Sunshine, fresh air, plenty of running around and sports. Those are some of the great reasons to send your child out of the city to one of the many wonderful country day camps that surround the city. If you (or your child) aren't quite ready to head out of the city, here are five camps in NYC proper that approximate the country day camp experience.

Find more options in our Camp Guide and Directory.

The holidays are over, and now your house is overrun with new toys, old toys, and everything in between. If you are like me and you live in a Philadelphia row home, space is limited! So what do you do with all of this stuff? Donating used clothes, toys, and other goods can not only help clear the clutter, but can also do some real good for Philadelphia-area families. Donating can also be a great thing to do with your kids to help teach them some very valuable lessons about giving. If your kids are older, they can help you pick from this list of places that take gently used donations to serve a mission you care about.

We’re hardly off the heels of our last school break when it’s time to plan for the next one. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is on Monday, January 16, 2017, and most schools will be closed. If you’re in need of childcare—or your kids are just flat-out sick of hanging around the house—there are a few options for mini-camps that day. Most of these camps require advance registration, so be sure to click through for the full details. 

Looking for more activities for MLK Day or the entire three-day weekend? Consult our Event Calendar or follow us on Facebook. 

When considering athletic camps for summertime fun, swimming, baseball, tennis, and outdoor team sports come to mind first, but if your kids prefer their summer vacation served ice cold it's totally doable in NYC even when the temperatures are well above freezing. Four of our city's wonderful indoor ice-skating rinks offer figure skating or ice hockey summer camps for your budding Michelle Kwan or Wayne Gretzky.

For a small state, Connecticut packs a lot of fine art – about 30 major institutions – but few in the area are as grandiose as the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford. It is a place my family frequents regularly, always finding something new to admire or learn about, such as the current celebration of Japanese art.

It’s here…camp sign up time.  Personally, I love having the kids outdoors all summer, so I tend towards athletic camps and nature camps.  Here are a few nature camps, some of which we’ve tried before, and some of which we’re looking forward to trying in the future.

What makes this holiday different from all other holidays? The cookies! Or rather, the lack of cookies. As the people "chosen" to eat unleavened bread know, Passover is a holiday about, above all, complicated recipes. The holiday of, "Don't let them eat cake." The holiday of, "Mom! Why is there matzo in my lunch box again??" Grandma handed down her miraculous recipe for a honey cake that rises by sheer force of will, but failed to hand down the time required to pull it off. So, for the reality check mom, we offer a list of some of our favorite local bakeries that leave out the leavening in all sorts of yummy treats at this time of year. 

Legoland? Who said anything about Legoland? Carlsbad may appear at first glance to be a one-trick town, but there are at least 25 reasons for this Southern California excursion, without ever using the word LEGO. The beach community's mild year-round temps, pristine beaches, and slow, laid-back approach to living offer families much more than just a famous amusement park.