Classes

Family holiday traditions often seem to revolve around food: cooking special meals, baking holiday cookies and creating gingerbread houses. These family moments create those warm memories that children will look back on with nostalgia. But if your inner Martha is on vacation, consider taking your kids to a holiday cooking class instead.

Several kids' cooking clubs are offering holiday-themed classes in November and December, teaching staples like fresh cranberry sauce and gingerbread house construction. Classes for toddlers through tweens could whet your child's appetite for culinary greatness—or just a really good sugar cookie. Instruction doesn't come cheap: the classes range from $40 to $95 per child. Then again, every holiday host knows eager kitchen help is priceless.

As I stood in front of the stage at Crash Mansion on Bowery, I never imagined that it would be to see my daughter play the drums in her rock ‘n’ roll band. At the ripe old age of 6, Max looked up at me with her big blue eyes and said “Mommy, I would like to play the drums!” and so began my search for a music school.&nbspIf you have a budding little rockstar who is looking to get up on stage and perform, NYC is the place where kids can be rockers too. There are a few options where your children can explore the world or popular music. Here is the skinny:

[UPDATED 9/09] We've added some new classes to this post about free after-school programs and wanted to share it again. There are some great, high quality after school programs that are absolutely free. Here's a round-up of the best of the free after-school programs for kids and teenagers.

So many families move to Long Island for the amenities the Island has to offer: parks, great schools, a backyard! It shouldn't be a surprise that there is a growing crop of terrific resources for our kids sprouting up either.  Rare outside of large cultural meccas like NYC, there are several ballet studios on Long Island and many of the schools have been founded or are being run by professional dancers who too retreated from New York City to Long Island with their own families, and their programs and studios reflect their love of the profession and the student. Here are a few of the most notable:

It can be a challenge tracking down great classes for your kids in Queens. To help make it a little easier, we rounded up some of the ones we think are worth checking out all over the borough. Feel free to add your faves in the comments.

Summer is in its twilight and we all now have one eye on the end and the beginning of a new school year. Our thoughts are going to lunch boxes and schedules and after school classes. I thought we had better update our classes guide for you. It's got dozens of listings of different classes all around New York City, plus all the articles we've ever written about different classes and programs around the city. You can check out our Classes Guide here, but in the meantime you may want to try and sample some classes and see what you like. We've rounded up trial and demo classes from lots of programs all over the city. If nothing else, it might help you fill these last days of summer.  Plus, remember that many places will let you try any class for free once. Just call and ask.

CLASSES. They add enrichment, they give us downtime, they're places to meet other parents...and nowhere do you have a wider range of classes available than in NYC. From Mommy and Me Classes to Foreign Language Playgroups, Circus Arts to Swimming, find some of the best, most unique and well-loved classes in our listings and write-ups below.

FREE FALL DEMO CLASSES: Try before you buy during the free demo season this Fall. Find ones near you.

GIVE BACK: Help another child start the school year off right. Please visit the Coalition for the Homeless's Project Back to School website to find out how you can contribute.

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Mommy and Me Swimming Classes
Mommy and Me Swim Classes (or Daddy and Me) are a wonderful way to spend time with your baby or toddler that's enjoyable for both of you. During the winter it's especially wonderful to take off your clothes and slip into the heated pool with your delicious little jelly bean.

Mommy and Me Music Classes
Babies can respond to music before they can do a lot of other things, so it's no wonder that music classes are often the first Mommy and Me you'll try out with your little donut.

Free Swimming Lessons
The New York City Parks Department provides a variety of free, water-based programs for all ages and levels, ranging from swim lessons to recreational swimming to training for swim team competition.

Foreign Language Playgroups
Whether you want to preserve your heritage, develop your child's brain, or prepare them for the eventual Chinese world dominance, there are many foreign language playgroups in New York City, ready to help you out.

Free Afterschool Classes and Programs
After-school programs can be expensive. Luckily there are also lots of great, high quality after school programs that are free. Absolutely free.

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Some kids love summer because it means day camp and sports and running around all day. And for some kids, even the thought of that puts them into a cold sweat, which in turn puts parents into a cold sweat over what to do with kids all summer when they are not "typical" camp kids.

I happen to have a boy who is completely disinterested in a regular day camp and I can only imagine the torture (for both of us) that would follow if I signed him up for such a camp. Instead we tried RoboFun, which offers after school classes, summer camps and school vacation camps that teach kids robotics, animation, and video game design.

Debbie Koenig teaches a unique cooking class for new parents, called Parents Need To Eat Too, from her own Brooklyn kitchen, where she arms her students with tips, techniques and recipes to make sure putting a delicious and healthy dinner on the table doesn't get put aside along with your pre-baby jeans.

We got Debbie to share some easy, healthy no-cook recipes that are perfect for enjoying this summer, when the last thing you want to do is sweat over a hot stove. Thanks, Debbie!

A childbirth education class is exactly what it sounds like, a class either held over a weekend or once a week for a few weeks where you learn all sorts of nifty things about your pregnancy and impending birth.   One of the nice things about birthing classes is that you practice pain coping techniques that you might use in your labor, especially helpful if you are planning to have a natural childbirth. It's like a dry run and can help build your confidence—ok nothing quite compares to the real thing—but try being mildly uncomfortable by holding ice and observing your breath like you do in Birthing From Within classes and you'll laugh and figure out some things out about yourself before the 40^th week. Or try the relaxation techniques of HypnoBirthing.

Many pregnant women also make their first mommy friends in their birthing classes since you are meeting women who may live near you and will be having babies at the same time. Birthing classes are an important milestone for dads-to-be also, helping him become connected to the impending birth as well as prepared.

What you'll learn: signs and stages of labor, basic anatomy, pain coping techniques for women and partners, available pain medications and technology, basics of breast feeding, basic newborn care, cesareans and C-section prevention.

Timing: Most people suggest you sign up for a course so that it coincides with your seventh month.

Price: Usually $300-$400 per couple.

Some of the popular childbirth education classes offered in New York City: