Submitted by Janine Annett on
For fall fun, nothing neats a hayride. And while the pandemic has whittled down our list down of participating farms a bit, these eight great Westchester and Hudson Valley farms offer great seasonal entertainment in 2021.
Pair a visit to one or more of these farms with other traditional autumn activities, including apple picking and corn mazes.
Submitted by Katie Sivinski on
After 18 years—and then another 18 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic—Washington, DC has finally gotten a children’s museum! The National Children’s Museum reopened to the public on September 2, 2021 after being open for only 18 days at the start of the pandemic. The National Children's Museum combines the feel of a science center and a children’s museum to create an interactive, fun place for kids ages 0-12 to explore.
I recently got the opportunity to investigate the National Children's Museum with my 3-year-old son on a sneak-peek tour. For a kid who has only gotten to experience museums through Blippi videos due to the pandemic, a museum visit was long overdue, and he had a fantastic time.
Below is my review of the National Children's Museum. You can also check out our list of free museums in DC for more fun museums to visit with kids!
Submitted by Rebecca Ruffin ... on
Atlanta’s long-awaited Westside Park recently opened (first phase) and it’s ready to be explored. The gigantic park, located west of Midtown, has been in the works for over 15 years at a cost of $44 million. The true beauty of the park, eventually spanning 280 acres, is the former Bellwood Quarry, now a reservoir set to hold 2.4 billion gallons of water, which contains the emergency drinking water supply for the city.
Larger than Chastain Memorial Park in Buckhead and Piedmont Park in Midtown, Westside Park is open 6 am-11 pm daily. Westside Park features amenities parents will enjoy: playground, stroller-friendly trails, free parking, and plenty of restroom facilities. Note: Though Phase 1 of Westside Park is complete, the public space is not completely finished and thus, some attractions, park hours, and other details could change as the project nears completion. Read our guide below and be one of the first to enjoy this urban oasis!
Submitted by Sarah Banks on
Did you know that there are an estimated 500,000 or more alligators in Texas? And did you know that alligators love fruit and can climb trees? Your kids can learn these facts and more about alligators at several fun gator experiences and organized alligator attractions in Houston and beyond. Getting up close with an alligator is definitely a jaw-dropping activity that will WOW your kids, so we've included gator activities for every budget—from the local Brazos Bend State Park to Gator Country Adventure Park to a Louisiana gator roadtrip.
Submitted by Margaret Hargrove on
There's no shortage of dance classes for kids in New Jersey to keep little ones on their toes! Depending on your children's ages and interests—do they want to emulate Misty Copeland, be the next Beyoncé, or dance to the beat of an African drum?—there's a dance class made just for them.
New Jersey's proximity to the cultural mecca of New York City means many choreographers, former Broadway talents, and retired professional dancers from such elite companies as American Ballet Theatre are ready and willing to help mold and shape the next generation of dancing stars.
Whether your tots want to twirl, tap, or pop and lock, these local dance classes for kids will get them to bust a move. Read on for our picks for the best dance classes for kids in New Jersey. Interested in other enrichment? Find more ideas in our Guide to Classes and Activities for NJ Kids!
Submitted by Audrey Trieschman on
What to do with all those apples? When you’ve gone apple picking with the kids, it’s easy to come home with bushels of apples, and hard to make a dent in that mound. That's why we at Mommy Poppins decided to pull together our favorite family apple recipes for using up all that red, green, and gold goodness. These easy apple recipes are specially written so that parents can do the chopping and leave the rest of the mixing, stirring, and baking up to the kids!
Find more yummy (and quick) things to make with or for kids in our Easy Recipes Guide.
Submitted by Jessica Laird on
At-home COVID tests offer fast results without a trip to the doctor whenever there’s worry about a possible infection—giving families reassurance and helping to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.
Whether it’s a trip to see the grandparents or one of those dreaded exposure emails from school, there are so many reasons you might want access to an at-home COVID test these days. Quick and easy for parents and less likely to cause tears than a trip to the pediatrician, over-the-counter options like the QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 Test get you results in about 10 minutes from the comfort of your own couch. (And I can attest to it, because we recently swabbed the whole family to make sure a summer cold was nothing worse!)
So, how do these rapid tests work for kids and adults? And are they actually accurate? Read on for answers to some of parents’ most-asked questions about at-home COVID testing, from the team at QuickVue.
Submitted by Jody Mercier on
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is returning to the streets of NYC on Thursday, November 25, organizers and city officials announced. Following a made-for-TV spectacle in 2020, the 95th annual parade is planning a return to a more traditional parade route to kick off the 2021 holiday season.
Safety protocols will be finalized in the coming weeks, but expect to see larger-than-life helium balloons, marching bands, giant floats, and A-list celebrity performances, plus Santa Claus himself all parading down NYC's avenues.
