Openings & closings Ask any kid, you can never have too many toys. And apparently the Upper East Side can't have too many toy shops because a new one, Learning Express Toys, is opening at 61st Street and Third Avenue. A franchise of the national chain, this location is owned and operated by a local mom with two young children. Drop in during its grand opening weekend November 21-23 to check out its selection of educational playthings, meet costumed characters like Elmo, Elsa and Anna, and enjoy raffles and giveaways. Check its Facebook page for the full schedule of activities.

Are your kids crazy about the American Museum of Natural History's Hall of Gems? Then they'll go gaga for Astro Gallery of Gems's recently opened flagship location. Situated on Fifth Avenue near 37th Street, the 10,000-square-foot showroom allows visitors to get up close to rare and eye-catching gems and fossils, from a Velociraptor claw to colorful crystals from the mines of Namibia. Admission and browsing is FREE but since everything is for sale, getting out just might cost you. If your children need more of a hands-on experience, Astro Kids has an outpost in Toys R Us Times Square that hosts gem finding and cracking activities for a fee.

Even though Hurricane Sandy happened two years ago, many NYC residents and businesses continue to struggle. Take the New York City Police Museum. Its Old Slip building is still being repaired and its temporary gallery on Wall Street just closed after its free year-long lease was up. The museum is currently on the hunt for another temporary space since the renovation of its landmarked home will probably take many years to complete. If your family was a fan of the spot, consider donating to its renewal.

Washington Heights has lost its only drop-in play space. As of September, Wiggles & Giggles Playhouse has transformed into the bilingual preschool alternative Little Red Rocket. While many of the enriching classes and after-school programs remain the same, open play hours are no longer offered.

The Upper West Side said goodbye to one of its major drop-in crafts spots. Make Meaning closed its Columbus Avenue studio on Sunday, October 26, which makes its Upper East Side outpost the chain's last remaining location in Manhattan. Bummer, the Upper West Side used to be such a crafts mecca. At least Little Shop of Crafts is still going strong.

Here's something we don't write very often, a closed business has reopened! Crumbs Bake Shop, which shuttered all its outposts back in July, is reopening some of its locations, including 16 in NYC. Although we're usually not big fans of national chains, Crumbs was originally founded by an Upper West Side couple long before cupcakes were all the rage, so at least its homegrown. In addition to the signature treat, the overhauled menu will include specialty holiday foods, items from brands like Key West Key Lime Pies, and the debut of the baissant, a cross between a bagel and a croissant.

Cool kids' culture on the cheap As the mom of a child who's loved the Metropolitan Museum of Art ever since he plopped down, mesmerized, in front of a Van Gogh at the age of two, I'm excited that Walks of New York's Sunday afternoon Meet the Met tours will offer a FREE child's ticket for every full-priced adult ticket purchased between November 30 and January 4. So you get 5,000 years of art history (Egyptians! Greeks! Romans! Renaissance!) in less than three hours at half the price.

Meanwhile, parents who want to introduce their children to Handel's glorious Messiah oratorio can snag two-for-one $20 tickets for a special family performance on Sunday, November 30 at 2pm at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. All children in attendance will receive interactive workbooks about the iconic composition, and there will even be a visit from Santa and his elves during intermission. Tickets are available online or by calling 212-721-6500. Use discount code DCIFAM to take advantage of the offer, which is only good for the $20 tickets, not other price tiers.

A pair of OMG pop-culture announcements To tetralogy and beyond! Disney recently announced that Toy Story 4 will open in 2017 and, even better, it will be directed by John Lasseter, the man who helped create the franchise... not to mention the groundbreaking Pixar animated movie studio. While some fans are skeptical (just check out the comments), complaining Toy Story 3 was the perfect ending for Woody, Buzz and his pals, we're going to go with cautious optimism for now. We have three years to change our minds.

We are perhaps more intrigued than optimistic about the upcoming live stage adaptation of The Hunger Games, set to bow (and arrow!) in a specially built London theater in 2016. The producers are mum on the details beyond saying it will be a "theatrical experience" and hinting at a touring company down the line. So it's possible representatives from all 13 districts may eventually invade NYC's theater district.

School's in Rather than closing so-called failing schools, Mayor de Blasio announced plans to transform 94 NYC elementary, middle and high schools ranked in the state's bottom five percent into "community schools." In addition to after-school tutoring and summer programs to help struggling students, the schools will provide a variety of services for their families, everything from counseling to food pantries to English classes. Each school will be charged with providing its own action plan and then executing it against predetermined goals. If those targets are not met in three years time, however, the schools could still face closure. We're back to cautious optimism again.