New York City offers a deep well of enriching activities for children—and they’re not just for the affluent. In fact, more than anything, a parent seeking to find kids classes and programs needs to be resourceful and creative in their research, keeping in mind that, chances are, what you are looking for is out there. You just need to find it. Did you know, for example, that there are children’s classes in archery, computer programming (digitalmediaacademy.org, internaldrive.com, iventgenuityworkshops.org), and building stuff, just to name a few?
When looking for kids classes, the place to start is with class directories like this one, but after that, go to Google. Then think about who might offer what your looking for. Think about parks, museums, Ys, schools (including colleges)—a lot places offer programming for children. Another tip: If you see a school, either public or private, that has afterschool programming that you’re interested in, don’t assume that it’s just for their own students; if there are spaces available, they’ll sometimes make the program available to kids who don’t go to school there. Also, if you find a class that you like, but the cost is prohibitive, ask about scholarships or discounts. People like to help parents who are trying to help their kids.
