One of the urban legends spread to NYC parents is that you have to sign your children up for preschool while they're still in the womb. This isn't true. In fact, preschool is optional and there are lots of options out there from full day preschools to half day, preschool alternatives and enriching and nurturing day cares.

Our family decided to do something completely different and join some friends as part of a parent-led preschool co-op with our 2-year-old. I recently met with other moms who've done it before to hear their experience and tips on making it a success. 

In the past few years the DOE has implemented many new standardized assessments for NYC public schools. Internally, there has been some grumbling, particularly from school administrators who have felt like these reviews do not paint accurate portraits of their schools and are unfair assessments, but are these reports useful for parents? What can you learn from these reviews when looking to choose a school for your child? And what other tools are available for parents?

Below find an overview of the different DOE school report cards, what each one will tell you and other useful tools in researching the best NYC Public Schools for your child.

This weekend is going to tire you out.  It tired me out just writing about it. There is a ton of stuff going on -- free puppet shows, catch and release fishing, free tennis, enriching nature activities, graphic novel readings and even a classic board game event.  But wait, that’s not all, there are also some huge annual events like Mamapalooza, The Brooklyn Folk Fest, the popular Touch a Truck Festival and the Hudson River Pageant. There's also the free Hebrew National Picnic Mommy Poppins will be co-hosting this Saturday on Randall’s Island. It is almost too much to cover in one post – but I will try my best.

Read on to plan a fun filled weekend, I don’t know how you will decide what to do, but I hope you have a great weekend doing it.  

As parents we might do back flips to make sure our kids eat their daily 3-square chock full of veggies, whole grains and power fruits. However, sometimes it’s very fun (and wicked delicious) to ditch squaresville, flipping those pesky food pyramids on their points, in order to chow down on some of NYC’s awesome one-food-wonders. And we’re not talking about the cupcake craze either. NYC is fairly unique in offering a huge variety of obsessively crafted single-food stands and other illustrious eateries where there’s virtually just one thing on the menu. But oh what delectable things they are!

We’ve scoped out some the most kid-ilicious single-food snacks around. (You’ll love them too.) Enjoy some of the very best single-food sensations around, all under $10:

Check out our latest post about the High Line with info on all three sections. The High Line has been hyped far and wide as one of NYC's hippest new parks, but is it actually a good destination to hit with kids?  There are no swings, no playgrounds, no grassy fields. No dogs or skates, scooters, trikes, bikes or balls are allowed. It's not really a park at all, more of a promenade. A promenade up a few flights of stairs, no less. Not to mention that one of the things it's become most famous for is being a great viewing location for watching guests of the Standard Hotel with a yen for x-rated exhibitionism.

But despite all those nos (and no-nos), there are some redeeming qualities for the High Line from a kids-eye view. While the High Line might not actually have anything to "do", you can make your own fun there with a little bit of creativity and preparation.

Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm isn’t just one of those cheesy animal farms for kids, It's a real working farm that dates back to the 1760s and is on the National Historic Register. The farm is about an hour and half away from midtown Manhattan just over the Delaware River near the town of Stroudsburg and makes a great day trip from New York City any time, but around Memorial Day Weekend you have extra reason to visit for their Annual Farm Animal Frolic at Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm, a day of old fashioned fun for kids and adults and something we love to go to every year.  

I knew this was going to be a cool show before we checked it out in person, but we were truly unprepared for the total awesomeness of the entire exhibit which has a WOW factor that’s off the charts.  The basic premise of the show is about taking recycled “dead” plant and animal matter and making it newly “alive” as art.  Take, for instance, Billie Grace Lynn’s freakin’ fantastic working “Mad Cow Motorcycle” made up of the bones of an entire cow. Then there’s Fabian Pena’s anatomical art that’s pretty swell in and of itself but will knock your socks off when closer inspection reveals it’s entirely fabricated from cockroach wings. And talking about the eeeewwww factor, you’ve got Alastair Mackie’s fabric woven from mouse fur recovered from owl poop.  That’s just the tip of the iceberg! Read on to get the goods on this exciting exhibition.
 

Lots of good tidbits for you this week. We're co-hosting a Hebrew National Picnic this weekend and you're invited. Learn more about that, how to get a free Juno Baby DVD, and lots of interesting news about NYC public schools. Plus, i put together a little slideshow from this past weekend's Taste of Tribeca school fundraiser. It was a great event this year with delicious food, fun activities and great weather. If you'd like to see what it's like, watch the video and then don't miss it next year!