Bridgeport might not pop up on your bucket list of day trips to take from Long Island with the kids. But with an easy ferry connection from Port Jefferson, minor-league baseball and hockey games, children’s theater, and more, Long Island families are increasingly making a day of it in Connecticut's largest city.

Here’s what you need to know when taking the 17-nautical-mile hop to Bridgeport for a day trip via the ferry. Who knows—it might inspire you to try other great summer day trips from Long Island. And while waiting for the ferry, why not check out our guide to Port Jefferson Village, including a list of our favorite things to do when visiting the village from Connecticut.

If the idea of heading to a full-fledged circus seems overwhelming for younger kids, especially the preschool and pre-K crowd, we might have found the perfect in-between show: Spring-a-Ding DING!

The one-hour performance playing in downtown NYC at the 14Y is filled with lively music, storytelling, acrobatics, dancing, contortions, and more—all performed with a younger audience in mind (Read: They'll be too entranced to wriggle out of their seat or your lap) from the small but mighty circus-arts company Cirque-tacular.

And if they're loving the theater experience, check out the best Broadway shows for kids and families for ages 4 and up.

Walden Pond was made famous by Henry David Thoreau, who lived at the site from 1845-1847 and wrote the book Walden based on his experience. Today, Walden is known locally for being a beautiful, pristine recreation area. It’s one of our favorite places to visit year-round, but we especially love to go in the summer. There’s so much to do with kids at Walden and it provides a great alternative to heading to the beach on a hot day. Here’s our advice on how to make the most of your visit.

As a native New Yorker, San Antonio has always been a favorite destination. And the one stop we cannot miss? The DoSeum, San Antonio’s Museum for Kids.

As the school year comes to a close and extracurricular activities wind down, the festival, fair, and carnival season is just getting started! We've compiled a list of all the great festivals and fairs happening this June. From the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to annual traditions, there is something for every member of the family. So, get out your calendar and be sure to make time for the array of fun that awaits Philly families this month!

So maybe you've heard about it but you're still not really sure. What is letterboxing anyway? Well to start, it is really like the ultimate scavenger hunt. You are given a set of clues and then you head out into the woods and go on a hunt in search of secret hidden stamps in the forest. Sound fun? That's because it is! Even my three year old is a letterboxing-enthusiast.

This fun family adventure is great for all ages and for all cities located across the country. There are about 90,000 active letterboxes hidden in North America alone. So what exactly is a letterbox? Letterboxes are small weatherproof boxes that typically contain a hand-carved rubber stamp, a log-book to keep a record of visitors, and occasionally an ink pad. Letterboxer's will leave an imprint of their own personal stamp in the letterbox's log book. We've rounded up six kid-friendly letterbox trails in Fairfield County. Happy Trails.

There's no other way to say it: my 9-year-old is obsessed with Minecraft. OBSESSED. He plays the game on computer, iPad, or Xbox, depending on his companions. He watches the YouTube videos (carefully curated by me, of course). He wears the T-shirts. He reads the books (there are a surprising number of them, both fiction and nonfiction).

Admittedly, sometimes we struggle with screen-time boundaries, so I've been looking for ways that he can play Minecraft productively—or at least collaboratively—to keep us both happy. There are lots of educational Minecraft opportunities in Fairfield County. Many libraries offer free Minecraft clubs (though children are usually required to bring their own laptops), and some camps have themed sessions, too. For other after school and enrichment choices check out our Classes and Enrichment Guide.

Governors Island has long been one of our favorite places to play and the summer fun is about to get a lot more thrilling on the isle.

Adventures at Governors Island, a new high-octane entertainment zone boasting a zip line, 3-D climbing wall, and maze debuts this Memorial Day weekend (weather dependent), and we can't wait to check out the exhilarating attraction. Its opening will double the number of zip lines in NYC—to two.