Note: NYC schools are doing remote learning for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year due to COVID-19. We have updates on NYC school news and other impacts on NYC families and educational resources and activities while at home with kids. 

If you've got a child in public school, you live by the school calendar. Many local NYC preschools follow the public school schedule, too. The New York City Department of Education's calendar for the 2019-2020 school year is below, and you'll want to bookmark it now for reference—and to help with planning family vacations and school break camp coverage. 

As a surprise (and welcome) early holiday present, the Department of Education announced on September 24 that schools will also be closed on Monday, December 23. The previously released version of NYC's school year calendar originally had kids and teachers showing up for a one-day school week on the Monday before Christmas...but happily, that day is now scratched from the official calendar.

With the exception of the occasional unplanned snow day or case of the sniffles, these are all of the dates you can count on your kiddos being out of school during the 2019-2020 school year.

It's a great time to be a kid in NYC: Ice rink bumper cars are returning to Midtown on January 17.

The bumper cars, which debuted last year at Bryant Park's FrostFest and made the trip out to Brooklyn in late 2019, are back in Bryant Park from January 17 to February 28, 2020. Can't wait to take one for a spin? Read on for all the details, plus how to reserve your spot.

At less than 70 square miles, Aruba might be a small island, but it packs in a lot of kid-friendly activities for a Caribbean family getaway. Snorkel or splash in the bright blue waters of the Caribbean Sea, explore breathtaking natural parklands, dig in to a wide variety of tasty restaurants and food options, support Aruba’s wildlife sanctuaries, or just stake out a spot on the powdery sand beaches to watch the kids build sandcastles. With its mix of beach beauty and easy-access family attractions—and a relatively protected location south of the main Atlantic hurricane corridor—Aruba is a kid-pleasing choice for a sunny school-break vacation. 

Perhaps best of all, Aruba has a well-deserved rep for being one of the friendliest places on Earth, even by popular vacation destination standards. As my awestruck 9-year-old daughter exclaimed, “Everybody is so generous!” (Well, she is from Brooklyn.)

Whether you’ve got an active crew in search of some new adventures, or you’re just looking for a fabulous hotel pool to sink into for a few days, here are the best things to do in Aruba, as well as where to eat and what to see with kids.