A Child Grows In Brooklyn

Fall Classes Begin With Free Trials and Giveaways!

It seems like summer shouldn't be ending. I swam once (in the Clermont pool in Fort Greene- wonderful by the way), read only two pleasure books and ate only one hamburger.  No baseball games, no paragliding, no trick boogey boarding and no BMX racing....I just watched the Olympics and stayed inside with my pregnant belly.

Meanwhile, all the instructors are gearing up for the fall classes and some are offering great deals and free trial classes. I am highlighting a few here. If you want to add your classes- feel free to do that at the bottom of this post under comments. Please don't email me about them,  just add them yourself.

Big City Moms is giving away 5 free tickets to their Little Maestros class at Kidville in Park Slope. In order to get a free ticket for you and your little one- email me what your favorite post has been on this blog (okay, a little selfish of me here, but I want to know what you all do/don't like).  First 5 emails get tickets.
I am going to the class too. I have heard a lot about Little Maestros and am dying to check it out with Birch. If you don't win, the class is $20 in advance at $30 at the door. Hope to see and meet you there, either way.......
Here is the info on the class:  "Little Maestros, named NYC's premiere infant and toddler music program by the New York Times and NBC's Today Show, is a music performance class where music and friends are made. Each class features 4 live musicians who sing and play guitar, piano and drums. Little Maestros takes children on a fantastic musical journey each week. You and your child will love our musical story times, songs of all kinds, imaginative play, language development activities, puppet shows and "bubble music". "Kidville, 808 Union Street, Brooklyn on Wednesday, September 10 at 3 pm. RSVP: events@bigcitymoms.com or 917-488-8542

Alexandra Beller/Dances is offering Yoga and Pilates classes:  1st class 1/2 price and 2nd class FREE! They offer childcare for $10 (24 hr reservation required - call or txt 917.701.5534) with classes. Childcare not included w/ promotion.
Mondays   6:15 pm - Pilates
Sundays   11:00am - Yoga
For more Information:
917.701.5534
alexandra@alexandrabellerdances.org
www.alexandrabellerdances.org/about/yoga.htm

Everyday Athelete Fall Session starts on Monday September 8.
Baby Movement for 12- 18 month olds
Teenie Tumblers for 16 mo- 2.5 yr olds
Tumble Kats for 3-4 yr olds
Tumbling Tigers for 4-6 yr olds
Acro-Tumbling for Boys or Girls 6-9 yr olds and 9-12 yr olds
Functional Play for Girls for 6-10 yr olds
Ballet in partnership with Cobble Hill Ballet
They will be having an OPEN HOUSE with free classes this Saturday, starting at 9am so you can give the classes a try.
Call  718-852-6300 or check website for more info: www.everdayathletestudio.com/youth

Try one of these Free Classes: Sling Your Baby -September 8th in Park Slope at Jennifer Brilliant Yoga located at 732A Carroll Street. Toss Your Toddler -- September 8th in Brooklyn Heights at the Brooklyn Dojo, located at 93 Pineapple Walk and September 11th in Park Slope at Jennifer Brilliant Yoga located at 732A Carroll Street.

A new 6 week Stroller Fitness session will begin on Monday 9/8. Meet every Monday and Wednesday at 11am in front of the playground at Fort Greene Park.
2 times per week - $180
1 time per week - $108
drop-in rate - $20
Please email stephanie.severe@gmail.com or call to reserve your spot! Stephanie  347.581.8443

Fall Classes Open House on September 4th at Still Hip Brooklyn. Meet the teachers, hang out, chat, eat and drink.  Leave the kids at home and find out what classes they are offering at Still Hip this fall. Thursday, September 4th at 7pm.
Still Hip
www.stillhipbrooklyn.com
moms@stillhipbrooklyn.com
283 Grand Ave (btw. Lafayette and Greene)
Brooklyn, NY (Clinton Hill)
718-398-0008

Naomi's Music, offering Music Together at Kiddie Korner,  will be offering 2 free sample classes of Music Together this Friday, September 5th, at 10am and 11am at Congregation B'nai Avraham 117 
Remsen Street between Clinton and Henry in Brooklyn Heights. Classes begin Tuesday, September 9th, Wednesday, September 10th, and Friday September 12th and you can register (and sample the first class) without having come to a sample class before. Call Naomi at 718-855-0908 or email Weinbergers@yahoo.com to reserve a spot.  For more info go to: www.musictogetheratkiddiekorner.com

The Moxie Spot has released their fall schedule. I love this kid's place in BOCOCA by the way!
The Kid's Music Underground with John Carlin: Wed/Fri 9:30 & 11:30
Baby Fingers with Eva: Thursdays 9:30
Downtown Babies with Maria: Tuesdays 12:30
Visit  www.themoxiespot.com for more details and updates.

Music For Aardvarks starts up September 15th in every neighborhood in Brooklyn. And I am not kidding. You live there, they are running a class there (well almost every neighborhood).  I have been to Audra Rox's classes in Clinton Hill- high energy and kooky fun!

Families First is having an Open House week on September 8-12 to sample classes and visit their Playspace for free. You can check out: Practically Preschool, a structured playgroup program for
children 18 months - 3 years,  GoGo Babies, movement, art, music and cooking kids for ages 6 weeks to 7 years, New Moms' Drop-In Group: Thursdays, 1-2:30. Begins September 3.
Facilitated by Maura Sheehy, LCSW. $15 per person, $10 for Families First members.
New Moms' Support Group:_ Mondays, 1:00-2:30 pm. Begins September 15. Facilitated by Amie Block, LCSW. An 8-session support group, Memoirs for Moms: A 6-session writing workshop with Mary Harmon. For moms, dads, and
relatives.
Families First, Inc.
250 Baltic Street, Brooklyn
718-237-1862
www.familiesfirstbrooklyn.org

Delectables for Ducklings: Cooking Classes for Kids (ages 3-9) taught by Laura Fischer-Harbage of Maitri Health, Certified Holistic Nutritional Counselor specializing in family nutrition on Friday, September 26, 3:30-5 pm. Cost: $40 (for child and caregiver). Prepayment is required to reserve your spot. Due to the popularity of the classes, we have a 24 hour cancellation policy.
get fresh
370 fifth ave.
brooklyn, ny 11215
(718) 360-8469
www.getfreshnyc.com

Private Picassos is offering free trial art classes for kids age 2-8 at Still Hip in Clinton Hill and Bethany Baptist Church in Bed-Stuy. 
Art classes at Still Hip:
Fall Semester: September 18th – November 20th FREE Trials Tuesday, 9/9/08 and Wednesday, 9/10/08
 Art classes at Bethany Baptist Church:
Fall Semester: September 22nd – November 24th FREE Trials Wednesday, 9/10/08 and Thursday, 9/11/08
Pre-registration is required for all free trials to guarantee a spot in the class. Email info@privatepicassos.com to reserve. www.privatepicassos.com

Musica Para Mi with Graciela Carriqui is offering some free trial classes at GUMBO in BOCOCA.
Fall Program: Saturday, 10:30 - 11:15, Sept. 13 - Dec. 13 (Free Trial, Sept. 6)  Wednesday, 10:30 - 11:15, Sept. 17 - Dec. 3 (Free Trial, Sept. 11). To register or reserve for Free Trials, email musicaparami@... or call  718-643-6660.
Gumbo
493 Atlantic Avenue (bet. Nevins & Third) Brooklyn 11217
718-855-7808

Private Picassos Art Classes for All Ages. Triangles, Squares and Circles, Oh My! Free Trial: Thursday, September 11th 10-10:45 am (reservations required.)
Let¹s Look in our Favorite Book  Free Trial: Thursday, September 11th 3:30-4:15pm (reservations required.)
Recycled Art  Free Trial: Thursday, September 11th 4:30-5:15pm (reservations required.)
Zip, Zap, Zoom: Comics for Kids Free Trial: Thursday, September 11th 5:30-6:15pm (reservations required.)
To register, or for free trial class reservations, contact: Valeen Parubchenko
www.privatepicassos.com
valeen@...
917-463-8609

Music Together/ Heartsong Kids is having free demo classes next week for kids, birth to 5 years old in Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens
FREE DEMO CLASSES:
Hannah Senesh, Tuesday September 9th, afternoon
Christ Church, Wednesday, September 17th, afternoon
CALL FOR INFO AND RESERVATION, 718-237-8901, also at www.heartsongkids.com

Our Visit To The New York Transit Museum

If you are looking for some way to get out of this heat this week, take a stroll to the New York Transit Museum.  Birch and I went to the New York Transit Museum last weekend. Here is my review and photos of it:

First, we loved the entrance, which is essentially the same as going down into a subway station. If you using a stroller, beware. Security will not help you up or down with a stroller and it is 2 flights of steps. Nonetheless, it is a really fun way to arrive. You approach an old token booth and purchase your tickets. They have all the turnstiles from the past years and the kids love to test them all out- wooden, cage and metal.  The rest of the very small museum has some engaging, interactive exhibits for the kids, but in general, could use updating and more pizazz. Things seemed worn and there wasn't a lot of whiz-bang. Birch loved filling the gas tank of a wooden bus (see bottom PHOTO) but that was one of the six or so interactive exhibits.  The kids did love trying their hand at driving various city buses and checking out a small trolley (see top PHOTO).  I watched adults go through the museum with some boredom.  You do get to go down into another subway station and walk in and out of the various subway cars over the years. I enjoyed that the most.

The New York Transit Museum
http://www.transitmuseumeducation.org/
130 Livingston Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 694-4915
We are located in a 1936 decommissioned subway station and provide a family friendly environment where many of the exhibits can be touched, walked through or sat in. For cost conscious families, admission for adults is $5; children under 3 years are free. Children 3-17 and seniors/ grandparents 62+ $3 and seniors are admitted free on Wednesdays. The weekend educational workshops are free with paid Museum admission and parents can feel free to also participate.

Audra Rox concert winner and Summer Activities

Matt won the family admission to the concert this weekend. Congratulations Matt- and I will see you there! Just email me with your full name so that they can put your family on the guest list.

Thanks to those of you who submitted your entries for your favorite summer fun activities. So here are the ideas for summer fun:

• Taking our son to all the pools and beaches around New York City
• Bike riding with the child seat over the Pulaski bridge into Long Island City and playing in the various playgrounds with my wife and daughter.
• I like to take my kids to the concerts at the McCarren Park Pool in the summer.
• Red Hook Pool is free and is a beautiful olympic sized pool
• Millenium State Park to watch the skaters go back and forth
• Going to the Transit Museum on a really hot day
• My personal favorites; The Brooklyn Botanical Garden - specifically walking on the Esplanade and the Brooklyn Museum of Art- feeling the spray of the fountains and then going inside for some air-conditioned art viewing.

If you are looking for additional ideas check out my listings for outdoor activities here.

PHOTO: Red Hook Pool

Brooklyn's Swimming Pools

"It's summertime and the living is easy...." Or so the famous line goes... New York living is never that easy. But even in New York summertime there is relief: pools, pools, pools! There are outdoor pools, indoor pools, wading pools and olympic pools to jump into in our borough. We are lucky enough to have 54 outdoor pools in Brooklyn. All outdoor pools will open on June 27, 2008 and close on September 1, 2008. Indoor pools remain open year-round. General hours of operation are 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Call individual pools for more specific information. By the way, only one third of them look to me like they are handicapped accessible.

An insider tip: I have heard that the Red Hook and Sunset Park pools are fantastic. They are both olympic size. The Floating Pool has been floated out to the Bronx- sadly, it has left its Brooklyn location.

Safety & Pool Rules
Swim Smart - The do's and don'ts of water safety
Pool Rules - Rules to know before using Parks swimming pools

Swim Programs                                      

Learn about Parks' free swimming programs for tots, children, teens, and adults. Call Parks' Citywide Aquatics at (718) 760-6969 for more information.

After School Swimming Lessons
Parks & Recreation's tradition of free swim instruction continues with this fall's season of After School Learn to Swim. Swimming lessons for children ages 6-14 will be offered at nine pools throughout the city. All classes will be held on weekdays from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Dates vary from pool to pool. The program is free, and, as space is limited, children will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Free Saturday Swim Lessons              

Parks  & Recreation’s Fall 2007 Learn to Swim Program is free and offers classes for toddlers ages 3-5, children aged 6-14, and adults of all ages. Space is limited for this free program and children will be accepted on a first-come-first-serve basis. 

Swim with the Best: Join a Parks Swim Team
The Parks swim-team training program trains swimmers and organizes teams for the annual Citywide Borough Cup Championship swimming competition. Youth between the ages of 6 and 18 who can swim 25 yards in reasonably good form will be able to participate. Locations and training times vary depending on the borough and pool.

= Indicates that the pool includes a handicap accessible ramp or lift.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
                               

Brooklyn Outdoor                                   Pools
Betsy Head   Boyland, Livonia and Dumont Avenues   (718) 965-6581   330' x 165' x 4.25 (Olympic)	Bushwick  Houses Flushing Avenue and Humboldt       Street (718) 452-2116 75' x 60' x 3'
Commodore  Barry Flushing and Park Avenues, Navy      and North Elliot Streets (718) 243-2593 75' x 60' x 3'	Douglas and DeGraw Third Avenue and Nevins Street (718) 625-3268 75' x 60' x 3'
Howard Glenmore and Mother                        Gaston Blvd., East New York Avenue (718) 385-1023 75' x 60' x 3'	Kosciusko Kosciusko between Marcy and Dekalb                                 Avenues 718) 622-5271 230' x 100' x 4' (Olympic)
Red Hook Bay and Henry Streets (718) 722-3211                                               330' x 130' x 4' (Olympic) More Info	Sunset Park Seventh Avenue between 41st and      44th Streets (718) 965-6578   259' x 162' x 3.5' (Olympic) More   Info
Brooklyn Indoor                                   Pools
Brownsville Linden and Mother Gaston Blvds.       and Christopher Avenue B077 (718) 485-4633   75' x 30' x 8'	Metropolitan Bedford and Metropolitan Avenues (718) 599-5707   75' x 30' x 8'
St. John's Prospect Place, between Troy and      Schenectady Avenues (718) 771-2787   75' x 42' x 9'
Brooklyn Wading                                   Pools
Bushwick Humboldt Street, Flushing & Bushwick Avenues (718) 452-2116 30' x 20' x 1'	Commodore Barry Flushing & Park Avenues,                 Navy & North Elliot Streets (718) 243-2593 24' x 24' x 1'
Douglas and  DeGraw Third Avenue and Nevins Street (718) 625-3268 24' x 24' x 1'	Howard Glenmore & Mother Gaston               Boulevards, East New York Avenue (718) 385-1023 30' x 20' x 1'
Kosciusko Kosciusko between Marcy and Dekalb  Avenues (718) 622-5271 42' x 52' x 1.5'
Brooklyn Mini-Pools
David Fox/PS  251 E. 54th Street & Avenue H (718) 531-2437 40' x 20' x 3'	Glenwood Houses Farragut Road & Ralph Avenue (718) 531-2480 40' x 20' x 3'
JHS 57/HS 26 117 Stuyvesant Avenue (718) 452-0519 40' x 20' x 3'	Lindower Park E. 60th St, Mill Rd. & Strickland Avenue (718) 531-4852 40' x 20' x 3'
PS 20 Playground Between Clermont Ave. & Adelphi St. (718) 625-6101 40' x 20' x 3'

 

Some Summer Camps

Sign me up! I want to go back to camp!!! (Personally, my vote would be a summer course at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens- that is sans Birch- just little ol' me!)   

Are you looking for a summer camp/ activity for your children to do this summer? There are, of course, lots of summer classes running. Just go to our resource list on the left- CLASSES and select the one that interests you and your child/ren: like music, or computer/science/math.  There are also a number of special summer camps this summer. I am just posting some that I received over the last week- ones that don't necessarily run the rest or ones that I thought were particularily cool.

The Cosmic Cove with Carmello the Science Fellow has one week camps starting July 7th that go all the way through the end of August. For details, registration form and more visit http://www.carmelothesciencefellow.com/SUMMER.htm

Super Soccer Stars has mini indoor camps this summer and flexible outdoor class passes. The indoor camp is running at Public School 282-- 180 Sixth Ave @ Lincoln Place, Park Slope, Bklyn, NY 11217. Kids aged 2.5-5 years can enroll. I particuarily like this idea: flexible drop-in classes during the summer. Just purchase a Class Pass (multiple sizes available) and show up when it is convenient to your schedule. Classes take place in Prospect Park - North End of Long Meadow Classes 7 days a week. For more info visit their website.

Williamsburg just got a new summer camp this year.  Billyburg Boot Camp owner, Rozz Nash, has teamed up with some others to create CAMP. CAMP is an artist-run multidisciplinary arts summer program where campers gain valuable experience in music, visual arts, and dance. Working with artists, dancers, and musicians campers develop skills that culminate in a final multimedia performance. They have two 2-week sessions during the month of July.  Check out the schedule, class descriptions and registration info online at www.creativemusicprograms.com/CAMP/

BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange is offering six weeks of summer classes for babies and tots from June 10 – July 17, 2008. Classes include Dance & Sing with Me (ages 12-18 months), Music & Movement (ages 18-30 months), Nearly 3 (ages 2.5-3.5), Creative Movement I (ages 3-4), Creative Movement II (ages 4-5). See class descriptions and times below. The price for six weeks of classes is $90. Annual registration fee is $35. Pre-registration is required. Financial assistance is available.  For more info, call (718) 832-0018 or visit www.bax.org. BAX is located at 421 5th Ave. at 8th St. in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Take the F train to Fourth Avenue or the R train to 9th Street.

If your child has ever wanted to try fencing, this summer might be a great opportunity. Registration is open at Brooklyn Fencing. They accept kids ages 7 years and up for a 10am-3pm day of strident work. You can choose from 4 different one week camps. Beginners are welcome; separate sections run simultaneously for beginners and intermediate/advanced fencers. Equipment provided. To see more go to http://www.brooklynfencing.com/camps/

Private Picassos has lots of summer camps/ classes for tots to teenagers. They are offering a mini summer semester at Still Hip in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. Art Camp in Park Slope includes museum and gallery visits and outdoor art making. Your teenager can do a series  of outdoor sketching sessions in Prospect and Central Park. For details and registration information, visit www.privatepicassos.com

How about computer camp? Imagine Tomorrow has a summer camp program that might extend or peak your child's interest in computers. The camp is in Park Slope at 241 Prospect Park West. For more information, contact: Maureen Pynn & Kathleen Cottingham - Call Today: 877-890-2475    718-768-0271. To see what the whole program is about go the umbrella website of Imagine Tomorrow.  

Brooklyn Summer Players and Brooklyn Summer Players has a 4 week musical theater program in Park Slope for 8-13 year olds that runs in July.  During the school year, director, Corinne Goodman. runs after-school classes in her home on 7th Ave in Park Slope in theater, musical theater, music and guitar for first graders and up. She also teaches a theater class that runs twice a week that is acting, improv, theater games and put on an adaptation of a movie, play or book.
Corinne Goodman, Director, 7th Ave (Park Slope), Tel: 718-965-3150
 
Art With Belinda is running a one week art camp from Monday, JUNE 31 - Thursday, JULY 3, 2008. There will also be an August art camp. Young artists will be making many different high quality art projects, including Painting, Drawing, Collage, Printmaking, Clay and/or Paper Mache. The emphasis is on process and having fun, and creating unique works of art to take home. One day will be spent at both the Brooklyn Museum and the Botanical Gardens looking, discussing and drawing.  On another afternoon young artists will learn about printmaking while visiting the art studio of Jonathan Blum. For more information visit
www.artwithbelinda.com or email ladyblum@yahoo.com

 

Great Resource for Teen Summer Internships and Classes

You may have heard of Dr. Glaser before as a recommended pediatrician in Brooklyn.  I had and so was suprised to get an email from her telling me not about her practice but about a book she had written about summer opportuntities for teens.  When I received the book from her, I was interested to read the introduction to find out why (and how she had the time) to write this book.  As she explains in the book, she is the mother of two teens, a lifelong New Yorker  and a pediatrician who hears what her teen patients are doing and so she has learned a lot about what is available for teens.  She has been able to pass that information on to other parents in her medical office, but wanted to share it with a larger audience. I think she is onto something. There isn't a resource like this out there. Sure, there are summer camp listings and summer class listings, but nothing that gives you such a broad and unique scope of little know programs for teens: free classes, unusual law programs that pay and cool sports camps. The book isn't very thick but seems to cover a lot of territory. Honestly, this is one review copy I am happy to have in my collection. I am sure by the time Birch is a teen, Amy will have updated it many times. 

Some of the coolest listings from Dr. Glaser's book:

The Day Jams Rock Music Camp.  At DayJam your child can form a rock band with both individual and group instructions where the band composes songs, creates videos and learns how to play like a band. It is on E. 92nd Street in the city.

How about kids interested in marine life? Your child can go to the Brooklyn College Marine Ecology Institute to study urban marine ecology for one month where they visit salt marshes, oyster farms, a wildlife refuge and ocean beach. It is free too!

How about a great opportunity for future human rights leaders? The International Center for Tolerance Education DUMBO offers a curriculum of films, writing, theater and research in conjunction with organizations.  There is transportation aid, daily lunch and a stipend.

I took sailing lessons when I was a teenager and loved them. I can't say I am any use on a sailboat, but I sure loved practicing capsizing all summer.  The New York Sailing Camp gives 9-16 year olds the opportunity to try sailing in larger boats including a 42 foot (yikes that's a lot of boat to handle!) The kids are also able to try dinghies.

For details about any of these opportunities and a lot more that are available for teens, check out Amy Glaser's book,  "Summer in the City for Teens".  The cost of the book with shipping is $14.

Ladies Night Out

Once a month a few of my mom friends get together for drinks and yummy things we would never eat at home.  Last night was one of those nights. We (or maybe just I do) call it Ladies Night. Although we are all moms and met through a moms group, I call it Ladies Night and not Moms Night to recognize that I am not just a mom but a woman too- and need a night out with good girlfriends as both a mom and a woman. Plus somehow it sounds much more glam.  Tonight the better part of the conversation had to do with raising a child without any familial help. It brought up some regrets that we weren't closer to family geographically (though some of us were glad they weren't anywhere nearby!) and, how, as a result, that we depend on our peers to provide that community need- especially other moms.  We all talked about our first time coming to the moms group: one said she hated it: her baby wouldn't stop crying and she felt incompetent, another felt more comfortable in the moms group with her baby crying as she wasn't alone having to hear it, and others just needed to ask questions and I desperately needed some social interaction. Here we are two years later and I am so thankful for this tight circle of friends as well as my broader circle that I know from the moms group that was 35 members strong.
It just made me think that I am sure some of you out there have been in moms groups (some that have worked for you and others not), others of you are just not interested or it's not your thing, and others haven't had the time. But, in case you are looking for one (and you don't have to have a newborn to do this), there are a lot of them listed on the blog here. There are parents of teens, bilingual playgroups, parents-to-be groups, and just playgroups that exist. One of them might prove to be as helpful to you as mine has been to me.

Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company (it isn't what you think!)

The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. is a superheroic kind of place. It supports kids and teachers in so many ways AND sells superhero supplies! Sound like an odd combination? Well, yes, but if you know writer David Egger's work (who founded it), it all makes a little bit of sense.  The store sells capes, grappling hooks, antimatter, and more and all the proceeds from the store go directly to 826NYC,  a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. 

826NYC provides drop-in tutoring, field trips, after-school workshops, in-schools tutoring, help for English language learners, and assistance with student publications. All of the programs are free.

Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co
372 Fifth Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11215 (Park Slope)
718-499-9884

Music Instructors (Private)

BANJO

Tuey Connell
718-772-3363
www.tueyconnell.com
tuey@tueyconnell.com
Tuey, a professional full-time musician and recording artist offers banjo lessons as well as guitar and lap steel guitar to ages 3 and up. Adults too!

CELLO

Beth Sturdevant
bethsturdevant@gmail.com
917-592-1515
Beth Sturdevant is a free-lance cellist in New York, with a private teaching studio in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  She has performed and taught in Greece, Canada and the United States.  She is a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music.  She also studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY.  She received her Suzuki training at the Ithaca College Suzuki Institute.Since moving to Brooklyn in 2006, Ms Sturdevant has performed throughout the New York area, including the Broadway run of Pajama Game, with Harry Connick Jr., and the North American tour of Barbra Streisand.

GUITAR

Tuey Connell
718-772-3363
www.tueyconnell.com
tuey@tueyconnell.com
Tuey, a professional full-time musician and recording artist offers banjo lessons as well as guitar and lap steel guitar to ages 3 and up. Adults too!

Street Sounds
9206 3rd Ave btw. 92nd Street
Brooklyn, NY (Bay Ridge)
718-680-7946

PIANO

Shawn Onsgard
http://onsgard.net
917-553-2064 Shawn is a piano teacher with a studio in Clinton Hill and he also offers in-home lessons in Brooklyn. He works with all ages and skill levels

VIOLIN

Julianne Carney
www.JulianneCarney.com
Julianne.Carney@gmail.com
917.975.4873
Julianne Carney has been teaching violin for 10 years. She teaches at the Brooklyn College Prep Division and maintains a private violin studio in Clinton Hill. She has studied Suzuki violin pedagogy at the School for Strings and the Chicago Suzuki Institute, and received a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance, Summa Cum Laude, at Lawrence University, in Appleton, WI. She was a Thomas J. Watson Fellow in in 2001-02. She is Director of SPYE:  Soundpainting Youth Ensemble of NYC. Julianne has appeared with Jay-Z, Sufjan Stevens, Jenny Scheinman, Bill Frisell, Adam Matta, Luminescent Orchestrii, My Brightest Diamond, Pilotram, and her improvisation project, Ahnfinod; she has performed at Royal Albert Hall, Radio City Music Hall, Apollo Theater, Joe's Pub, Café Lena, Tonic, & Knitting Factory. She suggests that violin lessons for your little one can improve memory, focus, & musical ability using the internationally acclaimed method of Suzuki.




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Sign a Song offers FREE classes

We took Sign-A-Song with Birch for one session. We really liked the class and the teachers, Andrea and Ted. We did have to travel a bit for it, but it became a fun Saturday outing. Birch doesn't use many signs (our lack of persistence) but the sign for milk, which he does use, comes in awfully handy. Here is the schedule for free classes.
Sign-a-Song, a musical introduction to sign language for babies, toddlers and their caregivers, is having an OPEN HOUSE -- FREE trial classes available on December 17, 18, and 20th with additional time slots!

PARK SLOPE
Pure Energy, 312 5th Ave. (2nd and 3rd St.)
10 week classes: Mondays, January 14 to March 17; 10:00, 11:00, 12:00
TWO FREE TRIAL CLASSES: Monday, December 17, 11:00 & 12:00

PARK SLOPE
Applewood, 501 11th Street (between 7th and 8th Ave.)
10 Week classes: Saturdays, January 12 to March 15; 11:00

COBBLE HILL/BOERUM HILL
The Micro Museum, 123 Smith Street (between Pacific and Dean St.)
10 week classes: Tuesdays, January 15 to March 18; 10:00 & 11:00, (possible 12:00)
FREE TRIAL CLASS: Tuesday, December 18, 11:00

CLINTON HILL
Still Hip, 283 Grand Ave. (between Lafayette and Clifton)
10 week classes: Thursdays, January 17 to March 20; 11:30 & 12:30
TWO FREE TRIAL CLASSES: Thursday, December 20, 11:30 & 12:30

At Sign-a-Song participants are introduced to American Sign Language through live music, stories, and activities.  All classes are taught by Andrea Fixell, a teacher with 15 years of sign language experience and Ted Stafford, a rockin' guitarist and songwriter.  Now in it's sixth year, Andrea and Ted's creativity and original songs have become the hallmark of this language enriching experience.  Ages 3 months to 3 years.

www.sign-a-song.com <http://www.sign-a-song.com/>
718-832-8060

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