Kid Friendly Classes in Los Angeles

A family trip to Los Angeles often includes plans for visits to beaches, theme parks, and iconic tourist attractions. But in a global metropolis like Los Angeles, rest assured there’s plenty more than meets the obvious eye - by way of educational, entertaining, and most of all enjoyable drop-in classes, multi-day workshops, or private lessons for kids in L.A. Here’s a look at fun kid-friendly classes in Los Angeles.

L.A. is a city full of creatives, and as such, art classes for kids are in abundance. For toddlers and children ages 2-9, consider heading to Purple Twig on Saturday mornings from 10:00am- 2:00pm for open art studios. In Tarzana, Meri Cherry also offers open studios for toddlers and kids on Tuesdays from 3:00pm-5:00pm. At the Getty Center, you’ll find a suite of art classes and workshops such as ArtQuest! Magnificent Mosaics, and Art Odyssey available throughout the year. For slightly older children and teens, be sure to check the calendar at the L.A. County Museum of Art (LACMA) for classes, camps and workshops all year long.

Drop-in dance classes provide a perfect opportunity for toddlers, kids and teens to burn off some steam, with healthy exercise, and Los Angeles has no shortage of venues for classes. Heartbeat House offers drop-in toddler ballet, tap, pre-capoeira, and capoeira. Twinkle Toes also offers drop-in classes ranging from preschool ballet and tap to advanced contemporary jazz to hip hop classes, most of which are available as drop-in classes in Highland Park, or Downtown L.A.

For older kids with aspirations of creating or directing films, the Echo Park Film Center offers affordable day-long workshops such as “Intro to 16MM Filmmaking” or “Bolex Orientation Session.” If your schedule permits, older kids may also try a 4-day “Make-a-Movie Camp” to earn an IMDB credit at Gray Studios.

For children ages 4+ who enjoy stretching, tumbling, and playing, The Klub Gymnastics offers day-long camps from 8:30am-2:30pm or from 8:30am to 5:30pm. At Dan The Man’s SuperKids, parents of children ages 12 months to 12 years can register for a variety of beginner through intermediate gymnastics classes.

Kids needing a bit of relaxation training may benefit from meditation or Reiki classes at Den Meditation in Studio City. Single yoga classes for kids are also offered at Shorty Kid Yoga in Beverly Hills, and Zooga Yoga in Culver City, West Hollywood, and Redondo Beach.

For the littlest music lovers up to age 4, parent and child drop-in classes are available at LoveBug & Me Music classes in Atwater Village, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Downtown L.A., Sherman Oaks, Calabasas, West Hollywood, Pasadena, Santa Monica and more. For older kids and teens, School of Rock has locations throughout Los Angeles, including the Fairfax District, Venice, West LA, and more, and offers 1-2 day themed camps, summer camps, and private lessons. Likewise, if you’re planning to stay in Los Angeles for a while, consider looking into lessons at the esteemed Silverlake Conservatory of Music which offers two-week summer camps along with private lessons and occasional workshops.

Not surprisingly, science workshops for kids ages 5-10 are available at the California Science Center, as part of the museum’s “Science Saturdays.” Similarly, at the Natural History Museum, weekend workshops such as “Critter Club,” “Junior Scientist” and “Nature Navigators” run from September through March.

Classes for kids wanting to learn all about the origins of an ollie can take skateboarding classes on a visit to Los Angeles from The Skateside which offers group lessons, private lessons or semi-private lessons in Glendale, Santa Monica and Culver City. Skate Dogs also offers classes and lessons at various parks in L.A. County.

For kids and teens looking to connect with SoCal surf culture, plenty of opportunities for surf lessons abound. Consider classes offered through the Westin Los Angeles Airport’s  Surf Concierge, or book private surf lessons for ages 4-94 at Aqua Surf.

Future scribes will find that school holidays and summer breaks are the perfect time to indulge in a writing workshop, such as those offered through Writopia Lab. Half-day workshops spanning three hours a day for five days, or full day workshops are available for kids to learn graphic novel writing, creative writing, essay writing, historical fiction writing, or screenwriting.