Family Fun Tips from TutuZone

Family Travel - Quick Spring Break Getaway at Indoor Waterpark

TutuZone's Family Travel Pick - Great Wolf Lodge

My kids are on spring break and as a special treat last week I took them both to Great Wolf Lodge in Pennsylvania for one night. Great Wolf Lodge is a hotel with a fabulous indoor water park. We live just an hour and half from Great Wolf Lodge so for us it is an easy one night trip.

The day of arrival you can enter the water park at 1:00 pm. We wore our swimsuits in the car and went straight into the park. Although there are snacks in the park, I brought a small cooler with healthy snacks, sandwiches and beverages. The park was full of families with kids. My son especially loved all the big slides and my daughter loved the wave pool.

After about 5 hours we headed back to our room to shower and change for dinner. They have a nice all you can eat buffet. I love this because there is no waiting at all for the food, and they did have much healthier options here than available in the actual park. If you want there is also Magic Quest in the halls of the hotel as well as a big arcade.

The next day we grabbed some doughnuts and headed straight back into the park when it opened at 9:00 am.  By 1:00 Mom was ready to head home. After a quick shower in the changing rooms we grabbed a snack at the Starbucks in the lobby and headed back home.

Great Wolf Lodge makes Family Travel easy and fun!

How To Draw A Ballerina

I really love this on-line "How to Draw a Ballerina" tutorial at Drawing.now.com! You click to the next step as you are ready and can click back and forth. It is definitely advanced for little kids, but it is still cool for them to see how pen and paper can make something come to life step by step. They will enjoy clicking on the steps as watching the ballerina come to life.

An easy way for a young child to draw a ballerina is to draw a simple stick figure and then draw a triangle shape for the skirt. We used to do tons of these when my kids were younger. Ovals make nice shoes, a circle for the bun and an upside down triangle for the top of the leotard.

Visit TutuZone again for more craft ideas for kids that are fun and easy to do.

www.PrimaPrincessa.com - baby ballet DVDs!

5 Adorable Easter Dresses for Little Girls

Little Girl Clothing Finds! These 5 adorable dresses are from Children's Place  and can be ordered online. They are perfect little girl Easter dresses!

   

 

Super Creative Game to Play Online Draw A Stick Man

My sister-in-law sent me a link to DrawAStickMan.com. This simple, yet super sophisticated game is sure to please adults and children alike. It is free and you play it on-line. It only takes a few minutes and is well worth it. Quite inspiring as well as refreshing.

Pre-Ballet and Creative Dance Summer Classes with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet

If you live in Aspen or Santa Fe or plan to be there this summer check out the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet's Pre-Ballet and Creative Ballet classes this summer June 11-August 18th. You can even register online.

ASFB is currently on tour this March and April in CO, NM, MO and UT. Check out their schedule here.

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time

Girl Scout cookies are in, and I can't seem to walk through my kitchen without grabbing a Thin Mint or Samoa. This year is the 100 Year Anniversary of the Girl Scouts which will make those cookies taste even sweeter. If no Girl Scouts make it by your door, look for them around town selling at booth sales. My troop will be doing a booth sale in front of  CVS in a few weeks. Thanks CVS for the spot!

Girl Scout Camps are also a wonderful escape for kids this summer. What I love about Girl Scout Camps is they often have fabulous outdoor facilities, and they not only focus on fun but working together, leadership skills and serving the community. There are Girl Scout camps all over the country. Check out the Girl Scout web site for more info.

Cookies stashed in my basement for upcoming booth sale!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day 2012

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! We like to celebrate by going to a small town parade near by as well as by eating corned beef and cabbage while listening to Irish music or watching Riverdance. Check out the SaintPatricksDayParade.com for Saint Patrick's Day parade info near you.

My tip for cooking the traditional St. Patricks Day meal of corned beef, cabbage and boiled potatoes is to boil each dish in its own pot. I personally find cooking the veggies along with the meat to be too heavy of a taste. Never had any luck cooking soda bread so I usually pick that up at a local bakery.

I still remember when I saw Riverdance many years ago. The Riverdance and Lord of the Dance DVDs are great for kids as they are filled with amazing, energetic dancing. If you are interested in seeing Lord of the Dance live check out their tour schedule on their website.

If your child is inspired check out this comprehensive List of Irish Step Dancing Schools in parts of Canada and the USA.

  

 

If  you decide to make a purchase through any of my above links, Amazon will pay me a commission for it. This does not cost you anything extra. These commissions help to keep the rest of my content free, so thank you.

Enchanted Ballet Workshop at Texas Ballet Theater for baby ballerinas!

The Enchanted Ballet Workshop at the Texas Ballet Theater is for budding ballerinas ages 3-6. June 18-22. This fun program features crafts, ballet and more!

The Texas Ballet Theater is also offering open classes for kids at the begining of the summer as well as other dance workshops for older children. Dance camps are a great way to enjoy the summer.

Post courtesy of Prima Princessa for TutuZone- Dancing for kids - shows featuring Ballet Lessons & Real Ballets  "Get your tots twirling!" -People Magazine 

 

Manhattan Children's Theater Make "The Lonely Phone Booth" Book Into Play

The charming new children's book The Lonely Phone Booth, has just been turned into a play and will be showing this March-April at the Manhattan Children's Theater.

Many kids my have never seen phone booth, but there is actual one left in NYC and this adorable book is about this lonely phone booth. My daughter really got a kick out of this book, and we plan to visit the phone booth sometime soon.

If you can't make the play, I highly recommend the book as not only is the story lovely, but the illustrations are fab!

While at the Manhattan Children's Theater check out their acting classes for kids, school programs, and workshops. This is a great spot of a birthday party as well.

 

Summer Camp with Broadway Stars

Kids are sure to enjoy these peforming arts day camps in NYC where they get to meet and work with real Broadway stars.  For those of you that live out of town, why not consider signing your child up at camp and while he/she is at camp you can explore the city.

Looking to inspire your child? Each week a different Broadway star visits and perfroms at Applause , a day summer camp  in New York City. This camp is for ages 5-9).

A Class Act NY Kids get to work with professional Broadway stars, attend a Broadway performance and put on their own show at this cool camp.

Camp Broadway. Another great NYC performing arts camp for kids ages 6-17. Older children get to work directly with Broadway stars.

For more information on great performing arts camps check out Time Out New York Kids 2012 Camp Guide.

 

Shopping for Little Girl Dresses in New York City Boutiques

Little Girl Clothing Stores in New York City

My daughter is not quiet a tween so  I really wanted to get her a little girl dress that was age appropriate and well made out of nice fabric for several upcoming family functions. I asked a friend in NYC to give some shopping tips for little girl dresses and then I found some others researching on-line. All these stores are great for little girl dresses for upcoming Easter, Passover or Mother's Day events!

Little Girl Dresses - NYC Boutiques - Little Girl Easter Dresses, Little Girl Passover Dresses, Little Girl First Communion Dresses, Little Girl Bar Mitzvah Dresses or Little Girl Bat Mitzvah Dresses, Little Girls Dresses for Weddings and other special family occasions

 

Magic Windows - little girl clothing boutique

1186 Madison at 87th

212-289-0028

Open daily

I love this store. They have gorgeous clothes for infants up to tweens and lots of darling little girl dresses. The tween dresses are very sweet and lovely fabrics. There was a great selection of dressier little girl dresses as well as a room of First Communion dresses. They have a big selection of cardigans as well which can often be hard to find. The prices are not outrageous. Tired after shopping, head over to local 3 Brother Diner for burgers, ect or walk the other direction for Dean & Delucca. Nice thing about the diner was it was not crowded and fast service.  There is another branch in Charlotte, NC and the selection does have a subtle Southern feel to it.

 

Crewcuts - little girl clothing chain

1190 Madison at 87th;

Mon-Fri, 10am-7pm; Sat, 10am-6pm; Sun, noon-5pm

This is just a minute walk from Magic Windows so you can do both easily in one shot. You can check out their selections on-line. Loads fo cute stuff and lovely girls party dresses and other types of dresses for  little girls as well. 

 

Greenstones - little girl clothing boutique

1410 2^nd Ave at 73^rd 212-794-0530

454 Columbus Ave at 81^st  up to age 14 (near Natural History Museum) (212) 580-4322

This fun store full of hip more casual styles is right behind the Museum of Natural History so if you are going in to see the museum, mine as well make time for a bit of shopping.  Great place to shop for littel girl clothing. My daughter loved this store. It was a bit pricey, but they had a great sale rack. Very wearable items. Lots of more casual little girl dresses. 

 

Spring Flowers - little girl clothing boutique

NYC: 538 Madison Ave. at 55th; 1050 3rd ave; 907 Madison Ave at 72^nd 

Palm Springs

Store hours: Mon-Sat 10am to 6pm.

I recently visited this store with a friend of mine who was in visiting from out of town. They have adorable, very well made, super sweet dresses for little girls in traditional styles. They also have a nice selection of dressy ballet flats and sandals. Pricey.

 

Bonpoint - little girl clothing boutique

810 Madison & 1269 Madison

I did not get to check this out yet. I heard the cuts are good if your child is on the skinny side. I have heard it has pretty little girl clothing and little girl dresses.

 

Lesters - little girl clothing boutique

1534 2nd Avenue @ 80th St.

New York, NY 10075

(212) 734-9292

Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri 10am-7pm

Thu 10am-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 11am-6pm

On-line this store looked as if it was more geared towards teens so we did not make it here. In a few years we'll check it out. I heard this is great place for bat mitzvah dresses and prom dresses. Fun spot for to look for dresses for teens and dresses for little girls.

 

Saks - little girl clothing in department store

611 5th Avenue
New York, NY  10022
212-753-4000

Monday through Saturday, 10 to 8
Sunday, 11 to 7

They had some cute little girl dresses by Milly and Zoe. The selection of girl clothing and little girl dresses trended toward the pricier.  They has a pretty nice selection og girls party dresses that were nicely made. I found a gorgeous little girl dress for my daughter here.It has a nice size hem so we can get a few years out of this little girl dress.

 

 

 Bergdorf Goodman - little girl clothing in department store

745 5th Ave.; NY, NY 800-558-1855

This department store has a really nice children's department with an especially good selection of Florence Eisman dresses for little girls and babies.

Post courtesy of Prima Princessa – DVDs for young children featuring ballet lessons & famous ballets. If you decide to make a purchase through any of my above product links, Amazon will pay me a commission for it. This does not cost you anything extra. These commissions help to keep the rest of my content free, so thank you. 

The Magic Piano - Film for kids

Short-listed for an Oscar, The Magic Piano is being screened on March 17 at 7:30 pm at the 2012 New York International Children's Film Festival which is running this March. This amazing film features the music of classical musician Chopin in celebration of the 200th anniversary of his birth.

This screening will also feature live piano accompianment. Recommended for ages 7 to adult.

Sleeping Beauty at the New York Theater Ballet this weekend

The New York Theater Ballet's Once Upon a Ballet Series is presenting "The Sleeping Beauty" March 10 at 1pm and March 11 at 11am & 1pm. This is a great ballet to take a child to as it runs one hour. These performances will please parent and child alike. I have been to several with my own daughter when she was younger and we both loved them.

 

 

Skiing In Vermont with Kids at Jackson Gore

Family Travel - Skiing in Vermont

Family Travel Resort Pick: Jackson Gore Inn in Vermont is a wonderful ski resort for families!  It's about a 4 hour drive from New York City. They have awesome outdoor heated pools, hot tubs & full spa.  Make sure to request that your room to be very near the pool as you'll be going there alot after skiing with your kids.  

Family Travel Activity: They also have an outdoor snow roller-coaster which is a blast, tubing, and an iceskating rink all literally a one minute walk from the hotel. They have a mini-corner store which is a life-saver if you forget to pack something. It has 3 restaurants (with Starbucks), and a cozy dark wood lobby with fireplace and a bar to hang out in.  Also, in the town of Ludlow (which is a 2 minute drive) there are tons of other restaurants if you want to get out for something different.

Family Travel Activity: The skiing is fabulous at the Okemo and Jackson Gore. They are on same mountain, just different sides.. Okemo Mountain Resort is also a great, well priced place to stay with kids.

Check out this NY Times article for more info.

Post courtesy of www.PrimaPrincessa - baby ballet DVDs