Top 10 Out-Of-The-Box Activities & Sports

If fencing and squash aren’t cool enough for your kids, here are 10 out-of-the-box sports they might enjoy. Perhaps they might even let you join.

Boxing: Especially when it involves non-contact punching, boxing can improve coordination and agility. Classes are offered throughout the city.

Capoeira: This Brazilian martial art combines dance, acrobatics, and music. Classes are offered around the city at locations including PenArte Capoeira (near Penn Station and Midtown West), Nago Academy (Murray Hill/Kipps Bay), New York Capoeira (on the LES), and more!

Circus Tricks and Aerial Arts: Practitioners of these ancient arts dive, flip, do headstands, and otherwise move through space while hanging from scarves, swings, trapezes, and other tools. Classes offered through the 92 Y as well at other venues located in Manhattan and Long Island City at the New York Trapeze School.

Obstacle Courses: Can’t decide whether you want to do obstacles, zip line, or work ropes? The Alley Pond Park Adventure Course features activities for all ages and physical activities.

Parkour: Military-style obstacle course training uses only the human body and surroundings. Participants of just about any age climb, roll, jump, pivot, run, and swing to get from place to place as efficiently as possible. Various ages with classes around the city at Chelsea Piers, NY Parkour, and at CrossFit Kids.

Personal Training (for older kids): Because tweens no longer get their ya-yas out on the playground, a few boutique gyms around the city have begun to fitness classes to the younger set. The Upper East Side is a hot house for classes, including gyms such as AKT in Motion and Exceed Physical Culture (which also has kids classes in Tribeca). Soul Cycle offers classes for those 12 and older, Zumba classes for teen girls are offered throughout the city, and CrossFitKids classes are offered in every borough except the Bronx.

Rock Climbing: Now that the weather is getting cooler, you’ll be looking for some indoor activities. The city has several rock climbing gyms, including Chelsea Piers, SRB NYC, MPHC, The Cliffs Island, and Brooklyn Boulders. Check ahead to make sure you can rent shoes and other equipment there.

Skateboarding: Though boarding is usually a summer activity (and each borough has at least one designated skate park), enthusiasts can still get their fix at indoor parks when the temps drop. Find a place at NY Skateboarding and at New York City Skateparks). Quartersnacks is a good source for outside DIY spots.

Gaga: An addictive, dodgeball-esque game, Gaga puts players in an octagonal pit, where they try to hit other players below the knee with a soft foam ball, and try to avoid getting hit themselves. Check out the Upper East Side’s Gaga Center–it’s the only place to play in Manhattan!

Thinking ahead to warmer weather:

Mountain Biking: The Brooklyn Bike Park in Williamsburg offers a family-friendly course with a beginner and advanced pump track for mountain bike riders and BMX riders. Children and adults can rent bikes as they learn how to mountain bike. Currently closed for the season.

Sailing: Summer classes based in Battery Park, Hudson River Park, and the Upper West Side let you to see Manhattan from the water, a site you don’t get unless you’re a frequent Staten Island Ferry rider or take the boat in from Jersey.

Appletree ABA

Appletree ABA is committed to providing effective high-quality and compassionate ABA therapy services to individuals with Autism and their families. We do this by utilizing evidence-based practices, collaboration with families and professionals, and an individualized approach tailored to promote meaningful change. Home-Based Services: Home programs are focused on increasing the skills necessary to participate in the home and community. School-Based Services: School-Based Services Appletree ABA offers school-district consultation and training. Center-Based Services: Coming soon!

Enabling Devices

Enabling Devices is a family-run business that designs, manufactures and sells adapted toys and accessible devices that make life more joyful and fulfilling for children and adults living with disabilities. &nbsp; It started with a train set, a mercury switch, and a young boy whose therapist thought he couldn&rsquo;t play with toys. In 1975 our founder, Dr. Steven Kanor, walked into a room at United Cerebral Palsy/Long Island and saw a boy sitting in a wheelchair, his head resting on his shoulder. When he asked where the toys were, the OT said, &ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t have the motor skills to play with toys, and he can&rsquo;t lift his head.&rdquo; But Dr. Kanor was not interested in what the boy couldn&rsquo;t do. He was interested in the boy's potential. The next morning, he was back. He&rsquo;d brought a train set, which he&rsquo;d connected to a mercury switch. The switch, the first capability switch he&rsquo;d designed, was attached to the boy&rsquo;s ear. When the boy raised his head, the switch made contact and the train ran around the tracks. After several weeks of playing with this toy, the boy was holding his head up straight, even when the train was not running. Dr. Kanor was elated. Since that day, he never stopped innovating, never stopped trying to make our products better, never stopped designing new devices. Today, our design team is just as passionate, just as creative, and just as committed to innovation as the man who founded this company. Enabling Devices is the place to find toys, devices and tools that help build more joyful, fulfilling lives. We have an extensive selection of adapted toys, capability switches, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices, adapted electronics, mounts, iPad products, sensory items and products for the visually impaired. Over the years, the important constants remain. We&rsquo;re still the same small, family-run company Steven Kanor founded in 1978, with the same values of personal connection and deep product knowledge. We&rsquo;re still committed to providing caring, individualized service to each customer. And we&rsquo;re still grateful for the privilege of sharing in your journey.

Camp Lee Mar

A private 7 week residential summer program offering a unique curriculum incorporating a strong Academic and Speech program with traditional camp activities. Our campers flourish at Lee Mar due to the structured environment we provide which allows our campers to feel comfortable and secure. Careful study is made of parent input, school (IEPs), camper interview, etc., so that the interests and needs of each child can best be determined for suitable grouping prior to the camper arriving. At Lee Mar the children find comfort and friendship with children of similar age and functioning level. From this foundation we encourage our campers to embrace and learn new skills and have new experiences which they can build upon on their return home. We also focus on building friendships which last throughout the year, as well as learning how to cope with the dynamics of group situations. Development of the whole child is our goal. We work hard at improving the daily living, social, and life skills of our campers, while giving them the happiest summer of their lives!