If you read our recent post on free outdoor Shakespeare performances and loved the idea, but worried your kid couldn't handle it, we've got another recommendation. The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival is doing performances of "The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)" that are so entertaining and funny that we had three kids (ages 5-10) at rapt attention for the entire show, laughing hysterically and (literally) quoting lines from Shakespeare the next day.

One of the geniuses of Shakespeare has always been that it works on so many levels. While we may think of Shakespeare's plays as the high brow and somewhat inaccessible, they are actually filled with lots of very low-brow humor, potty language and puns (the lowest form of humor), couched in flowery talk. Of course, The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) is a parody of Shakespeare's works, but they're working with some very rich material.

Our Summer Activity Guide is already filled with hundreds of fun free things to do with kids in New York City this summer, like free music in the parks, free outdoor movies and Free Summer Sports Activities, but the free stuff just doesn't stop. Until now, I just haven't had time to write up some of our favorite free summer programs. There's the free movie clubs, free children's theater, free bike rentals, free bowling, and more. Let FREE-dom ring!

What a great summer this is turning out to be in NYC. The weather has stayed at quite civil temperatures making it that much more fun to roam the city taking advantage of all the great stuff to do. One thing that did heat up this week was some word wars over Park Slope's stay at home dads. If "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" maybe they should check out a cool tribute to Michael Jackson. We've also got some tips on a free movie screening, the secret places of NYC, free admission to National Parks, and iPhone apps that could save your life.

Also don't forget to enter our Susie's Supper Club Dinner Party Giveaway in our Summer Activity Guide. You could win a dinner party for 10 adults plus kids.

We recently visited the new Water Taxi Beach at the South Street Seaport. Similar to the now closed original in Queens, this outdoor bar has a huge sandy beach area with picnic tables and great views out toward the Brooklyn Bridge and the East River and is a great place where families can enjoy a night out with kids in tow.

Last week we kicked off the summer season with some great giveaways: tons of passes to Playland, Sahara Sam's and the first of our Summer Dinner Party Giveaways (don't forget you can enter to win every week this summer in our Summer Activity Guide). Now, this week is Beach Week on Mommy Poppins. We've written about our top 5 family friendly beaches near NYC and the beaches of Staten Island, but all this week we'll be bringing you more tips, recommendations and guides for the best beaches in and around New York City.

In other news, the school year has ended, but the big news about public schools hasn't. Last week Bloomberg lost mayoral control, or did he? Find out more about this and also a petition to make school cafeterias more green, how to make your own mini magnetic travel games, the new celeb family moving to Park Slope and a totally free summer arts program for kids:

This week we've been posting about fun stuff to do with your kids all summer long and giving away great prizes. But let's not forget, it's summer for grown-ups too. If you've been digging through our Summer Activity Guide, running all over the city trying to keep one step ahead of the heat and bored kid syndrome, then we have a treat for you (are you sitting down?).

We're giving away 10, count 'em, 10 dinner parties catered by Susie's Supper Club for you and nine of your friends plus the kids! What could be better for a summer evening than chilling out with friends over a meal you didn't cook (or pay for)? I can't think of anything.

I don't know about you, but this summer we've pared back on camps and vacations in an effort not to spend money we don't have. But our loss is your gain because, instead, what we're going to be doing this summer is exploring New York City and all the fun stuff we don't always have time to do during the school year.

To get organized for a full summer of fun NYC style (and 62 scarily empty days), I planned out an activity for just about every single day in July and August, 'cause, as my son would say, "that's what me do."

The following list is not comprehensive. These are the things I'm looking forward to doing this summer. These are the coolest family events coming up this summer, plus some great places I've just been meaning to get to. And most of them are free.

The Hamptons isn't all that, hang with me right here in New York. It's gonna be a blast (and don't forget to check out our Summer Activity Guide for even more great things to do with kids in NYC this summer).  I hope to see you there.

50 Things to Do This Summer With Kids in New York City:

We recently reviewed Sahara Sam's Oasis, a new indoor water park in New Jersey and have heard from some of you who were inspired to check it out that you enjoyed it as much as we did. So it sounded like a great prize for our summer kickoff giveaway to share Sahara Sam's with even more of you.

We're giving away a free family 4 pack of passes to Sahara Sam's Oasis. Read on for more details: