Cool new stuff Prior to becoming a kindie rock queen, Laurie Berkner spent over a decade teaching music to preschoolers. Now she's combining her two careers by launching a Parent & Me music program. Called Laurie Berkner's The Music in Me, classes are aimed at tots ages 1 to 4 and will take place in four Manhattan locations including the Children's Museum of Manhattan and The Art Farm in the City. Before you get too starstruck, Berkner won't be teaching the classes herself. However, all the teachers will be personally trained by her and she will make a special appearance in each session to meet her young (and adult!) fans.

Morningside Lights is a weeklong series of FREE collaborative art sessions that climax in an illuminated procession in Morningside Park, and my daughter and I have attended since it debuted in 2012. (Here are some pics so you can see how cool it is). The year's theme is Odysseus on the A Train: Celebrating Romare Bearden and is inspired by the late Harem artist's take on Homer's Odyssey. The FREE workshops run September 20-26 at Columbia University's Miller Theatre and signing up for sessions in advance is a must! Although the art making is aimed at adults, children ages 8 and up are welcome. Not feeling creative? Come out the evening of Saturday, September 27 to see the funky lanterns in action.

Cheap theater tickets There are two huge theater deals coming up you won't want to miss: Starting on Monday, August 18 at 10:30am, you can snag two-for-one tickets to a host of Broadway shows as part of Broadway Week. Tickets must be purchased for performances taking pace Monday, September 1 to Sunday, September 14 (which technically makes it Broadway Weeks, no?). Lots of family shows are participating, including Aladdin, Cinderella, The Lion King, Wicked and Matilda but they go fast. So plan to go online or hit the box office of the show of your choice right at 10:30am on August 18!

If you've already seen everything Broadway has to offer (lucky you!) there's a great Off Broadway deal happening, too. From Tuesday, September 9 to Sunday, September 28, you can buy $20 tickets 20 minutes before curtain to a bunch of Off Broadway shows. The list of participating productions has yet to be determined (the info currently on the website is outdated) but usually all the kid-friendly ones do it like the Gazillion Bubble Show and iLuminate. Update: The complete list of participating shows is online.

Wave goodbye The Bay Street Luncheonette—which we highlighted in our roundups of the best Staten Island family restaurants and Old New York soda fountains—closed its doors on June 29. It had been open since the 1930s! The owners retained all of the decor including the soda fountain and hope to relocate. Like their Facebook page for updates.

The schools have ears, but you have a voice We've been following the battle to keep public school student data private for a while now. But a great place to go for up-to-date info is Class Size Matters, a nonprofit run by education activist Leonie Haimson. In a recent newsletter, she talked about the preliminary Parents Bill of Rights required by the new NY State law on student privacy and urged parents to give their feedback before it's finalized. Haimson's got the contact info for the interim chief privacy officer in case you want to share your thoughts.