Park Slope with Kids: 50 Things to Do for NYC Families

Last fall, we started highlighting one neighborhood a month on Mommy Poppins. We began with Chinatown in October, and in November we explored the Upper West Side. After skipping December (which was all about the holidays), we continue our neighborhood spotlight series this month with Park Slope.

As we've posted in the past, Park Slope is overflowing with family fun. I lived in the area in my twenties with my chocolate Labrador, and now that I'm a mom in a nearby Brooklyn neighborhood, I visit frequently with my daughter. While Prospect Park West or the tree and brownstone-lined side streets are so peaceful to walk down, Fifth and Seventh Avenues buzz with energy and wonderful businesses. The Slope feels like a true community: Local shopkeepers know their regulars by name, neighbors sit and chat on their front stoops, and parents share info and swap baby items on the massive parent board, Park Slope Parents. Of course you can't walk down a block without running into a stroller or two (or three or four).

While we know many local parents find even more great things to do across Prospect Park or hitting nearby neighborhoods like Prospect Heights, Crown Heights and Gowanus, for the purposes of our posts, we're using Prospect Park West to Fourth Avenue, Flatbush Avenue to 15th Street as our boundaries for the Slope. We have lots of posts about the Slope coming up that will go more in depth on specific topics, but here are our top 50 things to do with kids in Park Slope, from culture to eating, shopping to playing.

1. Dig in the sandbox or run through the harp-shaped sprinkler in Prospect Park's Harmony Playground
2. Hang with the marionettes at Puppetworks
3. Ride the coin-operated alligator and eat a happy-face pizza at Two Boots Brooklyn
4. Catch free outdoor performances at the Prospect Park band shell courtesy of Celebrate Brooklyn!
5. Enjoy children's tea at Sweet Melissa Patisserie
6. Join voices with Lloyd of The Deedle Deedle Dees at his weekly Park Slope sing-alongs
7. Play with the train set and critter playhouse outside Little Things Toy Store
8. Hunt for treasures at the Park Slope Flea Market
9. Swim at the Prospect Park YMCA or take a class at the Park Slope Armory Y
10. Go thrifting at LuLu's Then and Now and other second-hand shops.
11. Help toddlers slide and socialize at the Garfield Tot Lot
12. Draw inspiration from animals, robots and Legos at Brooklyn Design Lab
13. Attend family events at the historic Old Stone House in Washington Park
14. Run around in the renovated JJ Byrne Playground once it reopens later this year
15. Barbecue with your family at a designated spot in Prospect Park
16. Say hello to the live bearded dragon and listen to Sunday Stories at The Community Bookstore
17. Browse the sweet and stylish children's clothes at Lolli
18. Take music lessons at the Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory of Music
19. Eat croissant sandwiches at Parco, a hidden gem of a cafe
20. Dance and act at Brooklyn Arts Exchange, which even has a drop-in play space for preschoolers
21. Buy fresh produce at the Park Slope Farmers' Market or join the Park Slope Food Coop
22. Climb and swing at the Third Street Playground in Prospect Park
23. Get creative at Hootenanny Art House
24. Read and learn at the Park Slope Library, which is scheduled to reopen in the fall
25. Pack a basket and head to the tables outside Prospect Park's Picnic House
26. Hone your writing and crime-fighting abilities at Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co., where you'll find the writing program 826NYC behind a secret door
27. Down a slice or two at Pizza Plus, which also has vegan options
28. Get junior's hair cut at LuLu's Cuts and Toys, and leave with a balloon, lollipop and new 'do
29. Flip through comics and graphic novels at Bergen Street Comics
30. Indulge your sweet tooth at The Chocolate Room
31. Find cool goodie bag trinkets at Toy Space
32. Check out giant steel student-made insect sculptures at P.S. 107
33. Splurge on a meal at Blue Ribbon Brooklyn
34. Shop for whimsical baby gifts at Pink Olive
35. Get crafty at Fiber Notion
36. Shop for clothes, toys and gear at Area Kids
37. March in the Park Slope Civic Council Children’s Halloween Parade
38. Let your tween pick out a wild outfit at 4PlayBK
39. Sit on the small stage at the neighborhood Barnes & Noble to read and socialize
40. See a family show at the Brooklyn Lyceum
41. Let your toddlers run amok at the play space at Congregation Beth Elohim
42. Sing, dance and make believe at Spoke the Hub
43. Introduce your kids to classical music with Chocolate Chip Chamber Music concerts at the Old First Reformed Church
44. Enjoy neighborhood festivities and deals from local businesses at the Snowflake Festival and the Seventh Heaven Street Festival
45. Catch the family improv show TheatreSports! at the Gallery Players theater
46. Rock out to a family concert at The Bell House
47. Encourage your adolescents to volunteer in Prospect Park in exchange for free recording time in the Beat Cave
48. Learn the ancient art of origami at Taro's Origami Studio
49. Hunt for animal statues, like bronze panthers, or historical monuments, like the Marquis de Lafayette in Prospect Park
50. Go sledding in Prospect Park near the 9th Street entrance