NEW YORK – Introducing Filarakia Greek Playgroup – Brooklyn’s newest immersive language and culture, play-based learning program targeting children from six months to ten years old.
On Friday, July 25, the new immersive learning initiative held its launch event, at Norman’s Arts & Crafts studio, at 6908 Colonial Road in Bay Ridge Brooklyn.
Focused on tying the Greek community together, the sister-in-law’s, ’φίλες‘ (friends), moms and co-founders of Filarakia, Maria Harisis and Angela Kambourakis decided to start up the initiative as a way of allowing young children to collaborate and keep the Greek language, culture, and traditions alive.
The idea came about only four months ago, when Maria and Angela’s children were watching the Zouzounia together, a Greek children’s musical group on YouTube at Angela’s house.
“We both have two young kids, and Maria’s daughter and my son are seven months apart, so they’re together often – every Wednesday, they watch the Zouzounia at my house, and they love to sing the songs, which they know all the lyrics too and dance along,” Kambourakis told TNH.
“We were watching them and thought, we’re so lucky that our kids have each other, but how will other kids build that connection with their Greek heritage? Then we thought, ‘how can we do something with this for other families in our community?’ We wanted to create a space for kids to come and be immersed in the Greek language and culture, especially because not everybody has the opportunity at home to connect with their yiayia and pappou, or family members that hold the roots and the stories that make us who we are, and these stories and traditions will die with previous generations if we don’t continue them, and we’re just not going to let that happen.”
With a mission to create a warm and engaging space that celebrates Greek heritage and community, Harisis said Filarakia is a way of helping children in Brooklyn and beyond become close to their roots.
“Filarakia is a way to say thank you to our ancestors, to our parents who have worked so hard, and a way to teach children about the beautiful culture that is Greek culture, and everything that it has to offer,” Harisis said.
“It’s a way of instilling identity in kids. When students know who they are, statistics and research show that they perform better in school, they perform better in life, they’re proud, they’re confident, their grades get better…we just see how much cultural education is rooted in academic success, and we want to create opportunities for kids to just be connected.”
Greek-American playgroup Filarakia is based in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and will offer a variety of activities and classes targeting different age groups and learning needs.
Classes are set to commence from Monday, August 11.
For children aged six months to three years old, they will have the opportunity to participate in ‘Μαμά and Me Music & Movement’ classes, ‘Kouzina Tots’, a sensory kitchen class where children will get to experience hands-on play with dough, herbs, and Greek flavors, and ‘Mini Olympians’, a movement-based class where children will learn about the Olympics, while being immersed in the Greek language and culture.
For children aged four to six, there is an ‘Opa! & Art‘ class, combining music, arts, and movement. In the ‘Kouzina Kids‘ class children will be able to mix, mash, and shape simple ingredients while learning about traditional Greek foods, family rituals, and regional flavors, In the ‘Little Olympians’ class children build strength, balance, and confidence through interactive and fun challenges.
Children aged seven to ten will be able to enroll into the ‘Young Leaders’ Agora’, where they will learn about language, culture, and confidence through storytelling, crafts and expressive activities, the ‘Kali Orexi‘ class where there will be hands-on cooking classes for children to explore the flavors, stories and tradition behind Greek food, and the ‘In the Steps of Giants: Greek Myths, Fables and Heroes’ class, where students will learn about some of Greece’s greatest stories, promoting clever thinking, perseverance, cultural vocabulary, and powerful conversations.
The Filarakia co-founders, Harisis and Kambourakis expressed how they felt so excited to finally launch their immersive Greek children’s playgroup.
“We’re starting to build something that we’re really proud of…and we’re so happy with the response we’ve received already,” Harisis said.
“Just in our first week of registrations, we had 35 children sign up, and today, we had another 40.”
You can find out more and register your children for the Filarakia Greek Playgroup on their website, https://filarakianyc.com.
