After a brutal winter, the warm weather is finally here! Let’s rejoice and spend as much time outside as possible. Fairs and festivals are popping up all over the Garden State in places like Cape May, Toms River and Hoboken. You really should get your NJ family to one of these fun-filled festivals in our wonderful state, because, after all, it's only fair. For more outdoor fun, check out our list of 30 Ways to Get Good & Messy outside.

You can honor our planet this weekend at several Earth Day celebrations across Long Island. Kids can also learn to garden at Benner's Farm, or discover everything there is to know about chickens at Chick-a-Palooza in Riverhead.

Families can head over to Roslyn for programs at the Nassau County Museum of Art, or take a drive to Islip to spend the day at the Seatuck Family Nature Club.

Remember, you can find even more options in our jam-packed Event Calendar. And to receive our posts in your inbox, subscribe to our free newsletters.

This last weekend of April brings plenty of fun indoor and outdoor activities for families. Highlights include the annual Sheepshearing Festival at Gore Place in Waltham (pictured) and the last days of the Cambridge Science Festival. The Art in Bloom family event at the MFA Boston is a great way to celebrate spring indoors, or head to Musketaquid Earth Day in Concord to honor our planet with tons of fun outdoor activities.

There's still plenty of time to catch everyone's favorite ogre in Shrek the Musical at Wheelock Family Theatre (but first, read our review). Other great performances for families this weekend include A Little Light Music with the North Cambridge Family Opera and a BSO Family Concert, which includes an instrument petting zoo.

Also on Mommy Poppins Boston this week:

• Pack up the family for a close-to-home getaway in historic Portsmouth, NH.
• These Velcro blocks are easy to make and loads of fun to play with.
• Our parent film review of Monkey Kingdom can help you decide if it's a good fit for your kids.
• For a tasty treat, try making these three-ingredient peanut butter and jelly cookies with your little ones.
• If you have a Minecraft player in the house, check out this online summer program.
• Find out what we think of Boston's other green monster in our review of Shrek The Musical.

Enjoy your weekend, and don't forget to check out our full Event Calendar!

April showers often bring May flowers, but happily there's no rain in the forecast this weekend. So get ready for lots of outdoor fun throughout the state, like a Salt Marsh Walk at Barn Island, A Walk with a Llama in Litchfield County and a Family Fishing Derby in Hartford County.

If you are in the mood for speed, put on your running shoes and join the Kids Run in Simsbury, or hop aboard a train for a Day Out with Thomas the Tank Engine in Essex County.

Our Event Calendar is constantly updated with the best activities around the state. To keep up with everything going on for kids in CT, subscribe to our FREE newsletters, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Have a fantastic weekend!

The spring season kicks into high gear with six of our top family event picks for April happening this weekend. Gawk at gorgeous flowers and funky fashions at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Sakura Matsuri: Cherry Blossom Festival; introduce the kids to pogo sticks, hula hoops and hippity hops at Street Games in East Harlem and enjoy all kinds of FREE fun at the Tribeca Film Festival Family Street Fair.

Plus there is some exceptional kids' culture to enjoy this weekend. See Justin Roberts & the Not Ready for Naptime Players croon at the New Victory Theater, catch a stage adaptation of the popular book Manxmouse at BAM or giggle at the antics of the Story Pirates, part of the new family series Lincoln Center Kids.

As always, you can find even more options in our Event Calendar and our Spring Fun Guide.

If you've seen the movie, you might just wonder, How in the world could Shrek be turned into a musical?

The answer is simple. Start with a smash Broadway script and score, cast a bunch of talented actors, throw in a gifted musical director (who really knows how to translate the sounds of bodily functions to the stage) and a skilled crew, and there you have it. Well, then, of course, there's the director, choreographer, musicians, set and costume designers, prop master, puppet designer, lighting director...

Okay, so maybe it's not so simple to create an engaging and entertaining show that appeals to both kids and adults. But the Wheelock Family Theatre's production of Shrek the Musical, about a grouchy ogre, a feisty princess and a loquacious but kindhearted donkey, does it, and does it so well that when the curtain closed on the final makes-you-want-to-dance-in-your-seat song, my 9-year-old son and I looked at each other and said, "We want to see that again!"

When it comes to getting your creative juices flowing, there's no shortage of art classes for Long Island kids. But craftsy kids can also paint the town—or more precisely, a piece of pottery—at one of the many plaster craft and ceramic painting places popping up all over the area. Not only is it a great idea for a fun family outing or play date, but most of these studios also host birthday parties.

For more inside fun on Long Island, check out our Indoor Activity Guide or see what's going on in our Event Calendar.