There's lots going on in the world of schools right now, whether you're a parent looking to apply to public Pre-K, Kindergarten or just hearing back from the private schools. And there's lots to be concerned about with radical budget cuts threatening the quality of public school education, teachers getting laid off and class sizes growing. On the up side, there are going to be lots of new schools opening next year. Find out more about them and all this other news, and what you can do to make your voice heard for our kids. Plus we've got an update on the scooters for schools and the winners to our scooter giveaway below.

Comedian Louis C.K.'s humorous rant on Conan about the "spoiled idiots" we are that we take the amazing progress of our generation for granted and whine about the most minor inconveniences from brand new technologies that we didn't even know existed 10 seconds ago.

Will our current economic crisis teach us a little bit of perspective? And is technology saving us or ruining us? What do you think?

Who cares if Spring hasn't sprung? This weekend is the BAM kids film festival and the beginning of the New York International Children's Film Festival. I feel lucky to be going to the Film & Food: NYICFF Benefit Event on Sunday afternoon where we will get to see the new Wallace and Gromit movie, A Matter of Loaf and Death, as well as other food related kid shorts and an international feast. (I'll twitter to KidBuzzNY to let you know how it is).

The Benefit is a pricey ticket, but the films in both festivals are all priced reasonably and in keeping with what you'd pay to see any movie in a theater. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, there's lots more going on this weekend and I've rounded up the best of the bunch here:

Kick scooters are great for New York City kids. We do a lot of walking, which can be hard on little legs and wearisome. I have one of those little guys who would whine with every step and I'd find myself dragging him down the street having to laugh off all the people that were giving me those bad mom glares (oh if they only knew). Got him a scooter and viola, now I can barely keep up with him.

But finding the right scooter took a while. At three we got him a three wheel toddler scooter that didn't work very well and at four, while he was too big for that, he still couldn't handle a two wheeled scooter. Then we discovered the Micro Mini Kick and the new Micro Maxi Kick Scooters.

Read on to find out how you could win a new Micro Maxi Scooter or get one for your school fundraising auction or raffle.

Aurea emailed me with a question about where to find help with baby wearing lessons. There is no way to underestimate the importance of finding the right carrier for you and your baby. You are going to be holding your infant (and toddler) a lot more than you might have ever guessed pre-pregnancy. The wrong carrier can be anything from annoying to down-right painful—and you want to enjoy have baby close to you, not find it a pain.

Choosing the right carrier for mom and dad (who may need his own if he is not the same size) is really important and worth investing a little time, thought and consideration into. You will need to consider the style of carrier (wrap, sling, bjorn, pack) that you are comfortable using and wearing as well as sizing, comfort and perhaps fashion.

There are a couple different routes to go when looking for help choosing and learning how to use your baby carrier. I've rounded up some good choices here:

{C}

There are some topics that you just don't ever want to have to discuss with your child. But Jill Starishevsky knows from experience the danger of hiding your head in the sand. As a New York City child abuse and sex crimes prosecutor, Jill has seen too many sad stories of children who were being sexually abused and just didn't know what to do about it.

But it was one girl's story that made her realize she could do something about it. This little 9 year old girl said that she was being abused by her stepfather for years when she saw a segment on Oprah about child abuse that told her to tell an adult. The next day she went in to school and told her teacher. Jill put that bad guy in jail, but realized that sometimes with kids it really is as simple as that.

I have to admit. I've always been afraid of starting a forum or anything like that on this site. It feels like hosting a party when you're not sure if anyone is going to come. But I'm pleased to say that our new Twitter group, KidBuzzNY, has really taken off. In just over a week we already have over 100 followers and a very active group of contributors sharing ideas, tips and information on cool stuff for kids in New York.

Sometimes a story time is just the right amount of activity for us when we don't want to commit to a whole involved outing, but we want something to do out of the house. Plus, they are relatively restful and easy for the exhausted grown-ups. We've written about the story times at Barnes & Noble and the New York Public Library, plus some others, but if you're bored of your same old, same old, here are some interesting new-to-you storytimes to check out, many of them in fun places that you'll be able to stretch your story hour into a full day of fun: