Animal lovers, this weekend is for you! The Turtleback Zoo has a family program on animal tracks, you can see animal shows at the Super Pet Show in Edison, the annual Great Backyard Bird Count takes place nationwide, and the Newark Museum has elephant art as part of their circus science weekend. And for those who are not animal lovers, get ready for Valentine's day! There is chocolate tasting, chocolate making, maple sugaring, and plenty other of sweet events going on!

We've updated our camp guide, with over 100 noteworthy Summer Day Camps in New York City or the surrounding areas for kids of all ages. Plus this year we've added a new page just for Sleep Away Camps. In our guides you'll find tons of great camps, dates for open houses, tips on how to save money on Summer Camp, and even some free camps and summer programs.

If just thinking about spending a few hundred dollars to take your three year old to see a Broadway show puts you in a cold sweat, have no fear. One of the fringe benefits of living in a theater town is all those actors who gravitate to Broadway, but might just be paying their rent by performing as Cinderella in a kids' show around the corner. Think of it as Trickle-Down Theateronomics. There is so much great theater for kids in New York City, performed by Broadway quality actors and it won't cost you your rent money to take your kids.

Behold!  Twenty children's shows (in every boro!) you can see right now (or very soon) for $20 or less:

Honor Black History Month with some amazing children's books that celebrate African Americans. Here are a few of our favorites:

Is it just me or does it seem like lice outbreaks are becoming much more frequent in NYC schools? After never having gotten lice, my kids have had it twice each in the last two years and I keep hearing classrooms are breaking out with lice a few times a year. Perhaps this is due to the DOE changing their policy about sending kids home from school if nits are found in a child's hair, but whatever the reason it stinks for parents who have to be ever-vigilant to keep kids (and ourselves) lice-free.

Going through a lice infestation is never pretty, but I've managed to get pretty good at delousing my family. The most important thing is to make sure you nip it in the bud with a thorough treatment and don't keep having recurrences. Here are some tips on how to avoid getting lice and how to treat lice naturally if you do get them (hint, the answer is not "kindly").

Valentine's Day is just a week away! That means just a week left to make some special Valentines or to plan a Valentine's-inspired outing with your little cutie-pie. Just for you, we've gathered a list of the sweetest kid-friendly Valentine's Day outings and a compilation of the best venues for Valentine's Day crafts. xoxoxox

There are some cool new and seasonal exhibits going on this February at both the Manhattan and Brooklyn Children’s Museums.  From special programs for Black History Month and Presidents Day to a Playmobil toy display, there is likely to be something different from the usual fun for your family to check out if you visit one of these museums this month.

Tons to tell you about for the weekend, so much in fact, that I am a little bummed that I will be out of town and have to miss it all.  If I was here, I would head down to Manhattan’s Chinatown for the Year of the Rabbit festivities, like the big dragon parade on Sunday, or maybe uptown to the Family Day at the China Institute -- that kicks off with a Lion Dance outside their front doors -- or check out one of the myriad Lunar New Year events in our calendar for this weekend.

Another very cool thing this weekend is The 13th Annual BAM Kids Film Festival, offering a bunch of not-to-be-seen-anywhere-else movies for kids, like the NY premiere of the loveable Scandinavian favorites, Moomins, in Moomins and the Comet Chase.

This is also the first weekend of February and both the The Brooklyn Museum and the New Museum along with many other cultural institutions in town are offering free admission and family oriented events.  

Check out our events calendar, it is stuffed with story times, live music, art programs, Lunar New Year events and a lot more. Read on for our Best Bets for the weekend and no matter what you do be sure to have a great time.