Lower East Side

We hear a lot about the benefits of cooking and eating healthy meals together as a family, but despite our best intentions, it can be tough to make that happen on a daily basis, whether for lack of time, energy, creativity—or all of the above.
 
You can get a little help in the kitchen and have fun doing it by taking a cooking class to learn easy, healthy recipes and techniques for getting food on the table for your kids. Despite what you might think, cooking classes don't have to be fancy or expensive, there are some casual options here in the city that are a good fit for parents for making family meals. 
 

Summer camp might be an especially stressful issue for parents on a tight budget because camps can be very expensive, and yet, not only do we want our children to have fun and rewarding experiences, we need them to be safely occupied. One thing I've learned is that cost and quality do not always correlate, at least when it comes to NYC children's programs. Some of the best programs are subsidized by arts and education funding so that all children can experience the rich and amazing resources of this city.

Below is a growing list of camps that I've been collecting over the years of free summer camps for New York City and a few camps that I believe offer great programs but are relatively inexpensive. We also keep a list of free summer sports programs which can't be updated until the info becomes available later in the Spring. Find that and many more summer camp ideas in our camp guide.

We recently wrote about some wonderful places to Shop for Handmade Toys and Children's Items in New York City. We wanted to complement that list with some other great suggestions where you can buy natural and green toys. What's the difference? While some natural toys are indeed handmade too, others come from eco-certified production facilities. Most importantly, all differ from commercially mass-produced, run-of-the-mill wooden toys in terms of quality, origin, and construction from sustainable, safe, natural, non-synthetic materials.

Puppet shows are one type of entertainment that never seems to fail for children. A timeless and a charming type of theater, the length of the show is perfect, the ticket price is right, and there is enough action so even the most plugged in kids won’t get bored. 

As a family we always love the enchanting marionette productions at the Swedish Cottage in Central Park, but we haven’t yet visited any of the other puppet theaters in NYC: a marionette theatre in Park Slope, a bilingual puppet theater on the Lower East Side and even a shadow puppet theatre in The Village. I plan on bringing my son to see a production at each of these theatres before the warm weather returns. They are all debuting shows this winter – so the timing is right.

I hadn't been to the movies in 10 months since having a baby and I missed it. I missed debating over the listings with my husband. I missed smuggling in Duane Reade candy and rating the preview trailers. I missed the dark that settles over the theater like few other places in this city, allowing you to escape for two hours even though you're rubbing elbows with a stranger in the next seat.

I'm not a movie buff, really. Going to the movies just sits on that list of adult things I no longer do, and therefore completely romanticize, since having a baby. Still, while I miss Fandangoing, I have a hard time justifying a babysitter when there is Netflix, so I was intrigued when a friend told me about a movie theater that not only allows, but encourages, parents to come with their babies.

A cup of molten goodness is the best way to thaw out and warm up – it is one of the best things about winter. We took on the heinous job of running around the city tasting testing hot chocolates (don't say we've never done anything for you) and picked out the top hot cocoa places that are worth the trip out in the cold. Here are 22 places in Manhattan that have turned drinking chocolate into an experience not to be missed:

Earlier this week we wrote about a website that helps you choose appropriate movies for your kids. Another way to find great movies for kids is to check out one of the local film series where aficionados have selected for you movies that are outstanding.

And this week there's a new option because the people who bring you the Tribeca Film Festival are turning their filmy goodness to movies for kids with the brand new Tribeca Cinemas Kids Club. Read on for the scoop on this new film series where you can catch cool flicks for kids every other Saturday starting this weekend, plus three other cool film series you won't want to miss.