Spring Break is right around the corner and many of us are not going anywhere this year, but at Mommy Poppins we choose to celebrate the opportunity to stay home and enjoy New York CIty and all it has to offer. That's why this entire week we'll be giving away tickets to NYC's top family shows. We personally picked the best shows we wanted to see ourselves and wrangled family four packs to each one. And that's not all, we also convinced each show to offer all our readers great discount codes that everybody can use, with as much as 50% off ticket prices.

First up: Family Four Pack to The Wizard of Oz at Madison Square Garden

What, you're not following Mommy Poppins on twitter? Then you're missing out on all the cool stuff we've been tweeting that doesn't make it for a full blog post. Plus we find out about all kinds of cool stuff going on and retweet it for you. Below is just a taste of some of the top retweets from the last day or so. But don't miss out, follow MommyPoppins and follow KidBuzzNY to make sure you know the latest, coolest news for kids in NYC.

Don't let the rain keep you from having a great time this weekend. there's so much to do. So maybe it won't be the best time to head out of town for Maple Sugar Weekend, but there's plenty more mostly free and always fun events for kids, from free ballet classes to some cool. alternative theater and performances and more.

By the way, we are having another HUGE giveaway event next week. In anticipation of Spring Break, we'll be giving away family pack tickets to 7 of the top shows for kids and families. There will be thousands of dollars in tickets given away with a different giveaway every day! In addition to the giveaways, we will also have discount codes for everyone, so don't miss it!

The MTA approved it's "doomsday budget" yesterday, which includes fare hikes and service cuts. But no worries, because the MTA Service Specialists have been deployed. Find out about the details of the new budget and the humorous stunt women who are commenting on the fare hike by taking to the rails dressed as retro airline stewardesses and offering riders the "service you deserve."

Yesterday, I wrote/ranted about the new Kindergarten registration process and didn't get to share some other important education news. Below find some quick links to news about pre-K registration, new G&T schools and private preschool admissions, plus a response on Kindergarten admissions from the DOE.

We wrote earlier about the NYC DOE's decision to change some of the basic principles of Kindergarten admissions. The main one that they seem to be toying with is the promise that every child who lives within a school zone is entitled to a spot at that school. The fact that families would have to apply for their neighborhood schools was dropped on parents just weeks before the kindergarten application process began and gave parents no time to seriously reconsider their options.

Yesterday the NYTimes reported on the outcome of this system, which is that many families that expected seats in their local schools are being turned away. Parents are understandably frustrated, angry and worried and DOE spokesman, Andrew Jacob's, advice that families should "wait until September" is perhaps one of the most idiotic official responses I've ever heard—as if parents are going to sit on their heels until school starts in the Fall to figure out where their 5 year olds will attend school.

Straight from my inbox:

The Gap is turning its rotating concept store on 5th Ave. and 54th St. into a Tiny Dancers ballet studio in partnership with Ballet Tech, a tuition-free ballet school started by world-renowned choreographer Eliot Feld. On Wed., March 25, Gap and Ballet Tech will be opening their doors to NYC’s aspiring “tiny dancers.”

Each Saturday and Sunday, the store will be open for participants to drop-in, dress up, and dance their heart out with instructors from Ballet Tech. The free drop-in lessons will be in session Sat., March 28, through Sun., April 26.

In the news today: how one woman is feeding her family of four on $800 a year, the accumulated knowledge of another woman's 18 years of parenting (apparently it fits on one page), how to reduce your junk-mail footprint (just do it), how to get off the phone faster, a free way to turn your kids art into frame-able nursery art, and how Super Mario is taking over the city, in real life. Check it out.