A school bus strike, a flu epidemic and no agreement over the teacher evaluation plan. Man are we ready for the three-day MLK weekend to arrive. How to celebrate and honor Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy was a hot topic across all of our sites this week, and we found lots of meaningful ways to mark the holiday (which also happens to be President Obama's inauguration day) in NYC, on Long Island, in New Jersey and Connecticut. There are even some volunteering opportunities for families.

While the snow we got in NYC earlier this week washed away in a matter of hours, our Winter Fun Guide has info on plenty of tri-state area ski and snow tubing resorts that make their own in case you're thinking of going away for the weekend. We're hoping we actually get a natural snowfall at some point this season so we can go cross-country skiing, too.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

It's a three-day weekend, and there's lots going on to keep the kids busy. There are several shows to see this weekend, including Gustafer Yellowgold at the Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre, Pinkalicious the Musical at the CM Performing Center in Oakdale, Raggedy Ann and Andy at Theatre Three in Port Jefferson, Sleeping Beauty at the Studio Theatre in Lindenhurst, and The Magic of Thaddeus at Dix Hills Performing Art Center. If nature's more your thing, check out "The Colors of Winter" at the Sherwood-Jayne Farm in Setauket, Winter Animal Tracks at the West Hills County Park, terrarium making at the Suffolk County Farm and Education Center, or the Cold Spring Fish Hatchery. There are also several events commemorating Dr. King in honor of the holiday. Check out our posts on volunteering in honor of MLK Day and commemorative events, and as always take a look at our events calendar for more great activities. Happy three-day weekend!

Ground Zero has become a must-see destination for many families visiting NYC. Making a visit to the 9/11 Memorial Museum meaningful for children may be challenging, but finding a decent place to eat nearby is even more so. Besides all the construction still under way, the neighborhood lunch spots mainly cater to office workers from the Financial District so there are a lot of fast-food chains and delis with limited seating.

If you are heading up to Tribeca afterward, you'll find many family-friendly restaurants but in the immediate vicinity of the World Trade Center site, options are a more limited. Luckily, I know the area well and can give you the inside scoop on where to look for the best inexpensive kid-friendly restaurants and eats near Ground Zero.

The three-day Martin Luther King Jr weekend that comes so early in the year is always a welcome treat, and Boston offers plenty for kids and families to do. In addition to special concerts, tributes, open houses and workshops that all pay tribute to Dr. King (highlighted in our separate post), families can visit an auto show, take in a SteveSongs concert in Brookline or Lexington, see some magic tricks with David Garrity or the Theatre of Illusions, and more. As always, you can find more things to do by visiting our Events Calendar.

This week, we begin our Summer Camps 2013 coverage with a collection of upcoming camp fairs. And Tara launches a new series that recognizes parents who make a difference in the lives of local families, with her interview with My Gym owner Ryan T. Debin. If you know a special Boston-area parent who we might consider for our Poppins Parents series, please let Tara know.

Enjoy!

All gymnasts, except one, grow up; when Cathy Rigby sings, "I'm never gonna grow up," you can take her at her word.

The Olympian reprises the role she's been reprising since 1974 in the touring production of Peter Pan that opened at the Pantages Theatre last night. And while I was excited to be sharing a little piece of theater history with my son, I was frankly unprepared for the possibility that the most believable Peter Pan I've ever seen would be played by someone's grandmother. It sounds crazy, but no mental gymnastics are required at all to accept the legendary gymnast as a 10-year-old boy for two hours; that flying granny did one of the most impressive on-stage transformations I've ever seen, treating us to the ultimate eternal boy.

The Greater Boston community is rich with parents who make a difference in the lives of local families. We’ve decided it’s high time we started recognizing those parents, people like Ryan T. Debin, new owner of My Gym in Medfield.

We interviewed Ryan because we wanted to know more about him and his exciting new adventure with My Gym. We also had to find out how, as a 13-time Boston Marathoner with four kids, he manages to do it all.

Read on for the first interview in our new series, Poppins Parents, with Ryan T. Debin (RTD), fitness dad extraordinaire. 

We continue our month-long focus on Tribeca with a roundup of our favorite places to shop with kids in the area. Considering the neighborhood's trendy reputation, it's no wonder that its picturesque cobblestone streets are home to some of NYC's hippest children's clothing and toy boutiques, all with eye-catching window displays. Whether you're looking for eco-friendly playthings, a unique outfit for a special occasion, your tot's first pair of shoes or even celebrity-designed maternity wear, these Tribeca shops sell it all, plus so much more. Here are our top 12 places to shop with kids in Tribeca.