St Patrick’s Day in CT!

March 17th brings out the Irish in all of us – even in those of who can’t claim even a drop of Irish blood!  There are lots of ways to celebrate the day, but a few of the most traditional (or so my Irish husband tells me) are feasting on corn beef and cabbage, reveling in some Irish music, or enjoying a parade.  Happily, there are lots of places in Fairfield County where you can celebrate St. Patty’s day in one of these traditional ways…as well as in a few less traditional ways.

Welcome to another weekend of awesome NYC activities and (if the forecasters are to be believed) spring-like temperatures. My family may not be able to take advantage of the weather since we're going to back-to-back screenings at the New York International Children's Film Festival, one of our favorite annual events. The fest runs through Sunday, March 25 and tickets are still available for some screenings.

The weekend is jam-packed with multicultural fun. Even though St. Patrick’s Day is next weekend, families can celebrate the holiday a wee bit early at Kids Fleadh. The Purim festivities continue with a shadow puppet show about Queen Esther. Easter's just a month away, so you can brush up on your egg decorating skills at a Ukrainian pysanky workshop. And the French Institute hosts one of its bilingual Family Saturdays.

Other fun on tap includes the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus' Cavalcade of Youth starring variety performers under age 21. Out in Brooklyn, kids can learn all about the Beauty of the Ballet courtesy of the School of American Ballet. And a live version of The Magic School Bus rolls into town in honor of the kid-lit classic's 25th anniversary.

These are just a few of the great things going on this weekend. All of our best bets are below. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar and our Winter Fun Guide.

This edition of our weekly best is chock full of savvy scoops. We pride ourselves on being in the know with the best and coolest activities out there, but even our seasoned editor was surprised by the awesomeness that is the Toyota Symphony for Youth - and you can still catch it this weekend!

No doubt you've been waiting with bated breath as we've been adding installments in our summer camp/ break camp series. Now, for the first time, you can view all the articles in one place, our Los Angeles Camps Guide. It's like having the boxed set - and we add episodes every week!

Having launched our expedition into the world of camps, we next turn our eye toward education. This week begins our series on Co-op Preschools with a look at the best that the Westside has to offer.

And, having established ourselves as your number one resource for fun activities with kids on land, we're now declaring the seas to be our domain as well, as we reel in the best local whale watching.

Finally, in case you've forgotten, we've still got a giveaway running - and Friday is the last day to enter! Keep reading for our favorite picks for the weekend, and to be reminded about our sparkling giveaway!

I'll be honest: when my kids were preschool age, I didn't think they needed school yet. I was full-time with them. So, hrmph. What could a nursery school give them that I couldn't? But I now know that whether or not they needed preschool, the truth is I​ needed preschool. Or, more specifically, I needed to be a parent at a coop nursery school. 

Whether or not you think you might, too, we bring you our series of greater Los Angeles cooperative preschools. We start here with the Westside, but we have similar shout outs to coop preschools in the Valleys and Hollywood/Los Feliz.

A kids pool party is certainly not a new birthday party idea, but they are a sure-fire hit with kids, and you can rent out the pool at your nearest Y pretty reasonably (as NYC kid parties go). I always like to do home parties, however. It's not that I'm cheap (well, yeah, maybe a little), but I am also a homebody and a control freak. I like to do everything myself and have it happen under my roof (or on my roof). So pool parties are out, right? Oh, I may be a cheap, homebody, control freak, but I'm no quitter. So, here's how to throw an awesome urban pool party whether you have a pool or not. If you have any kind of outdoor space (roof, terrace, garden, sidewalk in front of your apartment...) you can do this party with a kiddie pool, or even two. Think creatively. Maybe you could even do it in the playground or park. If you don't have outdoor space you can always do your pool party at a public pool. A pool party can be a great, low-stress party. You don't need to hire entertainment and once the kids get going, the adults can just sit back and chill while the kids have a blast in the water.

As there is no shortage of drama in my house (3 girls!), I’ve decided to embrace the theatrics by enrolling them into some drama and dance camps this summer.  Happily I’ve found a number of options for my budding thespians and dancers in the Fairfield County area: