Toys and Games

A few years ago we wrote about five under-the-radar museums in downtown Manhattan. But there are a bunch of little known museums in Brooklyn, too, and some of them are particularly fun for kids.

So on a recent afternoon, instead of heading to our usual go-to destinations like the Brooklyn Children's Museum or the Brooklyn Museum, my kindergartner and I set out to see three new-to-us spots in our home borough that sounded cool: one dedicated to toys, another to curiosities and one full of interactive contemporary art. While all of these museums are pretty small and can be seen in under an hour, they make for a great itinerary and are quite inexpensive—two of them are just $2 each.

A few years ago, getting a child up to speed in math meant flash cards. Solid, white paper stock... that didn't actually flash. Now, as my math teacher husband will tell you, kids who need to catch up in (or want to get a jump on) mathematics have an abundance of electronic options to choose from. And some of them actually flash!

I've compiled a list of my family's go-to math apps that have worked wonders for our three school-age kids. Best of all, many of them feature our favorite number: zero, as in they're FREE.