Tribeca Kids Neighborhood Guide

I was born in the former Soviet Union and grew up speaking Russian with my parents in the U.S. Once I became a mom, I wanted to pass the language and culture on to my three children. But with a dad who only speaks English, that's proven to be tougher than I'd expected. On top of that, the age difference between my kids (the eldest is in eighth grade, the youngest kindergarten) means they're rarely interested in the same activities, so finding an all-ages Russian activities has been a challenge.

However, after years of personal research and experimentation, we've found several great programs that teach a combination of Russian language, Russian culture and even Russian-Jewish culture. Since June marks NYC's 11th annual Russian Heritage Month, this seems like the perfect time to give Russia some love. Here are five ways kids can experience Russian culture in New York City.

Along with the mild weather comes a fresh crop of outdoor festivals, street fairs and carnivals, big annual favorites like two of our April Go List picks, the Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Cherry Blossom Festival, as well as smaller community happenings.

These spring fests are a great way to entertain your family for just a few bucks—sometimes even for FREE. And the activities are really diverse: Introduce the kids to old-fashioned games, celebrate planet Earth, chow down on homemade treats or watch live performances by kiddie bands, puppet troupes and more. Plus, these events aren't just fun, they foster community by bringing folks together to support a school, playground, cultural institution or common cause.

Festival season doesn't kick off until this weekend but you can start planning right now. Here are 12 awesome events to put in your April calendar.

In the past, we've written about ways to host a summer urban pool party and shared our favorite outdoor NYC public pools. But this winter, a few of our readers wrote in asking where they could book an indoor pool party off-season. Swimming parties are certainly a decadent way to celebrate a birthday. The kids rip off their coats, jump in their bathing suits, hit in the water and get an instant taste of summer fun, regardless of what season it actually is.

Luckily, there are a bunch of indoor pools in NYC, and while most of them are only open to members or currently enrolled students, many offer party packages to the general public. These indoor swimming parties are also a great option in the summer since the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation pools don't offer birthday packages and have a long list of strictly enforced rules.