And Now For Something Completely Different: NORY

Even in New York City, it can sometimes feel like your child has taken every class that’s offered  here — twice. Other times, the commitment (either in dollars or time) is more than you or your kid want, or that popular class in the ‘hood sells out instantly. The team at NORY, a new digital service that helps parents find unique and affordable single-session classes, feels your pain, and they’re here to help! Read on to find out how.

photo: Botanical printing class/NORY

What’s a NORY?
Like many businesses kid-related, NORY (which means “play” in Korean) was launched by two parents who saw a need in the parenting market based on their own experiences of raising kids in the city. Co-founders Peter Seo and Matthew Trainor wanted to find uncommon and inspiring experiences for their kids that were also affordable and accessible in every sense of the word. In July of 2015, NORY was born. 

photo: Indian Srijan Dance via Srijan Dance Center Facebook page

How Does it Work?
It’s really pretty simple. No membership fees. No commitments. Just head to NORY, browse the current class offerings, and register for what looks good. Most classes cost between $10 and $30, with a few exceptions (such as coding for game design) costing a bit more. Currently, most of the classes are located in Manhattan on the Upper West Side, Midtown and Chelsea, although some are also located in Brooklyn, and NORY is adding new classes and locations all the time. (Sessions are held in various studio spaces around the city that NORY rents.)

photo: Hip-hop class/NORY

What Kind of Classes Are We Talking About?
NORY classes include everything from Hula dancing to Russian immersion for toddlers to Botanical printing and Indian Srijan dance. Seo and Trainor work with the individual instructors to create a class that utilizes each teacher’s knowledge and passion, and the results are often classes unlike any others offered in the city. This kind of flexibility and creativity is in the end, appealing to both parents and kids, as well as the instructors, who can “work outside the box” when conceiving a NORY class. The goal is to devise a learning and play experience that’s tough to find anywhere else.

For example, Seo and Trainor met with a face-painter to discuss developing a class, only to discover she was also a Hula dance master and asked her to create the more uncommon dance class instead. An art instructor who studied ancient Greece, developed an arts and crafts class that also teaches kids a traditional Greek dance as part of the experience.

photo: Sculpture class/NORY

What’s Next for NORY?
NORY is still growing, with new classes, instructors and neighborhoods being added all the time, and an optimized search function for the site is in the works as well. (Are you a child educator with an idea for a unique class? NORY wants to hear from you!)

Online: www.nory.co

Have you taken a class with NORY? Tell us about it in the comments below!

—Mimi O’Connor