Uptown

Take advantage of the amazing fall weather this weekend with our pick of the best free outdoor kids events. Find out where you can hear They Might Be Giants, the coolest weekend activity for four-year-olds and why now is the time to hop on the Roosevelt Island tram. Plus, keep reading to get a special discount code for half price tickets to Goody Two Shoes kid-disco where you can party like it was 1999. Read more »

Unfortunately, it looks like it's going to be raining all weekend so here is your line-up of mostly free and mostly indoor activities to help motivate you to get out the door....

Celebrate Museum Day and get into participating museums for FREE on Saturday Sept 27. The long list of locations includes a lot of kid-favorites like the Children's Museum Of Manhattan, the NYC Fire Museum, the NY Transit Museum, and the Skyscraper Museum.  All you need to do Read more »

I have the pleasure of introducing another new reader-turned-contributor to Mommy Poppins today. Karina Glaser hails from the North, no not Sarah Palin's North, Manhattan's. She has promised to keep us informed on the best stuff for kids and families going on in Washington Heights and Inwood. Check out her Washington Heights and Inwood post in our Neighborhood Guide. And here's a great event for this weekend I've heard many people rave about: Read more »

Still haven't signed up for any kid-classes? Whether you are dragging your feet cause you're feeling the money pinch or your just can't commit, here is an incentive to get you going. We reached out to some great NYC programs and asked them to give our readers a deal on fall 2008 classes and they delivered.

Keep reading to get special discount codes for tons of programs including: !Hola¡ Playgroup in Spanish (pictured above), Elf Tennis, The Little Gym, Kids at Work, Play Together NYC, 92nd St Y, TADA! and more. Read more »

[UPDATED: 9/21/08]

Growing up in New York City, one of our family traditions was going apple picking in the Hudson Valley every Fall. It's a tradition I've enjoying continuing with my own kids because it's a great day out in the country, it's economical (considering the price of apples from FreshDirect), and it's even trendy (if you're into the locavore thing).

It's a great activity for Columbus Day Weekend, but there are also a bunch of free Apple Festivals right here in NYC if you don't feel like taking the kids traveling. Read more »

September 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day (but really, can't Pirates pretty much just board and take over any day they want?) and to celebrate we thought we'd share a really cool program we just heard about. The Striking Viking Story Pirates are a terrific comedy troop that have nothing to do with pirates except that they steal their ideas from kids stories, comics or barely-legible sentences, and turn them into ridiculous shows performed by puppets and costumed grown ups who wish they were kids, or puppets, or both. Jon Stewart raved about it on Larry King (You know, that crazy, fun kid show) and I'm raving now, in piratese. So avast, me hearties, go smartly and purview the Striking Viking Story Pirates 'ere I slap your bung hole with a hornpipe, aye! Read more »

Stills from films to be shown at the Jackson Heights Film Festival 

If you do one thing this weekend, head over to the 3rd annual Jackson Heights Kids Film Fest where you can catch 14 short children's films, many of which are award-winning and hot off the film festival circuit. This year's selections include films that explore themes of both American and immigrant life, the avant-guard and classic video games. Held at the Eagle Theater, Jackson Height's very own Bollywood venue, the event draws families in search of a kid-friendly afternoon of movies that go far beyond the usual Disney fare. Really, where else can you watch a range of cool short films while munching on a samosa and holding your toddler in your lap? As an added bonus, after the films join the post screening dance party with the Opus Ditty band. $10 (kids under 10 free) Sunday. 10:30AM - 12 PM.

Plus.... Read more »

Sometimes the streets of NYC can be the most magical place in the world. This will become true for the next nine days when Bhutanese ritual dancers will be appearing throughout the city every day to perform their mesmerizing ancient Tantric Buddhist demon subjugation dance, called Cham. The elaborate costumes of the 13 monks who will be performing are enough to make this event spectacular, but the performance, a kind of danced yoga, makes this a once in a lifetime occurrence.

Bhutan is a tiny, secretive and isolated kingdom in the Himalayas, with very little outside influence and extremely limited tourism is allowed, making the opportunity to see the Bhutanese monks dancing on the streets of our city, for free, an absolutely not to be missed opportunity. Read more »

Photo courtesy of Lefferts Historic House

Did you know that you don't need to head out of town to go apple picking or watch honey bees?  Want to find out where you can see top Broadway stars dance and sing without dropping a dime?  There is so much going on all over the city this weekend I decided to do a best of the boroughs so you can explore the best of your neck of the woods.

Brooklyn - Harvest apples right here in Prospect Park, just as Brooklynites did years ago when nearly every farm in old Flatbush had apple trees. Read more »

Whether you want to preserve your heritage, develop your child's brain, or prepare them for the eventual Chinese world dominance, there are many foreign language playgroups in New York City, ready to help you out. Studies show that even brief, regular exposure to a foreign language at a young age can help your child's ability to pick up languages later in life as well as developing their ability think abstractly and to focus.

Here are some foreign language playgroups to try out: Read more »