What to do with the kids now?

With almost every school in New York closed, parks closed and almost any outdoor activity out of the question, it will be hard (but not impossible) to find ways to entertain the kids over the coming days. Here is a short list of some ideas on where to go with them. Hope it will help!

Museums:

• American Museum of Natural History - reopens Thursday November 1st;
• Children's Museum of Manhattan - reopens Thursday November 1st;
• Moma (they offer some family programs over the weekend) - opened normally;
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art - reopens Thursday November 1st (they offer some daily family programs, check their website for date and time);
• Whitney Museum of American Art - reopens Thursday November 1st (they also have some family programs);

Shows/Theaters/Concerts:

• The New Victory Theater - reopens Friday November 2nd;
• Puppetworks - normal showtimes on Saturday and Sunday;
• Movie Theaters - most of them are operating normally. Check Fandango for more information;
• Jazz at Lincoln Center - Family Concert: who is John Coltrane - Saturday at 1pm and 3pm;

The Weekender - Great song for the weekend

Somebody that I used to know - Gotye

You've probably all heard of this big hit.
But, have you heard and seen the following version of the song? Unbelievable what these guys can do with just 1 guitar.

And, just for fun, here's a parodical version of the one above:


Have a great weekend!

Kiddie songs for grown-ups?

Are you tired of the traditional nursery rhymes? Of that childish melodies in your car and your house? Do you hear yourself sometimes singing "The Wheels on the Bus" in the middle of the supermarket?

Is it possible to find kiddie songs that would please both children and adults? Yes! As a matter of fact, I recently discovered that they do exist.

Meet Elizabeth Mitchell. She's actually being around for some time now (she's been recording children's albums since 1998), and I'm a kinda late "discoverer" of her talent. But I thought that maybe other people, like me, didn't know her. She has a sweet voice and sings old-fashion songs, accompanied just by the sound of a guitar. Some songs are well known, but they she gives them a special touch, singing them in her own version and rhythm.

Books of the week: Peter and the Wolf

Unfortunately, we missed the Lollipop Concert this weekend. I wasn't organized enough and when I called all the shows were sold out. However, we didn't stay without listening to Sergei Prokofiev. As soon as I found out that we wouldn't be able to go to the concert, I remembered that a couple of years ago I had bought this version, of the classic tale of Peter and the wolf, adapted by Janet Schulman that came with a CD, in which the story is narrated along with the original music composed by S. Prokoviev. 

Each instrument or family of instruments of the orchestra represent a character of the story. This is all explained at the beginning of the book and the CD, so it makes it really easy for the children to follow the story and pay attention to the music. F liked it so much that we ended up having breakfast both Saturday and Sunday listening to Peter and the Wolf.

Piano lessons

Lecon de musique, by Jean-Jacques Sempe 

Today F will have his first piano lesson. It is recommended that we buy a piano, because he will, obviously, need to practice at home. Therefore, I've been doing some research in order to decide which one we should buy. Unfortunately, given that we are very limited in terms of space, the decision will actually weight more on the size factor that on the quality one.

Nonetheless, I wanted to share some of my amusing findings with you.

I could maybe just change my dinner table:

Or redecorate my living-room:

Piano bar

What about car inspired pianos?

The Ferrari Piano

The Audi piano

And what about this one:

The Rocking piano

If you'd like to see some more, here is the page where i found them all.