Saturday is October 1... do you know what you're doing for Halloween yet? If you've got kids then you know that the holiday lasts pretty much the entire month. In fact, a handful of annual Halloween happenings like the Bronx Zoo's Boo at the Zoo and Hudson Valley's Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze kick off this weekend. (Yes, the pressure is on.)

This week we started to update all of our Halloween posts so that we can share the most up-to-date information. We're still working on it, so if you're wondering about the various annual parades and festivals don't worry: We will have the 2011 details for you soon.

Of course we wrote about lots of other cool, non-Halloween stuff, too, like the Children's Museum of the Arts' brand-new space, which opens to the public on Saturday. Here's what we covered this week on Mommy Poppins in NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut, as well as selected stories from our brand-new sites in Boston and Los Angeles.

Despite the dreary weather, we've been feeling upbeat all week. On Wednesday, we celebrated the International Day of Peace with pinwheels for peace. (The photo above is from my daughter's East Harlem elementary school.) On Friday, fall officially arrives, which means we have lots of harvest festivals to look forward to. Plus, we found out that Mommy Poppins has been nominated as best local blog by Parents magazine! If you think we should win (and we hope you do), please vote for us at Parents.com. You'll need to register (boo!) but it really only takes a minute.

We're also really looking forward to this weekend. There are so many incredible annual festivals and events, like the amazing Dumbo Arts Festival and Smithsonian Magazine's Museum Day, when 35 NYC cultural institutions offer free admission. 

And that's just a bit of what's going on. Here's what we covered this week on Mommy Poppins in NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut, as well as selected stories from our brand-new sites in Boston and Los Angeles.

Even though autumn doesn't officially start until September 23, we were all about fall this week. We began updating our Fall Fun Guide, and shared our picks for the best concerts, museum exhibits and theater shows for kids this coming season.

Our two new sites in Boston and Los Angeles are picking up speed. Boston highlighted six cool exhibits for families and in LA they're already looking ahead to Halloween with a roundup of pumpkin patches. Let your friends in those cities know that they can sign up for their respective newsletters.

And that's just a bit of what's going on. Here's what we covered this week on Mommy Poppins in NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut.

So far this week we’ve highlighted 16 cool concerts and 8 awesome museum exhibits that we’re excited to take our kids to this fall. Now we come to my personal favorite: theater.

Although a few of veteran children’s troupes, like TADA! Youth Theater and the Atlantic Company for Kids, won’t be debuting new productions until spring, there are still plenty of wonderful children’s shows hitting New York City stages this fall.

We’re skipping pricey Broadway musicals and familiar fairy tales in favor of more eclectic and inexpensive fare, like Eric Carle’s classic stories told through black-light puppetry, a multi-genre dance mash up and a lot of stage adaptations of beloved children’s books. Here are our top picks for children’s theater this autumn.

And it's begun. If your kids are anything like my daughter, they started picking out their first day of school outfits about a week in advance. (If your child wears a uniform, you probably don't have a pile of discarded clothes on your floor.)

Even though summer break's over, there's plenty of fun in store for fall. This week, we rounded up a bunch of awesome September festivals and fairs, and highlighted apple picking farms close to NYC. We also launched a massive sale on classes all over the city at Poppins Perks. We're offering discounts on some of the best classes available this fall, from preschool alternatives to after-school programs.

Of course since Sunday is September 11, our weekend best bets are not all fun and games. We've got suggestions for how to commemorate the anniversary in addition to our roundup of other things to do.

Plus we've officially launched our new sites in Boston and Los Angeles! Let your friends in those cities know to sign up for their newsletters.

And that's just a bit of what's going on. Here's what we covered this week on Mommy Poppins in NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut.

We’ve been avoiding writing about back-to-school anything. That’s because we’re always annoyed by all of the back-to-school craziness that seems to start sometime around the end of June, plus we don’t want to admit that summer really is coming to an end. But we can’t put off reality any longer: Come September 8, New York City public school students return to their classrooms, and some charter and private schools start even earlier.

If you’ve already stocked up on everything you need in terms of supplies and clothes—we envy you. But in case your family is like mine and you’re only now getting around to your back-to-school buying (meaning it’s too late to do it online), we figured we’d share our favorite local places to shop for inexpensive clothes and supplies year-round. We’re sure you’ve heard of some of these spots—is there a parent left in the U.S. who doesn’t know about The Children’s Place?—but sometimes one person’s “duh!” is another’s revelation. Plus, we’re giving away a Children’s Place gift card and we’ve got the scoop on a number of upcoming festivals where you can pick up free back-to-school supplies.

With September 11 coming up, lots of families are trying to figure out what to do that day. I know I am. My daughter just turned six, so until now, we’ve gone the escapist route: We just avoided turning on the news and acted like it was a regular day. I’m not sure we could do that this year even if we wanted to: It’s the tenth anniversary and it falls on a weekend, so reminders will be everywhere.

While I’m going to do the best I can to make sure she doesn’t see any footage from September 11 (I wish the media would stop running the Towers falling on a loop every anniversary), she’s old enough to learn about what happened that day. I want her to start to grasp the impact September 11 had on our city and the world.

There are many ways families can mark the day, remember the victims and honor the heroes. Whether you explore an exhibit, visit a memorial or volunteer to help others, here are enriching and educational things to do on September 11 with your kids.

Much as we'd like to, we can't keep ignoring Hurricane Irene. (We'd also like to ignore all of our friends who think they're being clever by posting the "Rock You Like a Hurricane" video on Facebook.) Everyone's scrapping their vacation plans for the last weekend of August (my family's dream of heading to the Cape has been killed), and pretty much all of the events we recommended this weekend are already canceled.

While we hope this turns out to be much ado about nothing, chances are your family's going to be spending a lot of time at home this weekend. Right now you're in full prep mode. If you're wondering how best to secure your home, just turn on your local news (avoid the Weather Channel: They are freaking out!) or visit the official website of your town, city or state. New Yorkers can find info on potential flooding zones (there are many, not all along the water), emergency shelters, evacuation notices and more at nyc.gov. Mayor Bloomberg's even going to start shutting down subways and buses come Saturday at noon!

If you're heading out to buy toilet paper and snacks (we doubt even the most intrepid deliver guy will be on the streets on Sunday), think about stocking up on things to do, too. You can't watch TV all weekend (especially if the power goes out). But your family can try doing some fun crafts, cooking some kid-friendly dishes or playing a few cool analog games. And if you end up doing them by candlelight, just pretend it's 1811.

Here are creative ways to keep busy during Hurricane Irene.