School is critical for a child’s cognitive development. But learning isn’t truly complete without after school activities. Not only do these programs help children build confidence, but they also help them develop life-long cognitive skills.
Sport-related activities enhance physical activity and overall health. Clubs allow children to build friendships and grow social skills. Art activities allow children to explore passions and develop talents.
Simply put, after school activities offer many benefits that studying alone won’t provide. Here’s a list of the most fulfilling, year-round after school programs in Hoboken that your child will fall in love with.
PLAYDAY After School Programs for Children in Hoboken
1. Grown Up & Me Art
This class includes story time followed by sketching, painting, and collage, bringing the narrative to life. Each session concludes with a bubble party and cleanup.
Designed for children ages 1-4, these Grown Up & Me sessions encourage the child's independence while requiring parent/guardian engagement. Classes emphasize sensory and motor development and cognitive growth through various activities, including painting, music, and dance.
2. Color Explosion
Children will practice painting, spin art, needlework, and pointillism. Students will use their newly gained talents to delve into their deepest feelings and express them artistically via color.
3. Doodle Hour
Children will have access to incredible art tools and be able to express their imagination with their peers freely. Parents and guardians are invited to participate in the fun as well!
4. Sculpture
Clay, recyclable materials, paper, and twine will be some of the materials that the children will use to learn how to shape various physical objects.
This artistic skill will bring out the creativity and talent in your child, helping them grow intellectually as well.
5. Cut & Paste
In this program, children will build their mosaics by cutting up pieces of paper and gluing them together, using various designs and pictures as inspiration.
6. Fiber Frenzy
Children will be able to experiment with various fibers and methods, including felting, tie-dying, stitching, and cord knitting.
7. Paper Play
Playday allows children to create a masterpiece out of paper by bending, folding, and creasing it! Children will learn how to fold a square piece of paper into a complex sculpture using the Origami folding technique. Instead of cutting or gluing the paper, children are always encouraged to keep to the classic origami process of folding and sculpting the paper.
8. Stenciled Tales
Children will use stencils, markers, and paint to construct several narrative lines inspired by street art and Banksy. Individually and together, children will create murals, sketchbooks, and comics.
9. Watercolor World
In this program, children learn and practice several watercolor techniques, including printing, and resist techniques.
10. Portraits Abstract
Children will try painting, photography, sculpting, and more to portray their facial traits and personalities creatively. Their portraits may alter as their emotions fluctuate.
11. Animation
This program is suitable for children who love cartoons and animations. Your child will engage in activities like making several images or drawing to create the illusion of moving visuals.
12. Bookmaker
In this after school program, children are instructed on creating pop-up books, cookbooks, flip books, cards, and accordions. Your child will also learn different styles of these different books.
13. Cartooning
In this program, children will begin by learning the specifics of designing cartoon animals and people. Then, they will go on to utilize their creativity and humor in making their own.
14. Clay Experience
First, children will pick an item to create. Then, with the help of a teacher, children will be guided in constructing it out of clay, allowing them to add colors to create it as realistic and intricate as possible.
15. Fashion Design
Children will discover fashion design fundamentals using sketching, collaging, weaving, and styling skills. Maybe your child might become the next great fashion designer.
16. Create a Character
Children will use various materials to create diverse, one-of-a-kind characters like Tom and Jerry. So, if your child likes cartoon characters, this might be the perfect program for them.
17. Printmaking
Children will make a picture on a flat surface, cover it with ink or paint, and then print it onto paper or another medium. Once their printing setup is constructed, the transfer procedure is repeated.
18. Special Needs Class
This program is designed specifically for children with special needs. It will emphasize the development of fine motor and problem-solving abilities and the improvement of expression and communication.
19. Little Architects
Children will develop imaginative structures in each lesson, including tree houses, retail malls, cruise ships, amusement parks, schools, skyscrapers, parks, resorts, zoos, railway stations, and airports.
Children will work individually and under the guidance of a professional architect to learn how to explore and construct space via hand-drafting. The drawings include floor plans, mood boards, material keys, and a 3D interior view.
This is also an opportunity for children to hone their public speaking and presentation skills by presenting their masterpieces before their peers after each lesson.
20. Painting & Drawing
Children will first practice with a roller brush and hand painting, cartoon, and figure drawing; then, after students have established a solid basis in methods, they will be introduced to more complex projects, such as marble painting, spin art, and mixed media exploration.
21. Still Life
Children are shown a still life scene, which often consists of inanimate things such as flowers, food, shells, vases, books, and other everyday goods. Your child will be assisted in creating a display drawing focusing on accurate dimensions.
22. Abstract Modern
Children will build a unique composition using the visual language of form, shape, color, and line. This program will also help hone your child’s math skills.
Other After School Activities for Children in Hoboken
Whereas PLAYDAY is one of the best art programs in Hoboken, there are other programs you might want to check out for your child, such as:
23. Learn to Code
It is conceivable, and there are a variety of topics to study regarding coding for children and teens. These options include "playing with" coding "things" such as Sphero, participating in online coding classes, experimenting with individual after-school instruction, and much more.
CodeAdvantage is an excellent program offering coding lessons to children in the Hoboken area. They offer both virtual and in-person lessons.
24. Video Gaming
Playing video games provides a variety of advantages, particularly when children design their games. For a social aspect, new online after-school activities hosted virtually enable children to play Minecraft Bed Wars or Minecraft's Sky Wars with their friends or create new ones.
25. Science Learning
Various scientific subjects, including electricity, optics, magnetism, biology, and more, are part of the Mad Science curriculum. The program is located inside the Monroe Center and offers brief, one-hour sessions. There are after school sessions for grades K through 6 and preschool programs for kids aged 3-5.
26. Create Essay Writing and Chess
Alpha Minds Academy also offers Chess, Essay Writing, & other creative classes on weekdays and weekends. Ages vary from Pre-K to Grade 8. There is a second facility in Jersey City as well.
27. Board Game
Board games, like Monopoly, Chutes, Candy Land, and Ladders, have withstood the test of time as the ideal low-tech pastime. Playing board games like chess offers a lifetime of strategy and entertainment. Consider a gateway game like Catan Junior for a unique twist.
28. Build with LEGO
It's incredible how much possibility a LEGO set can bring. However, it is entertaining to watch your child or even participate in joining all of those tiny pieces to form the “Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” for instance.
Completing these sets helps promote tenacity and enhances abilities, such as developing fine motor skills and problem-solving.
29. Keep Math Skills Sharp
Perhaps you just want to stay indoors but keep your child busy and engaged. Perhaps you don’t want them to be idle, watching cartoons all day.
The Yup App is a fantastic method for children to get on-demand math tuition and homework assistance from their tablets and smartphones.
The concept is straightforward: to utilize the app, a student takes a picture of the issue they're engaged in and connects with a tutor who has been approved. Using encrypted texting, photo-sharing, and a live virtual whiteboard, Yup, instructors collaborate with students for as long as they need to find a solution.
31. Homework Assistance and Play Area
Mr. Robert's is dedicated to providing the best child care for school-aged children, including homework assistance and enrichment activities, in a secure, clean, loving, home-like setting.
Activities include classrooms dedicated for homework, a 3000-square foot facility for open play, a reading area, arts and crafts, board games, a Lego play area, Foosball, kitchen, air hockey, dolls, and more — all interactive activities to keep your child motivated and engaged.
Mr. Robert's is open during school closures. Children become confident and effective learners.
32. Interactive coding and robotics
This program is for K-8 students and is designed to excite them about learning coding principles while having fun and developing their own projects. It is provided by Code Advantage, a premier coding and robotics supplier.
33. General Coding
Coditum’s brand-new Monroe Center location provides children and adolescents with Python and Java coding training. The age range is 8 to 17, and most lessons are held after school.
33. TessaPrep
Tessa International School offers an after school intensive language program called TessaPrep. For youngsters between the ages of 3 and 8, the program provides immersion in Spanish, Mandarin, and French.
Through games, music, and other cultural activities, children learn speaking and listening skills and writing.
Classes for TessaPrep are offered Monday through Saturday.
34. Interactive Curriculum Fundamentals
The focus of this after school program is to supplement the academic curriculum with a greater emphasis on engagement and enjoyment, and it is provided by the Step by Step School. The aim is to establish a joyful setting that complements but does not enforce school content.
It is, after all, an after school program that uses songs, interactive charts, and a range of enrichment activities to teach your child. Your youngster will remain exposed to the foundations they learn throughout the school day but in a much more entertaining and engaging setting.
This program is recommended for children aged 5 to 13.
After School Programs in Hoboken
There you have it: a list of after school activities in Hoboken that your child will enjoy. Whether you’re looking for something to engage their minds or hands, these programs have you covered. Encourage your child to take advantage of the new opportunity during after school hours.