Two years ago my, then 6 year old, daughter asked me if she could have a Chinese-themed birthday party. Blame the Mandarin program at her school or blame me for making her continue Spanish so she could continue to translate for her mother during family get-togethers. This theme then began to travel to other parts of Asia, with origami paper cranes, fan dancing etc. So we decided to include Japan and Korea and I am so glad we did, as we both learned a lot and the party was a huge hit! Continue Reading

The fact that I can “sing” the  theme to Jaws—Dun-Dun, Dun-Dun—to my kids,only to be met with blank stares, makes me very aware of the generation gap. My children will not know the  international gesture for rolling down a window, slamming down a phone or turning the T.V. off, but they will, oh yes they will have good, old-fashioned home birthday parties. Continue Reading

When Bloomfield couple Tasha Rifkin and Stephen Connolly had a baby boy two and a half years ago, little did they know he would become the inspiration for a new business venture.

“I had created a calendar of the baby’s photos using a standard calendar creation site online,” Rifkin tells Barista Kids. “My step-father said, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny to see the baby’s face in fun scenes, like as a surfer?’”

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This year, Easter just crept right up on me.

I’ll admit, that with school visits for next year in full swing, it completely escaped my attention. Look, I know what you’re thinking, but don’t judge: the date changes every year! What chance has a girl got?

Distractions aside, it dawned on me to this morning that I needed to rustle up some Easter baskets for my girls and being in the boondocks two hours north of Baristaville, I ended up doing a 60-mile round-trip and getting them from a gas station. Again, don’t judge…

Then, it hit me I needed some desserts for an Easter lunch that we had been invited to. Easter Lunch!?! The clue was in the title—I have no excuse for that—either way I needed to make something fast with store-cupboard ingredients and these recipes saved me.

These two choc-tastic offerings are unbelievably easy and quick: The “cheat’s chocolate cake” has just a handful of ingredients and the chocolate nest eggs are so easy your kids could make them. Even if you don’t celebrate Easter these are great desserts to have in your repertoire.

First off here’s the easiest chocolate cake recipe ever – Chocolate Nutella Cake aka Cheat’s Chocolate Cake

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Childcare in Montclair is getting a makeover courtesy of Zina Phillips, one of the creators and investors of Le Parc Place. What is Le Park Place, you ask, with its sprawling 11,000-square-foot building on Lorraine Avenue between Williams Sonoma and the train station?

For parents, it’s a one-stop shop for preschool, play, spot sitting, party planning and even concierge services. Here’s the breakdown:

Le Preschool will occupy the top floor of the building which is being gut renovated. Now accepting applications for fall, Le Parc Preschool offers the Mixed Integration Knowledge Orientation (MIKO) learning method for babies through age 5. Kids will start off in their homeroom, then move to math, science, art, music, Spanish, Mandarin and other classes throughout their day before they end up back in homeroom. The playground, also under renovation, covers almost 1 acre. All teachers will have degrees in early childhood education, Phillips said, and the teacher to student ratio will be 12 to 1 1 to 12.

Parc ‘n Play is another component of the business that occupies the bottom floor of the building. It’s a fully equipped play space with toys for toddlers through age 12. Parents can relax with free coffee, WiFi and a couch while kids play with toys and staff members who often do crafts.

Le Nani is a spot-sitting service. “Hiring an on-call caregiver is becoming really popular very quickly,” Phillips says. You can drop your kids off at the Parc ‘n Play while professional babysitters watch them. The service is available from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. One of the sitters, Isis Burr, 20, told me, “I used to be a nanny, and I love working with kids.” Another staff member, Lisa Ellis, 24, has a BA in family and child studies from Montclair State University. She expects to be one of the preschool teachers in the fall.

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What do you do when your kid wants a shark-themed birthday party and the party store does not carry shark pinatas? You do what my parents did for me back in the Stone Age between the invention of the wheel and sliced bread. You make one of course!

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Here at Barista Kids, we love our music classes for the younger set. Montclair is about to gain one more opportunity for music exposure in the form of Preschool of Rock, an active, raucus-in-a-good-way class for kids and caretakers who want to move and get loud. I was lucky enough to bring my three-year-old to a demonstration class at the Sharon Miller Academy for the Performing Arts (SMAPA) with Michael Napolitano on Tuesday, and both my daughter and I had a blast.

One difference from other preschool and toddler music classes is that all the music and singing is live. Michael, who has worked for many years with the Blue Man Group, played his guitar and drums for the children while he sang, and soon enough the more active children were joining in.  The typical Preschool of Rock class includes opening and closing songs with guitar and harmonica, shakers and other musical instruments that kids love so well, a chance to play drums of different types, and movement. Michael said that the movement part of the class is important to both get kids active and to recognize rhythms in the body and music.

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Technically not for dinner as such but these flapjacks, or as you Americans call them, Granola Bars, definitely make a great after-school snack or lunchbox treat.

These tasty bars are a great and easy alternative to some of the more suspect bars you may find on shelf in the grocery stores. You know, the ones that claim to be healthy but on close examination of the label contain more unpronounceable ingredients than you’d really expect or hope for.

The good thing about this recipe is that you can play with it to make your own (or your little one’s) signature bar. You can make it healthier by reducing the amount of sugar, using honey instead of syrup, adding more nuts and seeds. Or you can make it more decadent by adding chocolate chips or even a few spoonfuls of cocoa powder.

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A party in a pick up truck pulling a trailor? Yes! I saw this truck near Montclair Avenue a few weeks ago and wondered what was going on. At least 10 teenage boys were hanging around outside. Apparently, they were waiting for a party with Rolling Video Games of Northern New Jersey. Outfitted with four wide-screen, hi-def TVs, up to 16 kids at a time can play Wii, PlayStation or Xbox video games. Each party comes with a Game Coach to get the kids all set up. Age-appropriate games are available for kids who are 7 on up.

Parents can rent the truck for 1 to 2 hours. The truck arrives, and the party rocks. Check out their website for prices.

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Here’s a great crowd-pleaser for Super Bowl Sunday. Fellow Barista Kids writer, Stacey Gill, was telling me about this amazingly easy pulled pork dish her husband makes. You just slow cook the pork in root beer until it falls apart into a delicious, melting pile of tender shreds. The root beer makes it both sweet and tangy, you would swear it has been smoked. Her mouthwatering description meant I just had to try making it which I did for my daughters’ cowgirl party last week.

So here’s my take on Stacey’s husband’s recipe: Continue Reading