Spring isn't just a great season to visit NYC's fabulous parks and playgrounds, it's the perfect time to volunteer in them, too. That's why we love It's My Park Day, an initiative organized by Partnership for Parks and held twice a year in the spring and fall. It's My Park Day brings together thousands of caring New Yorkers looking to help spruce up their neighborhood green spaces. It's a great way to teach your kids about the importance of giving back to your community. After all, these are the parks they play in!

There are It's My Park Day events throughout the five boroughs and they take place throughout the month of May, mostly on weekends. In addition to cleaning, weeding and other chores, many gatherings feature arts and crafts, giveaways and a celebratory atmosphere. We’ve got the details about how to get involved with It's My Park Day, as well as other ways your family can volunteer outdoors in the city this spring.

In last week's Mommy Poppins LA schools feature, we provided an overview of school choice and promised more information on each of the available choices. This week, due to rapidly approaching application deadlines, we are focusing on independent charter schools, attempting to separate myth from reality and address commonly asked questions, including: What is a charter school? Why are so many families choosing charter schools? What sets charter schools apart from traditional public schools? Why is there controversy around charter schools? And how do we build alliances between traditional neighborhood schools and charter schools?

As Boston's largest and oldest neighborhood, Dorchester boasts lots of fun activities for kids, families, and teenagers. Whether you are looking for a hike, an animal encounter at the zoo, fresh food from a farmers' market, classes, or a museum, you are bound to find it in Dorchester. 

Recently we asked our readers to take a short survey and share their thoughts about how to improve our Summer Camp Guide. Overwhelmingly, we heard that you wanted a combination of our editorial recommendations, plus the ability to search listings and find recommendations from other parents.

So we're happy to debut our new Camp Guide and our Camp Directory, featuring an improved search, parent reviews and star ratings. Even better: Our overhauled Directory isn't just for camps. Soon we'll introduce listings for party places and services, enriching classes, indoor play spaces and more.

Read on to find out more or head straight to our Summer Camp Guide and Directory to browse the listings and leave reviews for your favorite programs.

Although we moved our clocks ahead back on Sunday, I still feel like I'm playing catch up (I've even had trouble getting my kid out of bed in the morning). But my daughter and I are loving the longer days, just look at that beautiful shot of Central Park at sunset, our view as we walk home from after-school.

We definitely want to get our energy up for this weekend, which is jam-packed with super-cool things to do including four of our top family event picks for all of March. Personally, we're planning to hit a Purim party, see the opening night of the new kids' musical Peace, Love and Cupcakes and maybe catch The Muppets sing-along at the New York International Children's Film Festival. It's definitely not a weekend to hang around at home!

Researching summer camps is also on our agenda. I whittled our possibilities down to eight (hey, I started at 30) using Mommy Poppins' new-and-improved Camp Directory. All of our regional sites have overhauled Camp Guides as well in case you want to see what kind of summer programs are offered in Westchester, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week.

This weekend is book-ended by the quirky International Pi Day on Friday and St Patrick’s Day on Monday (celebrated in Boston on Sunday with the traditional South Boston Parade, starting at 1pm). In between, we’ve got the Boston Flower Show in Boston, a Maple Sugaring Festival in Ipswich, a book launch in Dedham, Purim carnivals, and plenty of other events and activities for Boston families.

Also this week, our first roundup of 2014 April Vacation Week camps highlights programs that get kids outdoors, exploring nature. These camps also give campers a preview of the traditional summer camp experience. Looking ahead to summer? Be sure to check out our new and improved Camps Directory, offering multiple ways to search for quality camps in and around Boston that your child will love.

Enjoy!