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After-School Enrichment Classes and Activities Help Early Development

After-School Enrichment Classes and Activities Help Early Development - Playgarden NYC

A child’s education shouldn’t begin and end in the classroom! Preschool will cover most curriculum needs for your little one, but after-school enrichment classes and toddler activities in NYC can help with cognitive development, while encouraging children to develop their own interests and hobbies. Enrichment classes in NYC for toddlers can potentially pay off for the rest of your child’s life!

A good Tribeca preschool will offer plenty of enrichment and after school classes, but as a parent, you can help as well.  Many activities can be done at home, and even be presented as fun playtime rather than as a learning activity.

Here are just a few great enrichment activities that can help early education and development.

Four Great After-School Enrichment Classes and Activities

1 – Programming 

There are plenty of “coding for kids” programs as part of enrichment classes in NYC (and elsewhere), and for good reason!  Learning to program computers is an amazing activity for encouraging creativity while making working products.  Programming has the added benefit of being one of the most-needed jobs now and in the future world for decades to come.  A child’s hobby today could be a career in twenty years!

If you’re looking for something a little more hands-on, look into child-friendly robotics kits.  Robotics teaches programming, but with a more practical real-world element. Playgarden Prep will soon start offering STEM classes for little ones that include science with real world experiments that will be great options for toddler activities in NYC!

2 – Movement and exercise

Most schools offer sports, but don’t overlook the importance of non-competitive exercise such as dance, yoga, and other forms of physical expression.  These activities help your child develop awareness and control over their bodies, which can help with gross motor skill development, all while understanding how to express themselves physically. What great benefits from enrichment classes in NYC!

3 – Photography

All a child needs is a cheap phone, and they can become a photographer!  Photography is an amazing way to get your children to pay attention to the world around them while discovering the natural beauty that is everywhere. Plus, photography is another form of art that’s great for improving self-expression and inquisitiveness into the natural world — a great toddler activity in NYC!

4 – Music performance and composition

You don’t need an expensive instrument to teach music to your child.  There are numerous free or cheap smartphone apps that act as musical instruments.  Compositional programs are cheap and easy to use as well.  “Trackers,” drum machines, and similar applications can allow even very small children to create pieces of music they can play back.

Playgarden Prep offers numerous enrichment classes in NYC and afterschool toddler activities in NYC to stimulate children’s minds!  Click here to learn more about our curriculum and philosophies.

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Miss Amanda - Playgarden NYC
Hi, I'm Miss Amanda!

Amanda has spent most of her life developing groundbreaking curriculum for the youngest children, dedicating her time to working at Playgarden Prep’s Upper East Side program while also leading the Playgarden Online team with her 20+ years of experience in leading multidisciplinary groups of early learning specialists. She is an educator and specialist in all things early learning, with a passion for making sure that Playgarden’s curriculum is in line with the most up-to-date educational research. She helped to co-found Playgarden in 2007 alongside Carlos and Valeska, and also co-founded Playgarden Online when the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic began. Originally from California, Amanda enjoys spending time with her three wonderful children in their Upper East Side neighborhood.