Long Island Parent Talk

Looking for things to do with the kids this weekend? From a German festival to Ducks games, family picnic, farm days and more, there's much to do on Long Island. Here are my top five picks for fun family-friendly activities this weekend:

1. Long Island Ducks Vs. Southern Maryland Blue Crabs at Bethpage Ballpark (3 Court House Dr., Central Islip). Cheer on the home team and enjoy a baseball...

Convoy of Hope, a humanitarian relief organization, which for the second year is bringing free goods and services to children and families in Uniondale, also offers children an opportunity to volunteer their time and resources.

A national faith-based nonprofit group founded in 1994, Convoy of Hope is a collaborative effort among local businesses, churches and social service agencies to help...

In my ongoing quest to find tasty, kid-friendly food appropriate for the whole family, this week I chose a delicious dessert, perfect for barbecues. I found the recipe in "Fresh," by the editors of "Better Homes and Gardens" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; $29.99).

Lemon Shortcakes with Plums (Makes 8 servings)

Ingredients — 2 cups all-purpose flour — 1/4 cup sugar —...

Best known for her roles on NBC as Sami Brady on the daytime drama "Days of our Lives" and host of "The Biggest Loser," Alison Sweeney recently added fiction author to her resume. Her first novel, "The Star Attraction" (Hyperion; $14.99), was published this month.

The Emmy Award-winning actress is also a mom to 8-year-old son Ben and 4-year-old daughter Megan....

When parents hear that Trish Portnoy teaches a class at West Islip High School called “College Freshman Seminar,” they frequently say, “I wish my child’s school offered that class.” Portnoy helps high school seniors during the fall of their senior year narrow down college choices and tackle the application process.

So Portnoy asked herself, “How can I share this information? I’m only one person.”...

Go to the beach as often as possible.

Take a ferry to Fire Island.

Brave Splish Splash.

These are three of the items on my summer bucket list. I got the idea of compiling such a list from another parent in my son’s Boy Scout troop.

I am building my list in my head, discussing some ideas with the family and keeping other ideas to myself (Riverhead's Splish Splash water park...

Take a break from the heat this summer and enjoy a day of bowling -- for free!

This is the sixth year for Kids Bowl Free, which allows children two free games every day all summer. Simply register at kidsbowlfree.com and receive vouchers via email every Sunday for two free bowling games each day for the entire week.

Kids Bowl Free kicks off June 1 and runs through Labor Day.

Participating...

In the new book “Motherhood, Rescheduled: The New Frontier of Egg Freezing and The Women Who Tried It” (Simon & Schuster, $25), Manhattan journalist Sarah Elizabeth Richards tells how, once she hit age 36, she froze 70 of her eggs to possibly prolong her ability to have a biological child.

Richards was feeling increasing pressure to meet a man and have kids before her fertility plummeted....

Children love watching their favorite characters come to life on stage, and there's no shortage of theatrical events on Long Island. Since many of the shows require some forethought, here's a sampling of family-friendly shows throughout June to help you plan a fun-filled day.

Aladdin and the Lamp, or It's All in the Giving at Theatre Three (412 main St., Port Jefferson) on Saturday, June 1...

More than 50 moms gathered for a “Social Media Butterfly Luncheon” in Albertson recently to learn what their kids might doing on the Internet – and social media maven Erika Katz was stunned when many moms weren’t sure how to download Twitter onto their iPhones.

“This is part of parenting. Like teaching them to brush their teeth,” Katz told the women, who were eager to learn about the tools...