Best After-School Enrichment Activities For Kids In New York
Brooklyn Strategist After School Program
333 Court St.
Brooklyn, NY 11231
(718) 576-3035
www.thebrooklynstrategist.com
Price: $30, long term service at a reduced rate
Board games have made a comeback, and with good reason. They offer a chance for kids to socialize face to face instead of interacting through the impersonal medium of Internet video gaming. The Strategist's after-school program includes supervised activities and homemade desserts and drinks. Its program includes card games and adventures, and history, mystery and role-playing games.
Charles A. Dana Discovery Center at the Harlem Meer
106 to 110 Streets, east side of Central Park
New York, NY 10029
(212) 860-1370
www.centralparknyc.org
Price: $20 fishing rod deposit, returned upon receipt of equipment
The Discovery Center offers a fishing instruction program for children ages 5 and older. Groups of five or more children must make a reservation in advance. The Center practices catch and release with provided bait to keep wildlife safer. This is a great way to give kids a taste of the outdoors that they would otherwise only experience by going upstate. Call for an appointment from April through October.
Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club of America
550 Balcolm Ave.
Bronx, NY 10465
(718) 824-9090
www.kipsbay.org
Price: $5 annually
The Boys and Girls Club has helped the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Denzel Washington during their youth, offering after-school programming that truly keeps kids engaged. The club boasts a fun variety of programs including health and fitness, Internet safety, education and drug prevention. The Kips Bay chapter in Throgs Neck in the Bronx offers an after-school program that operates from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. including activities such as reading, arts and crafts, and physical fitness. It also provides dinner and healthy snack to the children.
Children's Aid Society
Frederick Douglass Center
885 Columbus Ave.
New York, NY 10025
(212) 865 - 6337
www.childrensaid/
The Children's Aid Society is a New York-based program with a long history of helping young children with both school and life issues and introducing them to healthy and fun activities in all five boroughs and Westchester County. Located on the Upper West Side, the Frederick Douglass Center features programs including a gym, full-service library, outdoor playground, a computer clubhouse, and after-school and nursery classrooms. Homework help and a healthy snack make this a great program to take pressure off of busy parents before dinner time. The Center serves more than 600 students and is an excellent resource for single-parent or families in which both parents work past traditional school hours.
Manhattan Youth Downtown Community Center
120 Warren St.
New York, NY 10007
(212) 766-1104
www.manhattanyouth.org/
Click here for programs and registration
Helping kids burn off that extra energy after school often means more work for parents at the end of the day, but Manhattan Youth's Community Center offers a cure-all for any kid's interests. Classes here include ceramics, cooking, swimming, tae kwon do, theater, dance, music making, textiles, filmmaking, art, yoga, woodworking, robotics and outdoors playtime. Programs are catered toward children from kindergarten through fifth grade. Parents must arrange drop-off, and should pick up kids before 5:50 p.m. daily.
Related: 4 Sports and Fitness Activities for NYC Kids
Nick Gauthier is a freelance writer and lives in the Bronx. His work can be found at Examiner.com.