Spring break is right around the corner, and Long Island is the perfect place to spend a staycation. While some will flock to Florida, California, or various other places for a spring break vacation, Long Island and its surrounding areas have some of the nation’s best attractions, making it the perfect destination. And we’ve got a guide for you to have one of the best spring breaks in your own backyard.

Spring has sprung and we've got several great reasons to get outside with your kids, including the arrival of carousel season, the rebirth of outdoor New York Philharmonic concerts, a clever new public art installation, the chance to see hidden wonders in the harbor, and a handful of free family events as part of the Tribeca Film Fest.

There's also exciting news in the air as The High Line's stage 3 plans have been unveiled and a year-round ice skating rink has been proposed uptown.

Our Birthday Party Planning Guide is chock-full of great ideas for fun kids' birthday parties whether you are planning a party at home or at one of the amazing birthday party places all over NYC. We just updated all the posts to make sure they have the latest information. And if you scroll down to the Party Planner, you can search for listings by type of entertainer, party place or service.

In celebration of the relaunch of our Kids' Party Guide we asked some of our amazing sponsors to offer deals for our readers. Even if you're not planning a party right now, check it out: Some of the deals are good for a while and can probably be redeemed as long as you plan the party before the deal expires.

As always, a huge thank you to our Party Guide sponsors, without whom we couldn't put together such a great resource. If you plan your party with any of our sponsors, please tell them you saw them in the Mommy Poppins Party Guide.

While Harlem has a ton of lovely outdoor parks and playgrounds, there are no drop-in indoor play spaces like many other Manhattan neighborhoods (unless you count Chuck E. Cheese's).

Happily, Harlem does have lots of wonderful places that offer cool kids' classes. Whether your children are looking to swim, dance, make art or just run around like maniacs, here are the top spots for children's classes in Harlem.

Swimming with the dolphins is a dream come true for most kids (and adults). If it's not on your kid's life bucket list, it's probably because they just don't know about it yet. But Dolphin swim experiences are not all the same and if you are going to go for a once in a lifetime experience, you want to get it right.

I have tried a few dolphin swims myself and recently I was lucky to be on a travel bloggers trip to Jamaica. We were invited to the Dolphin Cove in Jamaica and even the other travel writers who have done more dolphin encounters than I have agreed this was the best swim with the dolphins they had done.

What makes Dolphin Cove in Jamaica the best dolphin swim experience?

With the dog days of summer still a few months ahead, spring is the ideal time to enjoy the beach!  Fly a kite, play some tennis, handball, basketball, or rollerblade.  Comb the tide lines for crabs and seashells, greet a fisherman, and scan the shore for wildlife. With its ample grassy areas, ballfields and playgrounds the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park, in Oyster Bay is the place to play, with free parking (until Memorial Day), to boot.