We do love summer and one of the main reasons is free outdoor story times. (‘Cause hearing a story told in a hot crowded library that doesn’t allow food… soooo wintertime.) Grab the picnic basket, grab the kids and head out to one of our beautiful parks for fantasy, fun and falafel. Or franks. Or feta. Whatever, it’s not really about the food, people, it’s about the stories, so just go!

Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Also called Midsummer, (as in Shakespeare's Midsummer's Night's Eve), the summer solstice has been celebrated around the world since neolithic times with traditions that are now a mix of Pagan and Christian rituals.

When I was a kid there used to be a Summer Solstice Celebration in Riverside Park that we attended every year which involved staying up all night long making music. It was one of the quirky, artsy things that I was lucky to experience growing up in NYC.

Today there are slightly less out there ways to celebrate the Solstice that still capture the sense of freedom, revelry, and hapenstance of those magical celebrations and truly are only in NYC events and are the types of cool events that your children will remember for the rest of their lives.

For young children, a ride on a carousel’s painted pony, a spin with Mom or Dad around the track in a bumper car, and the dripping swirl of frozen custard are the stuff that summer memories are made of. No need to seek out the newest, scariest, highest tech roller coaster. Rides that may look kind and gentle to big people provide the right amount of thrills for little ones. Get your family in gear to head out to one of these manageable-sized theme parks.

June mainly means two things to many parents: Father's Day and the end of the school year. And that means gifts for teachers and dad and sometimes yearbooks and, ugh, what to do with all the priceless artwork that comes home from your child's classroom. Whew. It's a lot.

One thing that won't make your life easier (we're not going to lie to you), but may make it nicer is digital photo book services that let you make great gifts and memory books from your photos, children's artworks or writing. The great thing about photo books is they slide neatly onto a shelf, meaning those piles of artwork and great memories can be easily accessed and shared without creating clutter, something teachers appreciate as much as you do.

Here are some places to make great books including a place you can do it right here in person in NYC. And we've got discount codes too!

This weekend is Father’s Day so Dad is the man of the hour.  It is really important to make sure you do just the right thing with him this weekend (even if that means lounging on the couch!)  We have written about some fun home made gifts to make like barbecue sauce, books and clay handprints as well as the perfect activity in the city for each kind of dad and even places to dine on Fathers’s Day.

This weekend NYC’s neighborhood parks are teeming with live music and theater, not to mention carnivals, parades, fishing, bike racing and craft making.  Plus some of your children’s favorite television personalities can be found trolling the city this weekend.  There is a cool dinosaur event at the main NY public library, an awesome bike pareade in Queens and free concert at the Scholastic Store. And don’t forget that Saturday is the annual Mermaid Parade in Coney Island.

No matter what you do have a great weekend and Happy Father’s Day to all our amazing Dads.

Lots of places in New York City are celebrating Father’s Day with special discounts, deals and freebies. Now it is Dad’s turn to score a deal. Read on to find out how to have a Frugal Father’s Day in the Big Apple.

Have you been to Scribble Press yet?  It is a brand spanking new drop in creative arts space that just opened on the Upper East Side. What makes Scribble Press so different from the many other drop in art places is that this is the only one in the city where kids can make a book from start to finish which is then professionally bound and printed on site.  The books are beautiful and would make a terrific gift for Father's Day. (My photo doesn't do the finished product any justice.)

The possibilities for creativity are endless at Scribble Press - read on to find out more:

Hudson Warehouse's Much Ado About Nothing

Actors who love Shakespeare want audiences to love it too and so New York City is full of wonderful free outdoor Shakespeare performances that are particularly engaging and can be really fun for kids. English Lit doesn't always need Spark notes either--there's plenty of more accessible Shakespeare to be seen. Plus, it's free and outdoors, and if your kids aren't ready to brave the Bard, the worst thing that happens is you leave. 

Here are five ways to enjoy Shakespeare with your kids this summer:

There are hundreds of public playgrounds in NYC and if you spend as much time as I do at yours, the same one can get old quick. Checking out fabulous playgrounds in other neighborhoods can be a great stop off on any excursion to a different part of the city, or it can be a terrific outing in and of itself. We've got the goods on the destination playgrounds all over New York City that are subway-worthy and worth the schlep and we will be bringing them to you all summer.

No two dads are alike and this Father’s Day there are as many fun activities for dads as there are types of dads!  So if you are looking to please a sporty dad, a foodie dad or even a big kid dad we have plenty of ideas to choose from. Read on and plan a great day this Sunday, but remember, since it is Dad’s day if he really just wants to stay home and relax - that is okay too. Happy Father’s Day!

Father’s Day Activities in NYC for every kind of Dad: