Happy first day of June! We're getting a soggy entry into this month and yesterday I was thinking that our fine state appears to prefer weather at the extremes (zero snow, tons of snow, zero rain, ALL THE RAIN). Anyway, I'm happy for the plants and this weather means you especially may need the Weekly Blueprint to plan some indoor adventures (though I also recommend just heading out for a walk around the neighborhood with your kids and getting soaked!). Enjoy!

June 1: The Fruitlands reads a book about its history. (Harvard)

June 2: FREE ASD-friendly afternoon at Discovery Museums. (Acton) 

June 2: Josh and the Jamtones kick off summer at The Street. (Chestnut Hill) 

June 2: Bingo night just for the kids. (Roslindale)

June 3: Grab your instrument and come rock out with your tot. (Acton)

June 3: FREE admission to deCordova Sculpture Park. (Lincoln)

June 3: Taste of Somerville outdoor food festival. (Somerville) 

June 3: Preschool storytime at Gore Place. (Waltham)

June 4: FREE admission to Concord Museum for youth baseball and softball players, coaches, fans and families. (Concord)

June 5: FREE admission for all to The Discovery Museums. (Acton)

June 5: An evening of practicing school readiness skills and having fun. (Boston)

June 5: Share cocktails and conversation at the MFA. (Boston)

June 5: Rockport stays open late each first Friday night. (Rockport)

June 5: Explore the art of American storytelling from the perspectives of writers, storytellers and more. (Salem)

June 5: Celebrate Winchester. (Winchester)

Image credit: North of Boston

Happy Friday everyone, I hope you're having a great week! I've admittedly been a bit off my game due to the holiday weekend, but I've got a packed work day ahead so it's time to kick things off and focus! First order of business = FUN FOR YOU! Yay! Enjoy this roundup of 28 weekend events, lovingly curated for your consideration! Have a fantastic weekend and check back tomorrow for a great edition of Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome.

1. FREE evening at the museum for families with children on the Autism spectrum. (Acton)

2. The Bay Colony Brass present a concert for the whole family. (Arlington)

3. A young artist performance of The Sound of Music. (Belmont)

4. Enter the mind-bending world of massive inflatables. (Boston)

5. FREE family concert and instrument petting zoo. (Boston)

6. Celebrate the beauty of the Esplanade with this 5k and backyard dash. (Boston)

7. The East Coast’s largest celebration of craft beer. (Boston)

8. Deaf and hard of hearing day at The Children’s Museum. (Boston)

9. Talented young performers show off their drum compositions. (Boston)

10. The zoo comes uncorked. (Boston)

11. Savor spring on the waterfront during this family play date. (Boston)

12. Treat yourself to a wellness retreat. (Cohasset)

13. Emerson Hospital Auxiliary's annual 5k Run/Walk for Cancer (Concord)

14. Kick off the spring farming season at Powisset Farm. (Dover)

15. Meet amongst the wildflowers. (Framingham)

16. Black and White in the Park deCordova gala. (Lincoln)

17. Celebrate Medford! (Medford)

18. Dog tricks and canine comedy. (Natick)

19. Bio-Blitz Free-for-All features animals, plants, and insects right from our own backyard. (Newburyport)

20. Give back to Mother Nature for all she gave us this past season by cleaning up Wachusett. (Princeton)

21. A soccer game for the whole family. (Revere)

22. Trying to be an artist and a parent? Here’s how. (Somerville)

23. Salute summer with music, dancing, snacks and storytime. (Somerville)

24. Southbridge fest! (Southbridge)

25. Nature, fun, music and more at the Audubon Nature Festival. (Topsfield)

26. A festival of Israeli music, art, dance, fun, food and community. (Waltham)

27. Bands, brew and bbq. (Westford)

28. Experience the sounds and songs of life. (Worcester)

Image credit: New England Wildflower Society

It's time to explore the world again! Our world tour has offered inspiration to learn about Brazilian, German, Swedish, and Polish culture. The fifth post in this editorial series with au pair agency Cultural Care Au Pair focuses on Thailand. Here are 13 ways to introduce your family to Thai culture. And as with the other posts, for my readers outside of Massachusetts, there are recommendations below that can be enjoyed from anywhere!

*** VISIT ***

1. Start to learn the Thai language at the Boston Language Institute.

2. Keep an eye on the Boston University Thai Student Association. They host an annual Thai festival with food and games.

*** SING & DANCE ***

3. Teach your children about traditional Thai folk dances including khon and lakhon.

4. Listen to traditional Thai children songs, such as the Elephant Song.

*** EAT & DRINK ***

5. My Thai Vegan Café in Boston shows that an extensive menu is no problem, even for vegans. I see spring rolls in my not so distant future! 

6. A Brighton fixture for over 15 years, Bamboo Thai offers authentic dishes at reasonable prices.

7. A repeat award winner, Montien Boston offers both Thai food and sushi.

8. Make the popular Thai classic pad thai at home.

9. This warm weather is the perfect time to enjoy a Thai iced tea!

*** CRAFT & READ***

10. Try making this pretty elephant craft.

11. Hush! A Thai Lullaby by Minfong Ho makes for a good bedtime picture book.

12. Another great book by Minfong Ho is Peek! A Thai Hide-and-Seek, which I've read countless times to Laurel and Violet!

13. The Girl Who Wore Too Much by Margaret MacDonald is a folk tale from Thailand about a young girl who is a bit spoiled and has more dresses and jewelry than she really needs. 

So fun, right? Enjoy exploring Thailand and I'm excited to share another installment of cultural educational material next month. Also, totally related: If you've been struggling to make sense of childcare options, Cultural Care Au Pair is co-hosting a childcare panel this week (May 28). Also, on June 13, enjoy a Musikgarten class!

+ + + + +

Disclosure: This post reflects a sponsored editorial partnership with Cultural Care Au Pair. Cultural Care Au Pair is a leading provider of intercultural childcare and educational exchange. Since 1989, Cultural Care Au Pair has placed more than 90,000 au pairs in American homes. Hosting an au pair offers many benefits, one of which includes the opportunity for your family to learn about another country's culture.

Image credits: 1) flag via Wikipedia; 2) compilation graphic by Christine Koh with images via linked sources above.

Happy Sunday everyone, I hope you're enjoying a lovely holiday weekend! I am over the moon this afternoon after a gorgeous and inspiring morning running Boston's Run to Remember. It was so moving to see tributes being paid, and personally, this was a bit of a redemption event for me and everything went so beautifully. I'm about to head off for weekend fun so I wanted to drop the Weekly Blueprint early, for your planning enjoyment.

May 25: Complimentary lunch or dinner at McCormick & Schmick's for active members of the US Military and National Guard. (Boston)

May 25: Special access to the Children’s Museum for children with special needs. (Boston)

May 25: FREE admission for all to the MFA. (Boston)

May 25: Hilarious puppet performance featuring elaborate medieval costumes, and creative ways to hide a pet dragon. (Brookline)

May 25: The Toe Jam Puppet Band performs at the zoo. (New Bedford)

May 25: Enjoy great live music, art, fine crafts, and food. (Newburyport)

May 25: See the fledgling herons emerge. (Sudbury)

May 27: Fill your day with art and play. (Lincoln)

May 28: The food and flavors that make Boston awesome. (Boston)

May 28: Learn more about cultural au pairs and child care for your family. (Boston)

May 28: A little dirt never hurts. (Easton)

May 28 - 31: A spectacular mind bending world of massive inflatables. (Boston)

May 29: KidsJam dance party. (Boston)

Image credit: Lawn on D

Happy Friday everyone, I hope you had a great week! I spent most of the week in Seattle for work with Microsoft (you can see some images here). The experience was rather mindblowing and I can't wait to share some of the crazy awesome things I learned to amp up my nerd ninja skills to help you ninja up as well! Meanwhile, I hope you're gearing up for a lovely holiday weekend -- enjoy this roundup of 15 events, and tune in later for a great Friday Find!

1. Celebration national scavenger hunt day. (Acton)

2. Berkshire Theatre Group presents Atlantis, Lost! And Other Legends of the Strange Waves (Amherst)

3. The Redcoats are coming! The Redcoats are coming! (Boston)

4. The Boston International Children’s Film Festival wraps up. (Boston)

5. The Boston Calling concert in City Hall Plaza is back. (Boston)

6. It’s Arthur’s 8th birthday! (Boston)

7. The beautiful sounds of the Marywood University Chamber Singers. (Boston)

8. Trash or tackle? Making beautiful sculptures from discarded materials that might otherwise pollute the sea. (Boston)

9. Develop positive social-emotional skills and coping skills through movement, music, arts. (Boston)

10. Hilarious puppet performance featuring elaborate medieval costumes, and creative ways to hide a pet dragon. (Brookline)

11. Lexington’s greatest street fair is on. (Lexington)

12. Enjoy great live music, art, fine crafts, and food. (Newburyport)

13. Ropes Mansion reopens. (Salem)

14. Time for the sheep to get their annual haircut. (Sturbridge)

15. Spreading wings over Wellfleet. (Wellfleet)

Image credit: Boston Children’s Museum

Here are three seemingly unrelated personal things that are bizarrely converging on the blog today! 1) After a 4-year hiatus, Laurel returned to soccer this spring and is loving it. 2) Through the soccer program, a Boston Breakers player joins Laurel's practice each week. 3) Laurel adores mangos (like, gobbles them with abandon!). Bizarre convergence = thanks to the National Mango Board, I’ve got Boston Breakers tickets to give away to one lucky reader!

OK, what gives with the mangos you ask? Mangos apparently are the official fruit of the National Women’s Soccer League. They're loaded with over 20 vitamins and minerals and I particularly love that their sweetness deems them dessert-worthy but without all the junk. We load up on fresh mangos in season, and in the winter, buy them frozen, which Laurel often eats straight out of the freezer or in smoothies.

So this brings me back to the Breakers! I think it’s especially important for girls to see female athletes in action (especially since broadcast sports focus so heavily on male athletes) so how awesome is it that the Breakers are right here in our backyard? If you’d like to win this 4-pack of tickets (~$100 value) to the Friday, May 22, 2015 match between the Boston Breakers and Sky Blue FC, simply post a comment below by noon Wednesday May 20, 2015 to enter to win! Good luck!

Happy Monday everyone, I hope you had a great weekend! Ours was a complete whirlwind, what with helping to host a 5K, soccer, open studios, cheering a friend on at a ballet performance, and my last long training run (12 miles!) before the half marathon. These were all good things, but whoo boy, I am slightly amazed we made it through and I'm ready for things to calm down a bit! Anyway, on to a new week -- enjoy this roundup of events via the Weekly Blueprint:

May 18: Do you know where sea turtles spend their summer vacation? (Boston)

May 18: FREE admission to Harvard Arts Museums! (Cambridge)

May 18: Share how you’re celebrating International Museum Day. (Lincoln)

May 18 - 24: The Boston International Children’s Film Festival. (Boston)

May 19: The New England Conservatory’s Youth Jazz Orchestra performs. (Boston)

May 19 - 22: Child-friendly tours of the Manse Mansion. (Concord)

May 19 + 21: Dear June performs for your lunchtime enjoyment. (Boston)

May 20: Back to the 80’s prom night at Legoland Discovery Center. (Somerville)

May 20 + 22: The Redcoats are coming! The Redcoats are coming! (Boston)

May 21: Get out there and run and play. (Salem)

Image credit: New England Aquarium

Happy Friday everyone, I hope you're having a great week! It's been a lovely and also full one here, ramping up for a busy weekend including soccer, a 5K I'm helping to organize, and seeing Laurel rock out at open studios. Sometimes I still can't believe how much Laurel has evolved over the last few years! Anyway, I hope you have a great weekend on tap; enjoy this roundup of 21 weekend events, lovingly curated for your consideration!

1. Especially for Me evening at the museum for children with visual impairment. (Acton)

2. Magic show with Rupayan Neogy. (Acton)

3. Spend the day with the goats at Habitat. (Belmont)

4. The Lawn on D is open for the season. (Boston)

5. Safety 1st is popping up all over town. (Boston)

6. Help clean up Bumpkin Island. (Boston)

7. Boston International Children’s Film Festival. (Boston)

8. Learn about endangered species and how we can help them. (Boston, Stoneham)

9. Ben Rudnick is hosting a teddy bear picnic. (Chelmsford)

10. The Great New England Air Show. (Chicopee)

11. Guided trail walks, a puppet theater, paper airplane folding, nature crafts & more all inspired by The Great Paper Caper. (Harvard)

12. Huge children’s consignment sale.(Lexington)

13. Group explorations of Sculpture Park installations, Museum galleries, and inspiration by the themes and artists of the day. (Lincoln)

14. Calling all fairies, elves and gnomes. (Lincoln)

15. Get inspired, educated, and entertained with LEGO bricks! (Marlborough)

16. The beautiful and delicious Nantucket Wine Festival. (Nantucket)

17. Emergency boats, cars and the jaws of life! (Rockport)

18. Motif No.1 Day Festival celebrates the Arts in Rockport (one of our Local Gems!). (Rockport)

19. Learn how to seek and find geocaches. (Waltham)

20. West Medford art studios are opening up. (West Medford)

21. The Ecotarium comes to life just for adults. (Worcester)

Image credit: Lawn on D 

Happy Monday everyone, I hope you had a great weekend! We enjoyed a truly lovely escape to the Hotel Viking in Newport and I'll have more to share about that soon! Meanwhile, enjoy this roundup of fun events for the week, and be sure to enter to win these incredible New Balance and Just Add Cooking giveaways! Also, I'm going to start reviewing Creative Assistant applications soon, if you want to toss your hat in the ring!

May 11: Live music and overhead views of the Greenway’s new aerial sculpture. (Boston)

May 12: A special evening out just for teachers. (Lincoln)

May 12 + 14: The lunchtime Berklee Music Performances are back. (Boston)

May 13: A whirlwind tour of all things baby gear. (Boston)

May 13: Film screening and Q&A with Sebastian Junger. (Harvard)

May 13: Learn how to prepare your child for kindergarten. (Needham)

May 13: Home school day at Old Sturbridge Village. (Sturbridge)

May 13: It’s toddler time on the farm. (Waltham)

May 14: An evening with author Jennifer Weiner. (Newton)

May 14 - 17: Safety 1st is popping up in Boston. (Boston)

May 15: Discover birds of prey at the Blue Hills trailside museum. (Acton)

May 15: Open book and open play with the works of Eric Carle. (Amherst)

May 15: Gallery tours of the newest Children’s Museum exhibit. (Boston)

May 15: Join the talented BYSO musicians as they lead interactive programs. (Boston)

May 15: Get inspired, educated, and entertained with LEGO bricks! (Marlborough)

Image credit: Rose Kennedy Greenway