Summer in the City

Richard Peers

The buds have sprung on the trees, birds are flying high in the sky, the sun is out and people are showing emotions that have been lost during the cold months. The summer has finally arrived in Moscow!

It’s that time of the year again when life is truly worth living. To leave the city in search of adventure, the calmer pace of life on the beach, visit family at home or tend to the gardens in the summer cottage, the summer is here and you should make the most of it whilst it lasts. But what about staying in the city, what are the options for a family who will stay in Moscow? Moscow Expat Life has selected six different options for parents with children.

1) British Football School

Ages: 5 to 14

Cost: 20,000p-25000p per week (Monday to Saturday),
5,000p per day or 3,000p per half day (4 hours).

Address: Vasilita Botyleva 41, Moscow.

Subway: Molodezhnaya

Opening times: Daily 10.00-17.00.

Phone: +7 (925) 433 55 76.

Website: britishfootballschool.com/training/holiday-camp

British Football School offers boys and girls aged 5 to 14 years the chance to receive fun football training at their summer football camps. Led by British football coaches, their training sessions develop individual football skills and increase physical fitness, as well as building confidence and teamwork skills. The sessions are delivered within a fun, safe and friendly, English-speaking environment. Based in the west of Moscow there are a number of courses available during June, July and August.

2) Cultural Center Moskvich

Ages: 2 to 9

Cost: 700p per hour

Address: Volgograd Prospect, 46/15

Subway: Textile

Opening times: Daily 10.00-20.00,
with a break from 15.00-16.00.

Phone: +7 (499) 178 36 06

Website: mskcc.ru

A variety of activities for children aged 2-9 are available at Cultural Centre Moskvich.

Pop-dance ensemble ‘Pinocchio’, dance club ‘Aleko’ or folklore ensemble ‘Rossiyanochka’ welcome new members and help engage children in different styles of dance. The centre also houses a sand animation centre and other arts studios. Various acting and photography courses are on offer.

3) School of Sherlock

Ages: 5-12

Cost: 10,000 roubles (1 week).

Address: Moscow, Four-wheel series, 3, Building 1

Subway: Textile

Opening times: Monday to Friday, 09.00-19.00.

Phone: + 7 (968) 952 50 96

Website: boolkee.ru

Every weekday from 9.00-19.00 in Sparrow Hills Park, children can take part in a detective quest ‘School of Sherlock.’ Children will publish a magazine, create a toy store, interior design room, master the skills of make-up artist, a landscape designer, and many others. Their website states that all tutors are the real masters of their craft.

4) ‘Green School’ in Gorky Park

Ages: 4-14

Address: Krymsky Val, 9

Subway: Park Kultury

Opening times: daily,12.00-20.00

Phone: +7 (903) 719 14 84

Website: www.park-gorkogo.com/kids/greenschool

Cost: 200-500 roubles per hour

Green School in Gorky Park offers creative workshops in an urban summer cottage environment. Children are engaged in creative work such as joinery, cooking and gardening. Care for plants. For the youngest pupils aged 4, Green nursery school offers KUMON education and wall painting. Classes for children from 5-14 includes joinery, gardening and horticulture, botany, pottery, science, cooking and even etiquette!

5) Creative Workshops Centre ‘Winery’

Ages: 6-15

Cost: 1,500p-1,600 roubles per day. 900 roubles
per half-day or 250 roubles per hour.

Address: 4 Syromyatnicheskiy Lane 1/8, Building 6

Subway: Kursk, Chkalovskaya

Opening times: May to August, 9.00-21.00

Phone: +7 (495) 604 41 25

Website: winzavod.tvorchmaster.ru/?p=3121

At Winery there is a new theme each week, including ceramics and sculpture, stage performances, designing models of ships and aircraft, as well as drawing cartoons and painting. The day is broken up by walks around the local area. At the end of each day there is a final exhibition, show or performance.

6) Studio ‘Living Watercolors’

Ages: 7-18

Cost: …….

Address: Svetlogorsk passage, 13/7

Subway: Mitino, Skhodnenskaya

Phone: + 7 (910) 455 13 77

Website: www.zh-akvareli.ru

The studio ‘Living Watercolors’ is located in a three-storey historic tower on the Bratsevo estate. Children and young adults can learn hip-hop dancing, acting and singing, and also create crafts in the evening. The studio has an anti-cafe living room where parents can work while their children play.