Summer will be here before you know it and for many parents, that means camp for the little ones. Believe it or not, now is the time to start pondering options. New York City kids are fortunate to live in a city chock-full of summer day camp offerings, from old-school Kumbaya adventures to theater and music to making robots from scratch! That's the good news. The bad news is that they tend to fill up fast, especially with so many camps boasting early-bird pricing deals!

To help you decide which camp is right for your kids, we've rounded up eight new and exciting camp offerings throughout NYC. This summer, kids can surf, belt their Broadway best, learn to code and maybe even make their own monster. Let the summer fun begin.

Believe it or not, summer camps are booking up fast. Luckily, there are plenty on Long Island that offer a variety of hours, activities and themes to keep almost every child happy in July and August. You can find a list of camps in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, as well as LI Sleepaway Camps. Many also host open houses so prospective campers and their parents can check out the camps and their individual programs, and we've compiled a list of a few of those upcoming events. If you don't see your camp's open house listed below, please feel free to add it to our Long Island Events Calendar. 

And also take a look at our Long Island Summer Camps Guide for more info on a variety of camps in the area.

Though perhaps not as renowned as January’s Rose Bowl Parade, the Kingdom Day Parade on Martin Luther King, Junior Blvd. in Los Angeles has three times as many floats and annually attracts one million people. If you enjoy a parade and want to celebrate this great man’s dream of peace and freedom for all, DTLA is the place to do it. Volunteering is another way to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy, and our MLK Day guide has many other celebrations around town as well as several camps for working parents who find themselves surprised by a school-free Monday so close to the recent winter break.

Gymnastics aficionados won’t want to miss LA Lights at Culver City’s Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium. This is an Olympic caliber competition with gymnasts from all over the world who may be headed to the games in Rio.

Friday night is for comedy. If your kids have never seen an “old” or “classic” movie, there is no better place for this introduction than the Old Town Music Hall in Old Town El Segundo. Sing along to the live organ and guffaw at the comedy shorts. It’s a fine mess worth getting into.

Find lots more to do on Mommy Poppins’ Daily Events Calendar or January Go List.

This week kicks off with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day-- a day off from school and a day to learn about peace and making a difference. Take part in activities that honor the day, such as Explore the Dream Through Art Workshop and many others on our calendar. It’s also a budget-friendly week, with no-cost events all around, including Pottery Barn Kids Story Time, Frozen Movie Night and Moovin’ and Groovin’ Thursdays. And don’t forget to check out our Event Calendar for even more options!

Whether you have off on Monday, or it is just another typical week in January, our Events Calendar is ready to provide many ideas on what to do with the kids. This week, Longwood Gardens hosts its annual OrKid Day, which is filled with discovery stations and children's activities. Many local museums offer free or discounted admission in honor of Martin Luther King Day, such as National Liberty Museum, National Museum of American Jewish History, and African American Museum in Philadelphia. And, outdoorsy types can find nature hikes and animal experiences this week as well.

Be sure to plan out all your winter fun with the help of our recently published 25 Things We Want to Do with Philly Kids This Winter post and our Ski & Snow Sport Guide. Stay connected to Mommy Poppins Philly on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Enjoy the week ahead!

Celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a variety of programs happening on Long Island, including the chance to create a mosaic at the Long Island Children's Museum. There's also plenty of other ways for kids to express their artistic sides this week, so be sure to take a look at our events calendar. And you can get the best events of the week sent directly to your inbox each week if you sign up for our newsletter.

We love scouring the city for places to have awesome kids' birthday parties. Cool new party spots open in NYC all the time, each one seemingly more extravagant than the last. This roundup of 10 fresh birthday bash destinations includes Milk & Cookies Kids Spa and Salon and the Pier 2 Roller Rink, as well as notable new packages at old favorites such as the Intrepid and Bowlmor Chelsea Piers. Now all you need is a kid with a birthday...and a credit card of course.

If you've got an animal-crazed kid, it's time to consider a zoo party. From the Bronx to Staten Island, each of the five boroughs has a zoo ready to host your next fete. The absolute best thing about a zoo party is the live animals who get to celebrate with you in the party room. We celebrated my son's fifth birthday at the Prospect Park Zoo where we were delighted to host an albino corn snake, a rabbit and a hissing cockroach for the kids to learn about and touch (well...no one touched the cockroach.)

Read on for the skinny on the party packages at each of the city's zoos, from budget-friendly to over-the-top all-inclusive, there's a party for every animal lover out there.