Union Square

The Velveteen Rabbit is one of my family's favorite children's books... which is why we usually dread seeing it on stage. In the past, we've suffered through a few sleep-inducing adaptations of Margery Williams' classic tale that exuded none of its charm and were overly faithful to the detail-packed text.

That's why playwright Kevin Del Aguila's new interpretation for TheatreWorksUSA is such a treat. His hour-long Velveteen Rabbit is brisk and playful, yet also manages to capture the magic and emotion of the original book. Even better, it's one of those quality family shows that parents will enjoy just as much as their children. (I'm not ashamed to admit that my seven-year-old and I went through half a pack of tissues!)

Last week I wrote about last minute birthday party ideas, inspired by perhaps my most slacker mom moment—not having a party planned on the actual morning of my daughter's 10th birthday (Who am I kidding? Probably not even top 10). I wasn't stressed though, this is New York, limitless possibilities lay at my fingertips. I couched my guilt and got on the internet, where all life's problems are solved.

Our plan was to take a few of her friends out to dinner. I wanted to find a place that would be fun and was a real experience. My daughter's favorite, Ninja, was nixed as too expensive, Serendipity had no room. We settled on Max Brenner's Chocolate by the Bald Man off Union Square.

[UPDATED: August 16, 2012]

Russian is my first language, so when I became a mom, I resolved that all of my children would be bilingual. I now have three kids and failed with all of them in their own way (not unlike what Tolstoy said about unhappy families). They are all definitely English dominant.

But I did do one thing right with my now eight- and five-year-olds: In addition to speaking Russian to them from birth, I also enrolled them in baby sign language classes. Not only were they able to communicate through sign months earlier than their mouths and tongues were capable of physically producing words, it created a perfect bridge from one language to the other. When I spoke to them in English (if their father was around), I signed the words. If I spoke to them in Russian (when we were alone), I signed the words. Making the same sign whether I was speaking English or Russian crystallized the point that all three–English, Russian and sign–referred to the same thing, and really helped them keep it all straight.

Here are some places where families can take baby sign language classes in New York City.