The Big Swim
April 12, 2008
The Big Swim is a one-of-a-kind open swim meet where 1,000 New York City children ages 6-16 participate in a free day of competitive swim races. Each child experiences the excitement of a real race with starting blocks, officials, and a timed finish. Races are all supervised by lifeguards and swimming Asphalt Green aquatics staff. This event has been recommended to me by other parents who said that your child does not need to be an very strong swimmer to have a great time. The environment is not competitive and each child goes home a winner with a medal, a photo with Olympians, a t-shirt, and a goody bag.

The Big Swim takes place on April 12, 2008, but registration forms must be received by March 30th. For more information on the meet, call 800.NYC.SWIM (800.692.7946) or go to the website to register online.

Asphalt Green's The Big Swim
555 East 90th Street
New York, NY 10128

YMCA Splash Week
April 21-25, 2008
The YMCA of Greater New York is hosting a week of free swimming lesson during their Splash Week to promote water safety for kids and families. During Splash Week local YMCA branches will be offering free half-hour swimming lessons to anyone aged 3 and up. Yes, there will even be free adult swimming classes as well as lifeguarding classes for anyone who's dreaming of getting a job as a lifeguard this summer. You won't find any information about Splash Week online. You must visit or call your local YMCA branch to find out the schedule of classes, but if you don't know where the nearest YMCA branch is you can find it at the YMCA website. Participating branches can be found in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Staten Island.

If you're looking for swimming classes for read our swimming classes post. It includes mommy and me swimming classes and classes for older children as well.

Tennis is a great sport for NYC kids. There are free tennis courts all over the city and you can play inside during the colder months. Now tennis is even more accessible to it's littlest players thanks to Elf Tennis and it's creator Esther Forrester. Esther, a former Division I college tennis player with over 10 years of experience teaching tennis to adults and children, has developed a new method of teaching tennis perfect for children as young as 3 years old.

What is the Elf Tennis secret? First they start with oversized foam balls and smaller nets to help smaller children get into the game and love it. But classes also focus on the 4 Fs: Fun, Fitness, Friendship and Fundamentals of tennis. Sounds like a winning combination to me.

Can't keep up with all your reading? Here's the top news stories and fun links from last week:

If you haven't watched Barak Obama's Speech on Race, you must do so now. Right now.

Public Health Risk Seen as Parents Reject Vaccines. Where do you stand???”NY Times

The Lycee Francais is proud to offer a five week summer camp program for the summer of 2009. You have the flexibility for signing up for any or all of the five weeks. The camp is open for students in nursery - fifth grade. We offer a full day program from 9:00 - 3:00 which incorporates a variety of activities such as art, music, dance, swimming, science, cooking and more... The goal is our camp is to teach our children to be citizens of the world. We therefore have one American and one French counselor with each group of students. The various activities are then taught in French or English. We welcome all students whether from within the Lycee or from another school or whether they speak French, English or another language. If you have any questions regarding the summer camp, please contact Amy Zuflacht at 212-439-3825 and she can provide you with a camp brochure and a tour of the facilities. Amy Zuflacht Director of Preschool Lycee Francais de New York Tel: 212-439-3825

And for more great camp ideas, check out our Summer Camp Guide! 

Boys and girls ages 4-14.

Journey with Magic Carpet and experience an exciting adventure each day with swimming, Arts & Crafts, sports, special events, and trips. This summer's "flight plan" includes stops at Adventureland, Fun Fuzion, Fun Zone, Chuck E. Cheese's, a Cyclone baseball game, a New York Liberty basketball event, Strikes, a farm, the movies, bowling lanes, a billiards hall and a skating rink. Weekly events include a carnival, costume party, talent show, an onsite TV game show, a puppet show, a live animal show, Olympics, and other contests.

The camp is located in a quiet Bayside community and is housed in a beautiful, air-conditioned facility complete with a gymnasium, lunchroom, stage, auditorium and outdoor areas. Daily swimming and instruction are given in two, private, outdoor pools. Door-to-door transportation, lunch and snack, a T-shirt and tote bag are provided. Campers are supervised by a professional staff of administrators, teachers and counselors.

In session from the end of June to the end of August, 9am to 4pm. Extended hours are available from 7:30 to 9am and 4 to 6pm at an extra fee. Two through eight week sessions are available. Come to an open house. Have your child fly the "Magic Carpet" to a fun-filled summer adventure.

Magic Carpet Day Camp Beautiful, Air-Conditioned Bayside Location Call for more information and Open House Dates (718) 634-8109 www.magiccarpetdaycamp.com

We've got a long weekend and I'm in the mood to get crafty. Preparing for holidays is always a fun time in our house when we can slow down and do some craft activities together. My kids love this and the crafts don't have to be complicated.

Making Easter Eggs is a great craft to do with kids because it can be tailored to be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be for different ages, abilities and crafty proclivities ??” meaning I can really get into it with my own creations.

Below I've rounded up a bunch of links to great Easter egg craft ideas, but this first link is to a delicious looking recipe for some Purim Hamantaschen. If you don't know about the Jewish holiday Purim, you can read about it on the 92nd St. Y site which tells the story. Purim is one of the few Jewish holidays that's really a kids' holiday.

Easter Egg Making Tips and Craft Ideas:

Thank you to everyone who entered into our Kangaroodle $100 gift certificate giveaway. Kangaroodle is offering a 15% discount for all Mommy Poppins readers on all purchases made now through May 31, 2008. And check out their new website which is even more fun and easy to navigate! Find out the code and our winner after the jump.

Free demo classes are like the gallery openings of childhood, but instead of free wine and cheese and pretentious art talk, you get a taste of some of the best classes available for kids. Here are some classes for babies, toddlers and kids that have free demo classes coming up, plus a super cool try-out opportunity for girls who just want to rock!

T. Kang Tae Kwon Do in Tribeca offers terrific martial arts classes for children as young as 2 years old and up through adult. Visit their open house on Sunday, April 6th at 12pm for a Tae Kwon Do demo by Junior and Adult students and stick around for free trial classes afterward. Register at the open house for a 10% discount. For questions, please call (212) 219-0043 or email tkangtkd@gmail.com.

Apple Seeds, the Chelsea play space is offering a full range of free demo classes like, "almost yoga" for 2.5/3 year olds, crafts, fitness, Spanish, "my Chelsea art opening", cooking and more. Classes are offered for babies up through 5 years old. VIsit the website to see the full offerings and then call to sign up for a free class.

Music for Aardvarks has arrived in a new location in Tribeca and to celebrate they're offering free $15 demo classes throughout the rest of March. You have to reserve a spot online. There are still spaces for March 19, 20, 26 and 27 for these city-centric kid music classes. In addition to the free $15 classes participants will get a free Taxi CD and $50 off Spring registration. [Sorry for the misprint. The classes are not free, but you do get a free CDS]

Not to be outdone, during the first week of April, Music Together is offering free trial classes for new students in several locations around Manhattan including, Murray Hill, Gramercy, Chelsea, SoHo, Tribeca, Battery Park City, and the West Village. Check out their website for dates and locations and to sign up.

In the "not free, but totally worth it" category is the Willie May Rock Camp for Girls MiniCamp this Saturday, March 22nd from 1-7pm at Union Pool in Brooklyn. They'll be giving guitar, bass, drums, keyboard and singing lessons to help uncover the rock star that lurks inside your little princess. Performances by hot girl rock bands Mod Rocket, Magnolia and Care Bears on Fire may inspire an irreversible trend toward uber-coolness. Open to all ages, but recommended for 5 and up. Register online. Performances by hot girl rock bands Mod Rocket, Magnolia and Care Bears on Fire may inspire an irreversible trend toward uber-coolness. Open to all ages, but recommended for 5 and up. Register online.