I've long been a fan of Beam Summer Camp, a unique sleepaway camp where kids collaborate on different creative projects in building, science and art each session. So I was excited to hear that Beam is bringing its coolness to after-school workshops here in Brooklyn.

As you know, Mommy Poppins has been sharing our expertise on the best things to do in the New York City area since January of 2007. We currently have destination sites for NYC, Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, Boston and Los Angeles. Now we're taking Mommy Poppins global with family vacation information from wherever our own travels take us.

On Mommy Poppins Travel, our mission is to help you discover exceptional experiences and magical vacation memories with a mix of bucket lists, slideshows, reviews and articles about the best places to travel with kids in the US, the Caribbean and Europe (for now). Plus weekly roundups of top travel deals.

Find our family travel site by clicking the TRAVEL link at the top of any Mommy Poppins page or go directly to travel.mommypoppins.com to see what we wrote about this first week. As with everything, the site is a work in progress. We're adding lots of new content every week so sign up for our weekly free Travel newsletters so you don't miss a thing. And I'd love it if you'd take our quick reader survey and tell us what you hope to see on the site.

Oh, and if you're wondering what will happen to our old Travel Guide, it will live on the NYC site as a NYC Day Trips and Weekend Getaways Guide.

Here's what else we shared this week (I'll give a hint, lots of deals, a huge giveaway and more awesome fun stuff to do).

We love travel, but we especially love traveling when we find a great deal. Right now we've got last minute Spring Break deals on the brain. It's not too late to plan something...and save! Look for a resort deal (and giveaway) in New Jersey, spring skiing, Orlando and San Diego deals, plus a Disney deal for planning ahead to late summer/Fall.

Read on to get the deals.

Our Birthday Party Planning Guide is chock-full of great ideas for fun kids' birthday parties whether you are planning a party at home or at one of the amazing birthday party places all over NYC. We just updated all the posts to make sure they have the latest information. And if you scroll down to the Party Planner, you can search for listings by type of entertainer, party place or service.

In celebration of the relaunch of our Kids' Party Guide we asked some of our amazing sponsors to offer deals for our readers. Even if you're not planning a party right now, check it out: Some of the deals are good for a while and can probably be redeemed as long as you plan the party before the deal expires.

As always, a huge thank you to our Party Guide sponsors, without whom we couldn't put together such a great resource. If you plan your party with any of our sponsors, please tell them you saw them in the Mommy Poppins Party Guide.

Swimming with the dolphins is a dream come true for most kids (and adults). If it's not on your kid's life bucket list, it's probably because they just don't know about it yet. But Dolphin swim experiences are not all the same and if you are going to go for a once in a lifetime experience, you want to get it right.

I have tried a few dolphin swims myself and recently I was lucky to be on a travel bloggers trip to Jamaica. We were invited to the Dolphin Cove in Jamaica and even the other travel writers who have done more dolphin encounters than I have agreed this was the best swim with the dolphins they had done.

What makes Dolphin Cove in Jamaica the best dolphin swim experience?

The farm-to-table movement has become a global concern as we try to reconnect with where our food comes from, and increase our support for small & local over big & industrial food production. As city dwellers, we can join a CSA, shop at a local greenmarket or even visit a nearby farm. But in our daily lives, it can be hard to find ways to connect with nature in NYC.

MommyPoppins has been sharing our expertise on the best things to do in the New York City area since January of 2007. We currently have destination sites for NYC, Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, Boston and Los Angeles. Each one brings the unique Mommy Poppins take on exploring their area with kids.

Now we're taking the special Mommy Poppins stripe of coverage global and expanding our travel coverage to bring you family vacation information from wherever our own travels bring us. Just like all our other Mommy Poppins coverage, all our reviews will be written by moms (or dads) who have been-there, done-that and can share down to earth family travel advice. Our mission is to help you discover exceptional experiences and magical vacation memories.

Please help us get started by taking our quick reader survey and tell us what you hope to see on this site. Read on to find out more about our launch. 

Last week I wrote about last minute birthday party ideas, inspired by perhaps my most slacker mom moment—not having a party planned on the actual morning of my daughter's 10th birthday (Who am I kidding? Probably not even top 10). I wasn't stressed though, this is New York, limitless possibilities lay at my fingertips. I couched my guilt and got on the internet, where all life's problems are solved.

Our plan was to take a few of her friends out to dinner. I wanted to find a place that would be fun and was a real experience. My daughter's favorite, Ninja, was nixed as too expensive, Serendipity had no room. We settled on Max Brenner's Chocolate by the Bald Man off Union Square.