A preschool tour is the best opportunity for parents to get a feel for a school before tackling the admissions process. Hopefully, you see the school in action, or at least check out what the classrooms look like. Keep your eyes open for important details. What type of student work is on display? Do the kids seem happy and engaged? How do the teachers interact with them?

When you're on the tour, don't be shy about asking questions. This is your chance! "Parents should ask as many questions as they want to help understand and grasp our program's philosophy," says Lisa Pacheco, center director at Children’s Creative Learning Center. Jennifer Jones of Battery Park Montessori and the Pine Street School adds, "I encourage parents to ask questions based on their personal priorities for their children. For example, if the child is physically active and the parents are concerned about it, they should ask how the school will satisfy the child's need for physical expression." Open-ended questions are best, as they tend to reveal more about the school. For example, "How do you support literacy?" is better than, "When do you teach the alphabet?"

Here are the top 10 topics to ask about when you're visiting preschools.

It’s understandable that applying to preschool is nerve-racking: It’s one of the first decisions you make for your child’s education. But at Mommy Poppins, we believe that applying to preschool can be a sane experience, and we want to do what we can to dispel some of the anxiety. So we're sharing the inside scoop from our recent preschool fair where we interviewed a number of top NYC preschool directors, administrators and teachers for their tips on the admissions process. After all, who knows it better than the people who make the decisions?

Applying to preschool is one of the most important (and potentially harrowing) experiences for young children and their parents. It’s the beginning of their education, their introduction to schooling and their foundation for a life of learning. In NYC, we are lucky to have many preschool choices available, but it can be a lot of work to figure out which one is best suited to your child.

We asked directors from participating preschools at one of our recent Preschool Fairs to share their insights about the admissions process and what parents should look for in a program. Who better to explain how to navigate this journey than these experts, who help families find the right schools for their kids every day? Read on for their top tips.

With all the press about the mom who got arrested for leaving her nine-year-old child unattended in a park, and the resulting outrage, it’s raised the question across the country: What's an appropriate amount of freedom for kids, and what is not? Growing up in NYC in the '70s, my friends and I played outside and roamed around independently from an early age even though the city, in general, was not as safe as it is now. We learned street smarts and independence that, undoubtedly, spilled over into other areas of our lives.

For many reasons, parenting seems different today. There's a lot more pressure to constantly supervise children, even older kids. It can be hard to imagine that our "babies" will ever be ready to go out into the wide world alone. But with the start of a new school year, the reality is that many children will begin traveling on their own or with a group of friends. With my kids—a teenager who is fully independent and a tween who is just learning to navigate the city on his own—I've modified the '70s-style hands-off approach to include today's more safety consciousness to develop a training course my kids must complete before being allowed out on their own.

Here's how I taught my own kids to be street smart city kids from an early age:

This bike park is now closed. The organizers hope to open a new one nearby in May 2015. We'll update this post if that happens. New York City never ceases to amaze me with its seemingly endless expansion in the “you can do that in NYC now?!” department. The people who don’t understand why we raise our kids in the city just don’t get the true awesomeness of the ever-changing playground in which we live. Stage combat, trapeze, cheerleading, Chinese—whatever your kids are interested in, there's probably a place to do it, plus the opportunity to discover new things they didn’t even know they were into located around every corner.

I like to think I know most of what’s going on in the city, but my jaw dropped the other day when I stumbled upon Brooklyn Bike Park, an incredible, dirt track, mountain biking park that sits on a full block on South Williamsburg’s industrial waterfront. It was such a great find and since it's moving at the end of this summer, I just had to share right away.

From beautiful parks and beaches to a variety of attractions and entertainment, all of New York City’s five boroughs are family-friendly stops. Summer is a fun time to explore all of it—and our sponsor NYC & Company is "spreading the news" on everything the area has to offer for parents and kids, whether you’re a visitor from another city or a local who wants to play tourist for the day.

This season, we're partnering with KaBOOM! to promote a SUMMER OF PLAY. A few months back, KaBOOM!, the nonprofit dedicated to bringing play to all children, held a nationwide contest with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts to find America's Most Playful Family. Families all over the country shared the different ways they like to play, often illustrating that you don't need lots of toys or organized activities to have a great time. Play ideas can come from people of all ages, even caring adults who ensure kids get the balanced and active play they need to thrive.

You can't help but be inspired by America's Most Playful Family contest winners, the Thomases from Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico. Even though they don't have playgrounds in their community or fancy playthings, they invent games that incorporate cultural traditions and all three generations of family. Watch the video family portrait that won them the title, and then read about some of their fun games that you can try at home—no batteries needed.

Don't forget to share your family's playtime on social media with the hashtags #summerofplay and #playmatters to inspire others and for a chance to win the Ultimate Summer of Play Bash or other prizes. And check our Summer of Play gallery on Facebook to see what others are posting.

Even though summer should be a time to forget about schedules, to-do lists and responsibilities, it can be too easy to let these sweet, steamy days go by without truly slowing down for some good, old-fashioned, unstructured play. That's why we've teamed up with KaBOOM!, the nonprofit dedicated to bringing play to all children, to promote a SUMMER OF PLAY.

All summer long we'll be sharing hundreds of ideas for play, plus some fun tips and tools in our SUMMER OF PLAY GUIDE. On Monday, June 23, we'll be posting the ultimate summer play list with 100 great ways to get started. Then once a week we'll share more play ideas and add them to the guide.

To help make sure you never run out of inspiration, we've created a SUMMER FUN LIST GENERATOR, a cute way to save your summer fun bucket list visually in your home. That way it's always there when you need an idea and you never forget to add a little play to your day.