New York Family’s November 2014 Issue

Features

Soul Sisters
“Girls” star and artist Jemima Kirke and renowned doula and musician Domino Kirke discuss motherhood, city living, and their creative career paths

Party City
There’s no place like NYC for a birthday fête to please any age or interest

Mitzvah Magic
From flashy fun to traditional elegance, our top picks for where to host your bar or bat mitzvah celebration are sure to delight

Education Trend Report
From changes in policy at the NYC Department of Education to technologies that are having an impact in how kids are educated to the rise of STEM and early language learning, there’s a lot of noteworthy education trends and news

Family Fun Guide

10 Great Events For November
“The Magic Flute” at New Victory, Canstruction, Gingerbread Lane at NYSci, and more

Home & Away

Quality Time
An ancient art comes together with modern style and plenty of fun activity options at Brooklyn’s Hiho Batik

Real Estate
A roundup of NYC’s most family-friendly new buildings and classic properties—with multi-bedroom units and amazing kids’ amenities

Columns

Editor’s Note
He for she & she for he

Events & Offers
Blackboard Awards nominations, the scoop on signing up for our newsletters, and an UPPAbaby travel system giveaway

Scoop
A cool cookbook for kids, a party supply resource, a new celeb-designed kids’ clothing line, adorable new baby gear, and science on wheels

Activity of the Month: Music
Picking up an instrument as a child can lead to a myriad of developmental and life-long benefits

Treats
Set the scene (and the table) for a fabulously festive Thanksgiving with our cornucopia of gifts

A Good Idea
Buoyed by his love of toys, local dad & journalist Jim Silver has created the ultimate shopping app—TTPM—for parents seeking reviews of all things play

Special Place
At Little Maestros, the City’s youngest musicians & dancers get their first taste of pop-rock & music education

The Last Word
A local mother of two reflects on nostalgia and shared experiences in parenting

Speakitaly NYC

<p>SPEAKITALY NYC offers stimulating and entertaining lessons for children 0 to 16 years through a wide combination of activities based on the communicative approach anchored in the Common European Framework of Reference: active learning (group work, role plays, etc.) and practice exercises aimed to improve listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Kids will start speaking and using Italian in a very natural way.&nbsp; Small classes capped at 6 students to make sure each one gets the needed attention and facilitate learners' progress.&nbsp;</p> <p>Our method is driven by a didactic method that is the result of constant updates, professional certifications and more than 10 years of experience in working with non-native speakers from different native languages and levels of knowledge.</p> <p>Our aim is to develop a range of Italian language skills while improving accuracy that will enable the students and participants to interact without stress or feeling rushed. We want to help those in the community really embrace not only the true culture in Italy but the Italian culture within New York City&hellip; Who doesn&rsquo;t love what Italy represents in the kitchen, in history &amp; in the arts?</p> <p>Speakitaly wants to support multilingual families who want to learn a new language or pass along their ancestor&rsquo;s heritage and culture. Raffaella, the founder said: "We see language awareness and intercultural sensitivity as the milestones for an inclusive society. Italian, like all other languages, is an enrichment and a growth in every way. Vi aspettiamo!"</p>

KTBYTE

<div><strong>Computer Science Coding Classes for Children&nbsp;</strong></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p>Ages 8 - 18</p> <p>Enroll today for a FREE Trial and our Summer and School Year Course Offerings!</p> <p>Differentiated and Individualized Learning with our Caring and Knowledgeable Staff!</p> <p>Offer YOUR child the competitive advantage of learning a new language and also using STEM to learn and have fun!&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div> <div id="m_3428097911001171987ktbyte-vision"> <p><strong>The&nbsp;KTBYTE&nbsp;vision</strong></p> <p>At&nbsp;KTBYTE, our vision is to make a high-quality Computer Science (CS) education accessible to students globally while also making CS exciting and engaging for them!</p> </div> <div id="m_3428097911001171987diffsimilar"> <p><strong>The&nbsp;KTBYTE&nbsp;Difference</strong></p> <p>KTBYTE&nbsp;offers a progressive Computer Science curriculum for students ages 8-18 years old. Classes range from introductory JavaBlocks&trade; programming to college-level courses.&nbsp;KTBYTE&nbsp;offers classes that stand out from the standard Core Curriculum for high-school students, with unique programs such as USACO prep courses, Generative Art and Design courses, and even Machine Learning courses. Our instructors are dedicated, nurturing and passionate about what they do and committed to ensuring that&nbsp;KTBYTE&nbsp;students are exposed to an unparalleled, dynamic, educational and engaging CS learning experience! Register today for a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ktbyte.com/freetrial" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ktbyte.com/freetrial&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622725037124000&amp;usg=AFQjCNED2R673ZzKakJOtaGSycFpwW73uw">Free Trial</a>&nbsp;and experience the&nbsp;KTBYTE&nbsp;Difference!</p> </div> <div id="m_3428097911001171987aluminiaccomp"> <p><strong>KTBYTE&nbsp;Alumni Accomplishments</strong></p> <p>KTBYTE&nbsp;alums consistently outperform their peers in terms of their academic accomplishments.&nbsp;KTBYTE&nbsp;students ace their AP CS courses and exams and are also incredibly successful through the competitive college admissions process.&nbsp;KTBYTE&nbsp;students have been accepted to numerous Ivy League and competitive colleges and universities including but not limited to Brown, Carnegie Mellon, UChicago, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, UPenn, Princeton, Tufts, Yale, and many more!</p> </div> <div id="m_3428097911001171987shorttermbenef"> <p><strong>What Makes the&nbsp;KTBYTE&nbsp;Course Experience Unique?</strong></p> <p>At&nbsp;KTBYTE, all of our instructors are highly qualified and experienced, educational professionals who differentiate learning and offer&nbsp;KTBYTE&nbsp;students a multitude of opportunities for individualized instruction by spending hours each week preparing for each specialty class that they teach in order to offer a dynamic, engaging and fun educational course interaction for every&nbsp;KTBYTE&nbsp;student. Through our Virtual Machines, our instructors are able to see exactly what is on your child&rsquo;s screen throughout every class, and as such are easily able to assist your child through any obstacle that may arise. At&nbsp;KTBYTE, our nurturing, knowledgeable and caring teaching staff anticipate and identify when a student may be struggling with a problem even before the student decides to ask a question about it.</p> </div> <div id="m_3428097911001171987whoareinstructors"> <p><strong>What Sets the&nbsp;KTBYTE&nbsp;Teaching Team Apart?</strong></p> <p>KTBYTE&nbsp;instructors are college and post-college working professionals with extensive backgrounds in computer science. At the highest level, our artificial intelligence classes are taught by a graduate sutdent in AI. Each of our teaching professionals is passionate about igniting a love for learning in your child by presenting Computer Science concepts in practical ways which offer the student the opportunity to see Computer Science at work in recognizable applications from daily life. Every class, regardless of level will be individualized and differentiated to ensure your child&rsquo;s success!</p> </div> </div>

The Ailey School – First Steps and Bounding Boys

<blockquote style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;"> <div dir="ltr"> <div class="m_-3740164643787738207m_4977048992707393770WordSection1"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #0070c0;">At The Ailey School, FIRST STEPS offers a structured creative movement curriculum that allows girls (ages 3-6) and boys (age 3), to develop body awareness and control and learn the basics of dance technique. BOUNDING BOYS (ages 4-6) provides a more athletic experience, and an energetic approach to teaching dance skills.</span></p> </div> </div> </blockquote>