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!

Well, that was over quick. Even with an extra day, February has gone all "been there, done that" on us. Makes you think Spring is just around the corner, despite any predictions a certain groundhog (or the weatherman) might have made. Luckily Mommy Poppins is on the ball with our list of 10 Spring Break Camps that LA Kids Love!

Spring Break might put you in a mindset for Spring Cleaning, and we're here to help with that, too. Anyone can talk about tidying closets, but you know you're a Mommy when it's your car seat that needs cleaning. This week we take a look at CleanBeeBaby unique car seat cleaning service, and there might even be something in it for you. (SPOILER ALERT: it's a giveaway!)

But before you kiss Winter good-bye, you might want to take in one of the many Purim festivals going on around town. Purim is a Jewish festival that celebrates the salvation of the Jewish people, complete with an evil villain, valiant heroes, crazy costumes, and all manner of revelry, and it goes without saying that Mommy Poppins has the lowdown on the best Purim celebrations for your family.

Read on for our favorite picks for this weekend, and to find out more about that giveaway...

The New York International Children's Film Festival, Purim parties, Women's History Month celebrations, Dr. Seuss' birthday—this weekend is jam-packed with family fun.

The month-long NYICFF kicks off this weekend and although many screenings are already sold out, some are still available. Or you can head to your local cineplex to see Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, which is being released on the author's birthday. My son and I saw a preview screening and it was so good I cried.

There are also a couple of wonderful stage shows this weekend, like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer at the New Victory and a free performance by the Story Pirates; rockin' concerts like  The Dirty Sock Funtime Band and the day-long Brooklyn Kids Rock music fest. And we haven't even gotten to all of the Purim celebrations around town, including carnivals at the JCC and the 92nd Street Y.

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 week's giveaway from CleanBeeBaby is a no-brainer. We all have car seats and strollers. They all face daily assaults from the toddler arsenal. (Cheerios. Goldfish. Raisins. Sand. …Not to mention an array of bodily fluids). They need to be cleaned. 

But we’re faced with a dilemma. Cleaning the car seat means taking it out of commission for a day or more (you can put the cover in the washer but have to let it air dry).  It also means taking it out of the car - uninstalling it - and then having to reinstall it ourselves. (No pressure or anything, but did you know that more than 80% of car seats are installed incorrectly?) We've found a terrific solution, and we get to share it for free in this week's giveaway!

As a stay-at-home mom raising a daughter, I'd like to think that we celebrate and (in our own small way) add to women's history every single day. But since March is officially Women's History Month, I've been searching for meaningful ways we can celebrate the achievements of our gender together.

Like February's Black History Month, pretty much every New York City institution plans some kind of event in honor of Women's History Month. We've picked the ones we think will really speak to and inspire kids—not just little girls, but little boys, too. From activism to art, science to suffrage, sports to politics and beyond, we ladies have done lots of awesome things. That's why we've rounded up awesome ways for families to celebrate Women's History Month with kids in New York City.