When I saw the Star Wars: Jedi Training Academy at Disneyland last year, my first thought was, "this is so cool. I bet you could recreate this experience at home for an amazing birthday party theme." (I never claimed to be normal.) If you haven't seen it, Disney's Jedi Training Academy lets kids learn light saber moves and battle Darth Vader. It's pretty freaking cool, and I figured if you cut out some of the stage craft (like the fog machine) you could fairly simply recreate the Jedi Training Academy experience at home for the most amazing birthday party idea a mini Star Wars geek could imagine.

We still have our Winter Guide up on our front page but since my daughter and I spotted blooming daffodils on the way to school this morning, we think it will soon be time to switch to our Spring Fun Guide.

The warm weather means maple sugaring season is in full swing and that New York City's plentiful playgrounds are buzzing with activity. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We remember years when it snowed in April, so don't give up on winter fun quite yet.

Our summer camp coverage continued with roundups of sleepaway camps that offer SAT prep, and nature-filled sleepaway camps on Long Island and in Connecticut. Meanwhile our New Jersey site's been all about birthdays this week, with posts on ice cream parties, animal parties, and party planners and entertainers. If you want to stay on top of everything that's going on in New Jersey, Long Island, Connecticut, Boston or Los Angeles, you can subscribe to our free newsletters. Read on for everything we covered on Mommy Poppins NYC this week.

Lots going on this weekend! MPLI fave Long Island Children's Museum is offering many quality programs and shows, including a Read Across America Celebration; a couple of Long Island JCCs are hosting Purim celebrations; and Imaginocean is playing at the Staller Center. Enjoy!

New Jersey is known for its outlets, its malls and of course, its mini-malls. Although we can all find some bargains and good deals at chain and departments stores, sometimes we need a unique touch. The garden state has an abundance of independent baby boutiques. So you if you’re looking for a special gift for your niece or just a stand-out look for your own tot, visit one of the many shops open in our area.

Russian is my first language, so when I became a mom, I resolved that all of my children would be bilingual. I now have three kids and failed with all of them in their own way (not unlike what Tolstoy said about unhappy families). They are all definitely English dominant.

But I did do one thing right with my now eight- and five-year-olds: In addition to speaking Russian to them from birth, I also enrolled them in baby sign language classes. Not only were they able to communicate through sign months earlier than their mouths and tongues were capable of physically producing words, it created a perfect bridge from one language to the other. When I spoke to them in English (if their father was around), I signed the words. If I spoke to them in Russian (when we were alone), I signed the words. Making the same sign whether I was speaking English or Russian crystallized the point that all three–English, Russian and sign–referred to the same thing, and really helped them keep it all straight.

Here are some places where families can take baby sign language classes in New York City.

After I told my children last weekend that this Saturday is National Pancake Day they decided to see who could eat the most pancakes. 9 was the winning number!  Ugh. My stomach hurts thinking about it. With the fresh fallen snow check out our post this week on Winding Trails, a place to cross country ski with the kids. For downhill skiing and snowboarding in CT we also have you covered. Thinking of sleep away camps in CT this summer? Check out a list of some in the Northwest Hills. For those of you in Fairfield County we also created a great list of Summer Nature Camps as well as Indoor Pools to swim in now. 

Pancakes aren't much without syrup and this just happens to be maple sugaring season. Both the Stamford Museum & Nature Center and Roaring Brook Nature Center are having Maple Sugar Festivals this Weekend. LaMothe's Sugar House is conducting tours and even has Tractor Mac visiting their sugar house Read on for more things to do all over CT this weekend with the kids.

Hello there, March! Thrilled to see you and all the Spring-y goodness that awaits in the wings. Although we're still in the "Lion" part of the month, there's tons of fun to be had this weekend in NJ. Perhaps the Dr. Seuss Birthday Party at the NJ Children's Museum, or the Maple Sugaring Festival at the Great Swamp or maybe an early St. Patrick's Day in Belmar? Read on for all of our picks and you can always find more weekend activities in our Event Calendar. Enjoy welcoming March in style, NJ!

There’s plenty going on this weekend for families in the Boston area, from free admission and Nano Days at the Discovery Museums on Friday to a Saturday afternoon puppet show at the Arlington Center for the Arts. A family festival at the Harvard Museum of Natural History takes families back to the world of dinosaurs on Saturday, and the Wenham Museum celebrates children’s books illustrators on Sunday. Read on for details about these and other great events happening this weekend.

Just because it’s winter, it doesn’t mean your family needs to be deprived of the farmers’ market experience. Check out 5 winter farmers markets in and around Boston. And for kids who just want to play around, maybe a trip to a toy store will do the trick - read about some of the newest toys from the Toy Fair 2012 that may just be making their way to Boston.

Finally, even though February Vacation Week has just ended, we’ve started highlighting camps and programs available for April vacation – camps for kids who are sporty, artsy, outdoorsy, all camps that fill up fast! And while we’re on the theme of camps, find out more about Mass Audubon’s summer day camps - for kids who love nature!

Enjoy!