September is one of my favorite months, although when I was young I had real conflict with it like most kids. You want to go back to school and see your friends, but at the same time you don’t want summer to end. For me, it was more about the approach of winter than the loss of summer. The winters in Chicago where I grew up were pretty severe and I never looked forward to the harshness of that season. It used to be that way here in New York, too, as I recall. I’ve been here for many years now and it seems they get milder, or maybe my recall from youth just makes it seem that way.
Without a doubt, September brings a lot of great weather perfect days and the irony is that most everyone is back in gear and unable to enjoy them to the fullest. Children look out the windows of their classrooms and see Indian Summer days that make one long for the summer that’s past, or if they’re lucky, they will be doing great things after school that keep them outdoors a bit.
My daughter did everything, or it seemed that way to me, her personal chauffeur. She took gymnastics, swimming, dance, after school science, studied classical guitar, and was on a soccer team. Not all at once, I might add. That was a lot of organization for her mom, and I did it with gusto and professionalism while balancing my work life along side. The benefits for her were huge and I was lucky that she was my one and only and I didn’t have more than one to schedule.
Every year this issue presents an Activity/Afterschool Guide to help parents see the myriad of possibilities that exist around their communities that will enhance and intrigue the talents and potentials of their children. There are varied programs of all kinds and we urge you to sign your kids up for some of them, whatever their inclination and/or need. We have to provide a lot of extra stimulation for our children beyond their classrooms so they will become rounded human beings. We have to make certain their exposure is wide and stimulating. Education is about much more than reading, writing and arithmetic.
New York is a great place to be a parent raising children. There are so many possibilities. Anyone who’s bored here is not justified. There will be wonderful activities all month long throughout the five boroughs. We urge you to use our online calendar as well as our print publication to find out what’s happening around our city. Log on to www.NYParenting.com and sign up for our e-blasts. They come twice a week and are chock full of information. We’re proud of our website and think it balances our print products really well. There’s something for everyone.
Thanks for reading.
