A few interesting articles to share this week about Facebook privacy (you may be surprised what you don't know), the lifelong health benefits of vaccinations, and some quirky New Yorkers who are going without heat. Plus school news about a new school, new program and lots of new playgrounds. And free self-defense classes for teens and FREE movie rentals.

This week there are lots of fun kids concerts being offered by local businesses to help raise money for aid to Haiti. And a bunch of baby and kid stores are donating a portion of their sales to relief efforts also. Take some time to have some fun and do some good at the same time.

Four day weeks always seem the longest, but the good weather has us energized to get out and go this weekend. Read on for where to get your (traditional) groove on, what kids' shows to see, and what concerts are in town (Audra Rox!), Plus make your own stained glass windows, a scavenger hunt in Grand Central, make your own breads, camp fairs, nature tours and more.

No matter what age they are, kids really have good theater in this town. New York City is uniquely set up to provide top quality children’s entertainment, thanks to its host of actors, musicians, puppeteers and storytellers happy to perform for the little ones. Better yet, these productions are created to specifically engage a young child and many of the shows are interactive, usually about an hour in length and generally affordable. If you haven’t taken your child to live theater performance yet, check out this list of shows being performed this winter and get going.

If your little New Yorker already thinks they've seen it all, you might consider hustling them down to TADA! Youth Theater's production of B.O.T.C.H. The musical follows seven wayward subway riders into the tunnels beneath New York, where they stumble onto several curiosities even life-long top dwellers couldn't lay claim to.

With the cold and wet days we've been having, nothing sounds more appealing than hanging out in a cool cafe and there's no reason that you can't do some cafe chill time even with kids in tow. Just ask Rebeca Ramirez-Haskell who has been keeping a blog called The Coffee Beaners where she records her explorations, with son Diego, of the best coffee shops in NYC. Rebeca has chosen some of her favorite places to share with us.

Some neat tidbits to share this week with a new exhibit called Mission to Mars opening up at the Intrepid Museum, free CPR training classes that can also get you a free week at the gym, cool filmmaking vacation camps for kids, a great author speaks, and fun "Playdate for Haiti" event.

My apologies that Winterfest was a complete bust last weekend –I’m hoping the Indian Kite Festival, Himalayan Animal Stories, Lego Building, free music events and other great stuff going on this weekend can help make up for it. Plus check out our separate post on things to do on Martin Luther King Jr Day for more activities, as well as places to volunteer. If you’re looking to use this day of service to aid the efforts in Haiti, we’ve got information on that there too.