adult section for reorganizing the tattoo bo ..read more

Candy Corn: love it or hate it, and you’ll only be right if you hate it. Just kidding. Even though I don’t personally like this seasonal treat, I’ve gained a greater appreciation for it after digging into its history–as the First Halloween Candy ever created. It’s story is tied with the evolution of modern Halloween celebrations, which are not as old as you may think. Candy Corn on Halloween Halloween became popular holiday in America around the turn of the 20th century. It was celebrated at home with a festive theme party, with spooky decorations and refreshments. The occasion could be f ..read more

It’s hard to believe, but we know many of you are already thinking about that big transition from the cozy preschool world into the “big kid” realm of elementary school. It can be a lot to digest for a parent, but we have you covered with some great tips from Brooklyn mom, Alethea Cheng Fitzpatrick. We’ve been talking about the elementary school application process for the past couple of weeks, both how to choose a school, and how to survive the acceptance process. We’re going to round out this series by talking about the transition that happens when school actually starts in the fal ..read more

As the summer winds down, and with September almost upon us, parents (myself included) can’t help but feel both scared and excited for back-to-school days. The prospect of getting back into a routine — and the promise of planning out that first week, from outfits to lunches — almost made our first day of preschool stress-free. Once that day comes, you may experience the same fears that I did — worries that your child might cling to you like the last Cheerio left in the bowl, or that your child might hate everything about preschool. Parents, if you find yourself sobbing, “It’s my baby’s first d ..read more

It’s 2023 and people are still very concerned about the learning loss that took place when schools were virtual during the height of the pandemic.  People are still talking about it, but not questioning it. It is accepted now that kids are all behind and still not catching up. How true is this really? Emily Olster leads a grant-funded pandemic learning loss research project, the COVID-19 School Data Hub. Their 2022 New York State report said that student English Language Arts (ELA) and math proficiency fell 3.7 percentage points from the 2019 average. The states are all different and lear ..read more

It’s that time of year—back to school! I know it’s an exciting and overwhelming time for every parent, but for a parent of a child with multiple severe food allergies, this transition can be particularly anxiety inducing. My son is among the (exponentially) growing number of children that has severe food allergies. He just started Pre-K at a new school, and while I know the school (and other parents) are getting used to accommodating food allergies, it can get really complicated to manage—even for us—and the idea of trusting so many strangers to keep my son’s allergies in mind when they plan t ..read more

Most financial literacy courses, for kids or adults, are classist, racist, and patronizing. For kids, it is the most insidious. Hear me out, please… You will say, what’s wrong with learning to budget or learning how money works? The concept isn’t bad, but the way they teach it is terrible. They are teaching kids how to be poor. There is the way poor people are told to manage money and the way rich people actually do it…and they cannot be farther apart. There is absolute value in having savings (or access to liquid funds) when you are just getting by because it can prevent a spiral into utility ..read more

Last night I discovered that we had a week in the summer with absolutely nothing planned for the kids. This seems to happen every year. Time just gets away from us. That is why we create the last minute camp openings post every year to help parents find camp spots to fill those empty weeks as late as June. The following camps have confirmed that they still have spots available: Homage Skate Academy Our experienced instructors love to teach skateboarding and are constantly progressing in their teaching abilities, just like their skating abilities. Our coaches are Red Cross Certified for both CP ..read more

One of our favorite NYC services (also in LA and the Hamptons), Curated Care, now has an app! I used Curated Care to help fill in gaps in care for my little girl when she needed someone to hang out with while I worked, and it worked great. They provide Kid Experts for any babysitting need, whether you’re searching for date nights once in a while, or a regular after-school pick-up schedule. In addition to babysitting, their Kid Experts bring their backgrounds in arts and/or education to offer at-home lessons, enrichment, or party entertainment. The app can help you find tutors, chess teachers ..read more