A lot of our neighborhood businesses that provide classes for kids are finding ways to share their expertise, their products and their lessons while kids are stuck at home or even out of the city. Here’s the list to date, and I will update as more comes in:

DANCE WITH MISS RACHEL
DWMR has dance class content on its YouTube page and it is free and open to all.  They are also posting videos on Instagram. instagram.com/dancemissrachel And this from Miss Rachel: “We want kids to stay moving and stay connected to us as much as possible.”

DOWNTOWN DANCE FACTORY
DDF has 80+ classes per week for different ages/dance genres for dancers, supplemented with a video library, online memberships to dance communities for our advanced students and more.

 

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href=”https://www.instagram.com/craftstudionyc/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”> The Craft Studio (@craftstudionyc) on Mar 19, 2020 at 6:31am PDT

THE CRAFT STUDIO
The Craft Studio is offering virtual classes and selling craft kits that customers can purchase through the website or over the phone. For classes, the studio will ship supplies in advance and they will also host less expensive classes on Zoom where participants can use supplies they already have at home. They also have free daily at-home crafting video tutorials on Instagram. Check out all the offerings here. From Lindsey Peers: “This is so unbelievable. We went from best in NY last year to now being closed and worried we won’t make it. We are doing everything we can to stay afloat.”

MODERN MARTIAL ARTS
Modern Martial Arts is offering online classes live-streamed on Facebook for members, both kids (ages 3+) and adults. If there’s interest in the community, they would love to be able to open it up to new students as well. “It’s not the same as being able to attend in-person, but it is a great way to keep the kiddos active during the day and for adults to keep up their fitness habits they’ve worked so hard on,” said Mary Murphy. “The support we’ve already seen from the community has been so heart-warming and encouraging. We’ll be starting our 20th year in business this October. The thought of COVID-19 being able to wipe us out is just devastating. So many of us have put our lives into this and it’s just unimaginable.”

PLAYWRITING FOR KIDS
Laura Rohrman’s Playwriting For Kids classes that were due to start April 1 have been postponed until at least September, but in the meantime, she is running Zoom Saturday Monologue Writing Workshops. “We did a trial run last weekend and it was really great. I gave the kids an interview assignment (to call a grandparent or older person) that will hopefully help us with prompts for our next session.
The kids seemed to love it, just like our regular class. I felt like this is an outlet the kids need. We are writing our feelings.” Classes will meet on Zoom every Saturday from noon to 1 through April. They will film the finished monologues at the end of the month. Classes are $15 a session or $50 for the month of April.

CMA LIVE!
The Children’s Museum of the Arts has produced several online programs for working with kids. CMA Live! has free events taking place throughout the week, including Music Time with Tom in the morning and Movement with Mackie during the after school hours. There is also an Artwork of the Day, with prompts for discussions; a Daily Art Challenge; and video lessons for parents and teachers. See more on Instagram.

ON-SITE ART
Local resident Maria Katzman, a painter who has taught art for 20 years and runs after school classes called On-Site Art, is now offering a series of online classes through Zoom. Each 1.5-hour session includes drawing and painting lessons as well as virtual visits to museums in the city and beyond. Students will learn practical approaches to drawing, sketching and water coloring. Students will experiment with many art materials while focusing on the basics, including contour drawing, shading, space, color and expressive mark making. They will also explore genres including still life, architecture, landscape, portraits and abstract art. To register contact Maria directly at maria@on-siteart.com or 917-815-5999.

JCP DOWNTOWN
JCP is celebrating Tot Shabbat for kids in an informal and fun Shabbat morning experience, especially for families with children up to 5 years of age. There’s singing, dancing and storytelling! Program will be led by JCP’s Rabbi and Student Rabbi. Find it here on Zoom: us02web.zoom.us/j/89038692000; Meeting ID: 890 3869 2000; Password: TOT