Playgroup 2021/2022

I have a few spaces left for girls for this coming year. Ages to start: 18 months to two years old.

I hope you’re all well and safe and happy.

Judy

February 12, 2021
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Testimonial

Judy’s Playgroup is the best experience I could have ever hoped for, for my son Harmony.  Harmony is thriving  in Judy’s world – her  care and curation of their everyday experience is so thoughtful and detailed.  Everything feels authentic from the routine for the day, to the friendships that have evolved,  to the beautiful art projects explored and brought home. Harmony adores his fellow classmates and Meghan and Judy and expresses this to me often which warms my heart to hear.


I feel lucky and grateful to have stumbled across this rare, intimate  experience for Harmony in his 2nd year. Exploring, making friends, sharing, being independent, learning to use the bathroom and eat and chit chat and much more is seamlessly explored in Judy’s Playgroup with the sentiment, care and generosity of spirit one dreams of for their child. 

Stevie Dance

February 1, 2021
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Testimonial

Although we have friends who have raved about Judy’s Playgroup, we were hesitant to enroll our daughter this year given COVID.  But boy are we glad we did.  Judy has been extremely vigilant about putting everyone’s health and safety first. Plus, it has been nice to have Judy and fellow parents to navigate these crazy times with. 


Most importantly, our daughter could not be happier. We have really seen her thrive. We knew the minute we walked into Judy’s magical wonderland and saw our daughter excitedly play with the endless toys and curiosities that this was going to be a special place. But it has been so much more than we could have hoped. Whether it’s the excitement of seeing the friends she loves or sharing the latest creation she worked on at Judy’s (i.e. the fabulous books, necklaces, vegan goldfish, banana bread muffins, art projects, the list goes on…) it’s just been amazing to see our daughter blossom and grow.  

We love knowing our daughter is under the watchful guidance of Judy whose immense heart, creative spirit and extensive experience bring the perfect balance of free play, socialization and learning to make this truly a perfect experience. We could not be happier and feel so lucky to have found Judy.  

Prithvi Reddy and Mousmi Sharma

January 24, 2021
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Linyak/Lagniappe

I received the following gift from a long-time friend, Tony Mitchelson, who sent me a poem last week for the holiday season. I had been to one of his readings in the past, but realized I didn’t know the meaning of the word “Linyak.” I asked him what “Linyak” meant and he just sent me the following:

“Linyak is my revised spelling of the word Lagniappe which is a Creole word which means to ‘give a little something extra.’  The way it is used down in Louisiana is if your mother sent you to the store to buy something,  when you paid for the goods the store owner would give you a little  something extra.  If you were a kid, he might give you a little brown bag with a few pieces of candy in it.  If your mom sent you for vegetables, he might throw in a sweet potato, ear of corn or some item in the bag.  That is called giving Lagniappe.

“I thought Linyak ‘giving a little something extra’ was a very good concept.    So I brought the concept back to New York and formed an organization called ‘The Linyak Project’ where me and my friend and fellow writer, Layding started putting shows together with poetry, jazz, plays, medical and business info given to the public, and it was all free.  We wanted to give a little something extra to the community that they didn’t have to pay for.  At some of our events we also gave out food and beverages, all free.  We had crowds of oven 100 people at places like schools, churches, book stores and cultural centers in New York City and in backyards of homes.  We’ve hosted a Jazz Series at Layding’s brownstone home in Harlem.

“So that is what I’ve been doing for 11 years now.  Usually we host 3 or 4 special events a year.  We also hosted a once-a-month Fat Tuesday Linyak Project program at Sista’s Uptown Bookstore in Harlem where audiences could enjoy cultural events and show their talents to the public.  We paid the performers out of our pockets and the audience experienced what Linyak is all about.  We only hosted one Linyak Project event in 2020 due to the pandemic.  Hopefully 2021 will allow us to continue spreading Linyak.”

We can all learn this beautiful concept and use it in our daily lives. Thank you Tony for this beautiful gift!

January 2, 2021
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