Photo for Time Out Kids by Caroline Voagen Nelson

Time Out Kids: New York has a blogger series and we’re excited about the opportunity to share our guest blog post over there today!  Over the weekend, Lance and his family were fortunate to have an exclusive behind-the scenes tour of Symphony Space on the Upper West Side of Manhattan as well as be treated to an awesome glow-in-the dark production of Treasured Stories of Eric Carle by the award-winning Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia.  We look forward to checking out more of the Symphony Space “Just Kidding” family programs!

To read the entire post and visual slide show, click here: NYC Dads Group gives us the scoop on his family’s behind-the-scenes tour of Symphony Space. or read below:

One of my favorite activities as a parent is reading books with my son, Jake, 4. I get incredibly animated, use lots of silly voices and sound effects, and try my best to make the stories to come to life. Consequently, we have an extensive children’s library at home and read together frequently. Two of our favorites are classics by Eric Carle—The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?—so, it’s no surprise that our family was giddy with excitement last weekend when the award-winning Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia brought its epic production Treasured Stories by Eric Carle to the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Symphony Space on the Upper West Side.

Our family adventure started with an exclusive behind-the scenes tour of Symphony Space—a modern, sleek performing arts facility that was definitely designed with families in mind. As we traversed the different locations in the intimate theater, it was apparent that every seat in Symphony Space is a good one. Our first stop on the whirlwind tour included a discussion with the light technician for the theater. My son loves cause-effect relationships, so of course he enjoyed operating the theater’s light-control panel while sliding the various switches and changing the colors onstage, as well as turning spot lights on and off. Next stop: the stage!

On tage, we got to meet the “hungry caterpillar,” “brown bear” and members of the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia, who patiently answered the exhausting interrogation by my preschooler. My son fired off countless questions about the texture of the animals, the use of colors, how the animals would talk, how the caterpillar moved, why the caterpillar wasn’t “that big,” how things were connected and why the lightbulbs onstage were purple (shhhhh…we learned that the performance was going to be glow-in the dark!).

Our final stop on the tour was lunch in the Thalia Cafe, located in the lower level of Symphony Space. Rather than take the steps like the rest of the people on the tour, our son opted for a brief detour—a ride in the elevator. This was another highlight as our son is obsessed with elevators and escalators. After taking the elevator up and down several times (our son was checking to make sure it worked properly. Disclosure: It works perfectly well), we joined the others for a kid-friendly lunch. With our stomachs satisfied, we were ready for the show.

We quickly found our seats. One important thing to note was the significant number of booster seats available at the theater entrance, so that every child, our son included, could be seated in a position where they could see above the adults. A few moments later, the lights went out and our family was taken on a mesmerizing journey into the world of Eric Carle. The glow-in-the dark production was clever, engaging, and captured the eyes and ears of my little guy for the entire show. It was a wonderful experience to see how three Eric Carle classic stories could be brought to life in such a creative way.

To our delight, after the performance, it was almost as if the Wizard of Oz stepped out from behind the curtain. The talented team from the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia spoiled the audience and did something that a good magician never does. They took questions from the children in the audience and revealed some of the tricks they used during the performance. We took these treasured secrets with us, as we are still flying high from our experience at Symphony Space. We look forward to creating future family memories with the Symphony Space “Just Kidding” family programs.

L

Special thanks to Rory at Time Out Kids and talented photographer Caroline Voagen Nelson.

June typically spells warm weather, more playground time for families, and heartwarming stories surrounding father’s day.  That’s true this year, with many of our favorite local parenting and lifestyle magazines publishing father’s day articles.  However, the content has more depth this year & we hope you’ll agree.  A step in the right direction.  Here is our brief roundup:

• Our friends at New York Family Magazine leads the field on depth, quantity, and wow-factor.  With about 25% of this month’s magazine dedicated to dadcentric material, check out The DAD CHRONICLES (a round up of parenting stories from a diverse group of dads including one of our own, Jack Howard-Potter www.steelstatue.com)….or IN THE BALANCE, a GROUNDBREAKING conversation between five working fathers (you might recognize a few of the players involved here so we are biased) & a professor on the juggle of career and home…and NINTENDO THERAPY including an excerpt from Buzz Bissinger about his new book, Father’s Day: The Story of His Intellectually Challenged & Gifted Son.  Check out these articles or grab a free copy of the magazine in the Turquoise colored drop box on your street corner.

• New York Metro Parents (aka Big Apple Parent) had a unique photo story and related contest based on concept from a new book Dear Photograph by Taylor Jones (William Morrow, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; $25.99) to celebrate and display special parenting memories & moments in honor of Father’s Day.   Additionally, they gave the NYC Dads Group a special shout out by including a nice piece “Spotlighting” our New Dad Boot Camp workshops  + an in-depth interview.  Thanks to Dawn Roode, Vanessa Friedman, Kaitlin Ahern, and the entire team! Check out these articles or grab a free copy of the magazine in the Blue colored drop box on your street corner.

• Manhattan Parent Guide News caught up with Jeremy G. Schneider, a therapist that is a positive voice on active, engaged, and involved fatherhood.  Check out his piece: The Father-Child Connection: Building bonds even when work calls.

I am a loyal subscriber and avid reader of Time Out New York (TONY): KIDS monthly magazine. In fact, I have been hooked on the Time Out brand ever since studying abroad in London in 1994, and using Time Out: London to hit local happenings on the cheap.

For all new and expecting parents, you will want to grab a copy of the new Time Out New York Kids January/February 2012, Baby Issue. Basically, it hits the high notes on so many important and relevant resources for new parents from Expectant Parent classes, Parent & Me classes (unfortunately still labeled mommy & me classes), new parent social and support groups, local babysitting agencies so you can maintain date night post-baby, as well as popular indoor playspaces.

Page 24 provides the lead in to the wonderful roundup spotlighting several important parent groups in NYC. The article, BEST PARENTING GROUPS IN NYC, gives a gentle nudge to “join one of these parenting groups for support, advice, and much needed nights out.” Seek out a new parents groups in New York City; Join one and your social calendar (and your babe’s) will be filled up in no time. The round-up includes nice spotlights on our NYC Dads Group, BabyBites, Astoria Moms Group, Bronx New Mommies Group, Family-Wellness Solutions, and the uber popular Park Slope Parents. The brief piece about our dynamic group includes a little history on how the group was formed, the type of events & activities we engage in with our kids, and of course, an action photo of the dads having a blast with their kids at The Little Gym of the Upper West Side. It was great to see that our New Dad Boot Camps was mentioned as well as part of the comprehensive programming at well know parenting venue, Tribeca Parenting.  Huge props to Time Out New York Kids for being so supportive and inclusive of fathers and for including the NYC Dads Group as one of the best parenting groups in NYC. We are honored and most grateful! Were also hopeful that the article will provide some guidance so a few new dads will join our awesome group.

First, let me say that I am a loyal subscriber and avid reader of Time Out New York: KIDS monthly magazine. In fact, I have been hooked on the Time Out brand ever since studying abroad in London in 1994, and using Time Out: London to catch some cool events and save some cash.

For this reason, as well as wanting to share our resource with other involved fathers looking to socialize and connect, the NYC Dads Group was excited to participate in the TONY Kids January/February 2011, Baby Issue.  Basically, we are a caring community of dads of all stripes that enjoy spending quality time with our children.

Page 19 of the magazine provides the lead in: “Oh, baby! Now that your little one has made her big arrival, let the celebration begin. Get the lowdown on the best places to mark those important milestones—first pair of shoes! first restaurant outing!—helpful new-parent groups around the city, must-have gear and more.”

Page 26 provides the lead in to the wonderful article by Lambeth Hochwald spotlighting several New-parent groups in NYC. The article, JOIN THE CLUB: Seek out a new parents groups in New York City; Join one and your social calendar (and your babe’s) will be filled up in no time.  Hochwald’s article includes nice spotlights on our NYC Dads Group, First Time Upper West Side Moms, Astoria Moms Group, our good friends at The Hudson River Park Mothers Group (aka HRP Mamas), and Baby Bites.  The brief piece about our dynamic group includes a little history on how the group was formed, the type of events & activities we engage in with our kids, and of course, a few pictures of the dads having fun with their kids at The Little Gym of the Upper West Side.  Huge props to TONY Kids for being so supportive and inclusive of fathers.  We are most grateful!  We’re also hopeful that the article will gently nudge a few dads to join our awesome group.

As an at-home-dad, one of the biggest challenges for me is NOT getting trapped inside our apartment during the winter. Each bitter cold day that goes by, our home feels smaller and smaller. Consequently, I am always seeking innovative ideas to be entertained with my son when the weather is freezing outside.

Time Out New York: Kids latest issue has some positive solutions for us in Baby, It’s Cold Outside by Marisa Cohen. TONY provides 25 things for families to do during the winter.

Some of the the items on the list are what you would expect – NY Botanical Gardens, see a Broadway show, or visiting the American Museum of Natural History. I thought #4 on their list sounded interesting if you have a crew of friends in your building and you enjoy bar crawls… #4) Have a traveling shindig.

Remember back in college, when a keg party would move from dorm room to dorm room? Simply substitute juice boxes for beer, and you’ve got a cheerful way to spend the day without ever putting on gloves and hats. Get in touch with other families in your building to plan the celebration: The kids can start out eating pancakes in 9M, move to 12K for an arts-and-crafts project, watch DVDs in 3L and have a board-game tournament in 7G. (Plastic cups full of beer or wine for parents are optional.)

There are few other gems on this list … like an excursion to Ikea in Brooklyn for food and the ball pit, becoming a “YouTube star” or “mall-walking” at the Queens Center Mall for their indoor playground.

Ideally, it would be great if they had compiled a list for parents with kids 3 and under (I know I am being selfish here) as well as a separate list for the older children – Marisa Cohen, are you listening?

As a native New Yorker, I still think of myself as a tourist in my own city. I like to take advantage of the culture, entertainment, and events in and around NYC. Before I had kids, my number one resource to “be in the know” about the best events in NYC was Time Out NY Magazine. This is a magazine I discovered and found valuable when I spent some time in Europe. Then, it finally started being published in NYC a few years ago.