With the dog days of summer still a few months ahead, spring is the ideal time to enjoy the beach!  Fly a kite, play some tennis, handball, basketball, or rollerblade.  Comb the tide lines for crabs and seashells, greet a fisherman, and scan the shore for wildlife. With its ample grassy areas, ballfields and playgrounds the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park, in Oyster Bay is the place to play, with free parking (until Memorial Day), to boot.

If you love great sketch comedy, there comes a point at which it feels  almost like a compulsion to pass it along to your children. I remember sitting in the basement of my childhood home as my parents introduced me to Monty Python's Flying Circus, the content of which I only vaguely understood, but which nevertheless infected me with a lifelong love of smart, absurdist humor. The dead parrot sketch, the ministry of funny walks ... Monty Python feels like a part of my very context for life.

What’s a better way to celebrate Easter than to let loose running in search for colorful eggs (besides all the candy of course)?! Hop along Connecticut’s bunny trail to find fun Easter egg hunts in the Hartford County area for your child. Check the list for great events filled with egg hunts, candy, pictures with the bunny and more.

If you've passed by any store displays lately, then you know Easter (and scary looking Easter Bunnies) are coming. Even though the holiday isn't until April 8, Easter egg hunts kick off this weekend in New York City, Long Island, Connecticut and even up in Boston. You can also go for an old-fashioned train ride with the Easter Bunny in New Jersey.

Since spring is officially here, you need to figure out what to do with the kids over spring break, which is why we rounded up 29 NYC spring break camps. If you're thinking about taking a day or weekend trip, we have lots of ideas in our Travel Guide. Or how about exploring a new-to-you NYC neighborhood? So far we've launched in-depth guides to Chinatown, Harlem, Park Slope, Jackson Heights and the Upper West Side.

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.

At the risk of being accused of gender-based stereotypes, I believe I have located the exact street address of Daddy Heaven. Don't get me wrong - I thoroughly enjoyed taking my son to the Museum of Flying at Santa Monica Airport the other day, and my son had a great time, too. But the people giving off the true glow of aerial ecstasy at this newly re-opened Santa Monica landmark are definitely the dads. It is, hands-down, the ultimate daddy outing.

Spring has sprung! I won't belabor the fact that it's barely been winter, since lately I seem fixated on the weather in my Mommy Poppins NJ missives, but, seriously, I hope you've left your house these last few months, because it's actually been quite nice out. Moving on. Spring! We're big fans. It's always a pleasure to step out the front door into a perfect 70 degrees, and even after thirty-several years on the planet, there is much delight and surprise in the first pink blossoms fluttering in the wind.

I like to kick off my spring activities stories with a quote, so this one is for my NJ kid, my spring addict, who loves to be barefoot so much, she'll fight about it every day. 

If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall.  ~Nadine Stair

So go on, there's so much to do. Take deep breaths. Soak it in. Maybe take your shoes off. Here's a list of NJ spring happenings, including hikes, strolls, walks, gardening, and happy discovering.

The Ringling Bros. circus is in town this weekend. My family got a chance to attend opening night, and my husband (who's a pretty tough critic) and I both agreed that this was really the most entertaining circus we've been to. If you get a chance this weekend, go! If the circus isn't your thing, there's lots more going on around the Island for the weekend. The Easter Bunny hits town a little early for breakfast with the tots, it's Waffle Day at the Children's Museum of the East End, the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center is putting on Rainbow Fish, and the Community Synagogue in Port Washington is having a Woodstock-themed family day. Have a great weekend!