Master Classes for Serious Young Musicians

BY  |  Tuesday, Jun 04, 2013 1:30pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

Modern Music AcademyIt’s not a parenting secret that getting kids involved in music is good for them. But what about when your kid is really interested in music and wants to know more about being a musician? The Modern Music Academy is giving local singers and players of all ages opportunities to engage with seasoned musical pros in a pair of master classes on June 8 and 17.

First up is Juan Mendoza, a Perth Amboy native and professional drummer who won the 2012 Guitar Center Drum-Off competition. He’ll be at Just Jake’s on Saturday, June 8, 11 am, for a Percussion Master Class. The event will begin with MMA students showing their drumming chops, and will be followed by Mendoza performing and teaching. “You can hear what Juan has to say and what Juan has to play,” says Jarrett Zellea, who started the Modern Music Academy with his wife Jenny. “He’ll share some of the awesome stuff he can play, and talk about how he got to where he is.”

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Teens: Get Free Yoga for One Year with a Scholarship from Garden State Yoga

BY  |  Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 9:00am  |  COMMENTS (0)

There is nothing, and I mean nothing, I like to do better than yoga. (Okay, maybe one thing, but this is a family site!) I am happiest in upward dog. For me, joy is falling face first out of a handstand.

I started doing yoga to stay in shape–and I’m the strongest I’ve ever been in my life–but I keep at it because it makes me calm, joyous and sane. Before every class, we take a moment to reflect on what’s important in life, and we learn to be happy about what we have right now. I don’t want to get all crunchy. The actual yoga moves are cool, too. I feel like I’m dancing. But thankfully, for everyone involved, I’m not dancing because I look ridiculous doing the pop and lock. Instead, I do yoga. Everyone can do yoga.

My favorite studio, Garden State Yoga, is offering a free one-year yoga scholarship to four enthusiastic local teenagers. GSY is the perfect place for young people: it’s athletic, it’s smells minty, and they use awesome playlists. The teachers motivate and inspire–and they literally stand on their heads for their students. One of my instructors, GSY director Erin Barry, knows a few special teens will get the awards.

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Dino-Store: Montclair Parents Give Us an Interactive Storybook filled with Silliness and Surprises

BY  |  Thursday, Dec 20, 2012 10:00am  |  COMMENTS (0)

UPDATE: You can now purchase Dino-Store on your iPhone!

Usually it’s the kids who create homemade gifts for their parents, but when it comes to the creative folks over at New Jersey’s own Bluemarker, it’s the other way around.

Earlier in the year, Barista Kids told you about Janette Afsharian and her company’s award-winning on-line activities for young children. Well, she’s back with a brand new  interactive iPad Book App that is a true family affair – with dinosaurs! Janette and her husband, prize-winning poet Roger Sedarat, bring us Dino-Store, a silly and fun story about what might happen the next time you choose the EXTRA large eggs at the grocery store.

Rounding out the talent for this interactive story are Brooklyn illustrator Trade Loeffler and narrator Rachael Egan, also a Montclair parent. The App has been tested by the “neighborhood kids,” and now it’s ready for its public debut. Just released yesterday, Dino-Store is already garnering positive reviews! Parents can keep up with the App on its Facebook page, as well as the Bluemarker Dino-Store page.

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Where to Get Kids’ Manicures and Pedicures in Montclair—and How Much It’ll Cost

BY  |  Monday, Dec 10, 2012 1:00pm  |  COMMENTS (4)

How do you take your girls for manicures and pedicures without spoiling them? I love to drag them to the nail salon with me, but I don’t want their heads to get full of nonsense like pampering, privilege and social inequality. I can take a pure feminist anti-pedicure stand, or I can just accept that I really love getting my feet massaged and my toenails painted perfectly without smudges. I tip well to justify my behavior.

This is an inner struggle I’m passing down to my girls, age 7. It was bound to happen–there are more than 10 nail salons in Montclair alone, and they’re all popular with females ages 4 to 74. My kids started out by tagging along with me and my iPad to keep them entertained. Of course, they started asking to get their own nails done with sparkly flowers and dotted ladybugs. One thing led to another, and now their getting manis and pedis is a regular reward when they accomplish special goals.

This week, all of my kids’ teachers gave them accolades at the parent conferences. They’re rocking the first grade and kindergarten, and we intend to celebrate a smooth and excellent year. My husband will take my son to play football at the park, and I will take the girls to the nail salon. I’ll take them all ice skating, too. Everyone will bond and have fun. We’ll still be feminists, just well-groomed.

So where should you go for kids’ salon services, and how much should you pay? I found a wide range of prices—girls’ manis and pedis run anywhere from $19 to $30. And even a kids pedicure includes a soak, scrub, cut, file and polish–often with designs. You need an appointment at the packed places (i.e. Pinky and Jeeyune). But you can easily walk in to other spots. Here’s all the info on your favorite local salons below: Continue Reading

Barista Kids Ice Skating Guide

BY  |  Tuesday, Dec 04, 2012 12:00pm  |  COMMENTS (2)

When I asked my friend (that would be Georgette) if she liked to ice skate, she said, “I suck. I tried with my daughter when she was 4, and it was torture.”

To Georgette and anyone else who feels that way, I beg you to ice skate again. I am the worst kind of skater because I think I’m great, and I’m terrible. I was really into roller skating in the ’80s, so this is my modern outlet. And it’s complete with loads of bangs and crashes to humble myself in front of my kids. My children can barely stand up on their rented thin blades, but they love to ice skate with me at Clary Anderson in Montclair. We go to the crazy open skate on Saturdays, and we glide as we sing along to Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and Ke$ha songs. We hold hands; we fall down; we laugh; we repeat. Some of my best bonding time with my 7-year-old daughters and 5-year-old son has been on the ice. Every time we go, someone cries and someone learns to keep trying. We always wind up at the grimy concession stand where we drink hot chocolate and eat churros.

Maybe you already love ice skating, but if you don’t, go back. Ice skating is one of the greatest winter experiences for families. You don’t want to miss the hockey-player smell, the crowd (you’ll know everybody there) and the Zamboni.

And please note: If your child is 5 and under or has never skated, arrive early and rent the walker (they always run out of them). This is just what it sounds like: A red walker that glides on ice that allows even the most uncoordinated kid to rock it out. The walker is the secret to true ice skating happiness for anyone who goes with a beginner.

Where do you like to ice skate? There are tons of places to go locally and beyond. Click below for our ice skating guide that includes arenas, public skate times and costs.

See you on the ice!

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Black Friday Drop Off at Uptowne Girl Salon

BY  |  Friday, Nov 16, 2012 8:00am  |  COMMENTS (3)

How is it that Black Friday is almost already here? I haven’t had time to save money! Oh but I’m sure I’ll still find the resources to spend dough this holiday season.

I might just start at Uptowne Girl Salon. My 7-year-old twins love the manicures and pedicures, facials and up-dos there. See one of them during her Uptowne Girl birthday party last month at left. (I swear these children are not spoiled.)

If your girl would like some pampering, Uptowne Girl is offering a Drop and Shop day for Black Friday. All ages are welcome from 10 a.m. to noon on Friday, Nov. 23. The idea is that the kids will be supervised and have fun while their moms get two free hours to go shopping (or get their nails done). The cost is $30 per girl.

The children will get up-dos, make up applications, manicures, nail art, snacks and craft time. Space is limited, and Uptowne Girl asks that you RSVP by Tuesday, Nov. 20 at the latest:
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No Kidding! Symphony Space has Fantastic Programs for the Whole Family

BY  |  Tuesday, Nov 13, 2012 7:30am  |  COMMENTS (2)

Visiting with Brown Bear

This past weekend, my family visited Symphony Space for the first time. My husband and I had been a few times before, but it’s a whole new world when taking the kids for a trip in Manhattan to see a live show. We went in to see the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia perform Treasured Stories by Eric Carle. It’s a wonderful glow-in-the-dark puppet show of three of Eric Carle’s best loved stories. We had a wonderful time, and the Symphony Space theatre is a great place to bring the kids.  Here’s a tip: if you go with smaller children, try to be in line early so you get a booster seat. They are stacked up between the entrances to the seats. You can always go old school and fold up your jacket to make your child taller, but that only works during the cold weather.

The Just Kidding series of family events at Symphony Space chooses accessible and just plain fun events for children of all ages. This Saturday at 11 am, they have the wonderful Gustafer Yellowgold show which combines story-songs and live animation to delight the kids. It’s accurately described as “a cross between Yellow Submarine and Dr. Seuss” by The New York Times.  And later in December they are hosting both Valentina Kozlova’s The Nutcracker and a Barista Kids’ favorite, Elizabeth Mitchell.

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Boone Studio’s Open House Attracts Kid Yogis and Dancers

BY  |  Monday, Oct 08, 2012 8:00am  |  COMMENTS (1)

Boone Studio, the brand new Barre and Mat studio on Church Street in Montclair, hosted a grand opening open house for children and adults on Saturday. Children danced in pirate and butterfly costumes while adults listened to Latin jazz and snacked on delicious food from Uncle Moustache while admiring the studio space and signed up for the open house classes.

As we reported at the end of September, the studio has been offering free classes during its first two weeks. With childcare available during most daytime classes, it’s the perfect time to try something new (hot power and barre fusion, anyone?) with no fee. And it’s not just for little kids, either. Tween and teen yoga is on the Wednesday open house schedule, and yoga for athletes is planned for the future.

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Fairway Market Foodie Class for Kids

BY  |  Monday, Oct 01, 2012 9:30am  |  COMMENTS (0)

Relaxation for many parents is grocery shopping without the kids. Having the luxury to scoot through the aisles without hearing “I want Sugar Munchies!” and without having to return all the surreptitiously collected items that appeared in the shopping cart not only shaves time off the trip, but saves sanity as well. And in Foodie Heaven – I mean Fairway Market – that goes double. Is it just me, or does everything look more vibrant at Fairway?  The fine folks at Fairway Market in Woodland Park know this, and they would like to introduce parents to a fun program that will keep the kids occupied while parents shop: Foodie Friends Class. I took my kids to the first class held at the Woodland Park Fairway, and they are already looking forward to the next one!

The topic for this class was centered on planning, shopping for, and creating a packed lunch. All the children received a Fairway shopping list, and they had to come up with items to put on their lists if they were making sandwiches and yoghurt and fruit parfaits. They then went around the store (with several adults to supervise) to “shop” for bread, cold cuts, condiments, and fruit.  Once they had taken the tour and checked the items from their lists, they returned to the cafe to create their meals.

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See Georgia O’Keeffe and Saya Woolfalk at Montclair Art Museum with the Kids

BY  |  Sunday, Sep 30, 2012 11:00am  |  COMMENTS (0)

The Montclair Art Museum has two colorful and fun exhibitions running through January 2013. Between the adobe houses, nature views, and Kastinam images of Georgia O’Keeffe and the brilliant color, butterfly adorned, and life-sized characters of Saya Wookfalk, children and their grown-ups will have lots to enjoy during afternoons at our own Montclair Art Museum.

The more traditional exhibition is Georgia O’Keeffe in New Mexico, but it may include pieces new to that those of us who had an O’Keeffe print hanging in our rooms.  Children will like seeing the Katsinam dolls and paintings of ceramic chickens and mountains. Older children will appreciate the variety of colors and styles O’Keeffe used to convey her surroundings. Saya Woolfalk’s The Empathics may frighten very small children, but focusing on the colors and butterflies should quell any anxieties. Kids will love the colors and sparkles and full-sized characters throughout the installation.  There is so much to look at and discover throughout that it may take two visits to appreciate. I strong suggest visiting the outdoor screens which feature video from the exhibit before seeing the installation. It will help prepare the kids for the experience.

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