In honor of Earth Day, Spring, and that theoretical thing people call Global Warming, this month we're focusing on everything Green. We've got a whole roster of fun events and information to inspire you to make your life greener with your kids in New York City. Plus we've got some big green giveaways and craft ideas.

Of course we'll still have our regular free fun fridays, linkin' blogs and other great content sprinkled in, like our Mommy Poppins Do-It-Yourself Spring Break Camp and some really cool activity ideas.

Tonight since I went out drinkin' with the girls from SK*RT and my favorite NYC parent bloggers (if you don't know these sites, you should), I'm giving you some of the best green posts from our archive.

Best Environmental Websites for Kids

Zipcar: Drive to the greener side of the street

It's Time to Give Up the Water Bottle

Recycled Materials and Nature Crafts

Description:

DUSC/GGFC offers innovative training on the fields at Pier 40 in downtown Manhattan. Under the guidance of Gustavo Palomino and Paul Jeffries, our experienced and talented staff employs disciplined training methods to deliver 10 weeks of innovative and fun soccer education.

Each week presents campers with an intensive program designed to take individual games to a higher level of play. Players will learn new forms of warm up and flexibility; skills training will focus on different parts of the game each day: emphasis will be put on dribbling, body movement, passing, shooting, game tactics and much more. Games allow players to develop skills gained. Campers will watch soccer games on video, and discuss tactics. The full-day program includes swimming in a college-sized pool.

DUSC/GGFC soccer clubs focus is on the imagination, style and flair of the individual: soccer is a game where each player should be given the skills that support their imagination and allow them to make critical decisions on the field without the restrictions of over-coaching. We want to develop smart players, with a strong grounding in proper technique, who will go on to develop their own creative interpretation, and love, of the game.

Program Information:

June 8th-August 21st, Ages 5-12 and 7-14 and 3-4
Full Day/Half Day and Single Day options.  

The program is run at Pier 40, Houston Street and the West Side Highway, New York City.

Contact:

Website (on line registration): www.dusc.net

Gustavo Palomino: 646-247-6449 or gmsgpalomino@optonline.net or information@dusc.net

And for more great camp ideas, check out our Summer Camp Guide!

We're all itching to get outside, but the weather is still unpredictable enough that it's worth doing one more indoor activities post. every once in a while we like to update you with more free indoor activities like story times. You can see all our previous posts on free indoor activities, story times, and art classes in the Winter Fun Guide.

Congratulations to Amber who won our Elf Tennis giveaway. Amber will be enjoying five free tennis lessons with the special Elf Tennis approach.

Private schools just had their Spring Break and public schools have theirs coming up and as we're waiting for the weather to warm up, we've got vacations on the brain.

Have you ever been stuck with a family vacation that actually seemed like more work than not being on vacation? If you are used to having childcare, a family vacation can be a shocking experience. It's not something that most people want to admit, and of course we all love spending lots of time with our kids, but hard-working parents need some real down-time too or they're going to have their own little melt-downs that no binky can fix.

Taking a babysitter on vacation with you might seem like a huge luxury, but sometimes luxuries are really necessities. But wanting to take a baby sitter on vacation with you and actually doing it are two different things, two things with lot of steps in between, like how much to pay and how to find a sitter who will travel with you, etc. The experts at Sittercity have shared some tips with us on how to make the fantasy a reality.

In March we've had a lot of very popular posts. While the 100 Things to Do with Your Kids in NYC is still the most popular post on the site for the third month in a row, the Camp Guide has been getting almost as many viewers. We added a couple more posts to the Camp Guide this month and will continue to add as we post related content.

Who has time to read? We've rounded up the top stories you don't want to miss from the NYC media this week.

Toxic Toys. A PBS Now program talks about the dangerous chemicals in many plastic toys, not just ones from China. Watch the episode online.

Buy the NYC Toilet Map for only $2.50??”a must-have for the potty training years. ??”NewYorkology

This week, a toy and clothing swap, a contest to name the Riverside Park Hawks, a chance to meet Mo Willems, and a fun way to learn physics. All free. Plus some cool, off-beat activities and concerts worth the price. And don't forget the free Elf Tennis demo classes on Sunday.