Mommy Poppins Class Discount-A-Thon

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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.

Our Halloween Guide and Photo Contest Are Here!

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How much do you love Halloween? Cute, costumes, candy, and seeing the city transform into a big playground for kids. This Halloween we're bringing you not just a great guide on everything fun for kids in New York, but also a great contest with lots of big prizes.
 
The Contest:
Just send us pictures of your cutie in their Halloween costume and you'll be entered to win one of these amazing prizes:

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We've got a family portrait session with amazing photographer Jeff Cassuto, a Jeep Overland Limited Jogging Stroller and a Baby Gift Package from Giggle, plus more and we want to give them to you.

Share your pictures and win! Click to read more, or upload your photos here.

 

The Guide
The best Halloween Parades for kids, the top places to Trick or Treat in NYC, (not too scary) Haunted Houses, and more. Find it all out in our Halloween Fun Guide.

Mommy Poppins Kids Halloween Costume Photo Contest

Share pictures of your adorable little ghosts, ghouls, and Mileys and win!

 

Enter!
We love seeing all the great costumes people come up with for the little ones on Halloween. Whether your child's costume is super creative or just super cute, share it with us in our Halloween Photo Contest Flickr Group. You can add your Flickr photos to the Mommy Poppins Halloween Photo Contest Group or just email them to us with your name, address, age of child(ren) and we'll do the techie stuff.

 

Win!
On Monday, November 5th we will pick three winners and three runners up to receive one of the following fabulous prizes:

Linkin B'logs - Ear Orgasms, School Report Cards, Trader Joe's comes to Brooklyn and More

All that bad news last week has me totally burned out on politics and the economy right now so keep reading for a lighter take on this week's news (with the exception of the school report cards, but hey, thats something that is pretty near to all our hearts).

Report Cards for Schools. If you haven't already checked, take a look at the results of the 2007-08 NYC Department of Education report cards for every school in the city. The letter grades which range from A to F are based on the school environment, student performance and student progress. Then check out the inside schools blogs to read up on the debate on the report cards.

Mo' Joe.  Trader Joe's is coming to Brooklyn with a store opening

New York Apple Picking and Fall Festivals

[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.

Story Pirates Comedy Shows for Kids

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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!

Free Fun Friday - Kids Film Festival, Historic House Festival, Maize Mazes and 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....

The Brooklyn Children's Museum

This weekend is the Grand Reopening of the Brooklyn Children's Museum after an $80 Million renovation and expansion. I got a sneak peek today and am excited to share lots of pictures and details about this amazing new space, plus grand opening events and special pricing information.

For the past year the Brooklyn Children's Museum has been closed while undergoing an $80 million renovation and expansion. The Museum officially opens to the public on September 20th with twice as much space and three times the programming. It is now also the first museum in NYC to go Green. The building is certified as a green building and the Museum will be offering programs to teach children about the building and it's systems as well.

I was incredibly impressed with the new museum's exhibits. They have turned the old, somewhat rag-tag museum into a new world class cultural institution, but one that stays true to and celebrates it's Brooklyn roots. Particularly the World Brooklyn exhibit, which is like a combination of old school Sesame Street and Disney's Epcot Center.

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