It's a mission of mine to introduce my six-year-old son to as many musical genres as possible. I find that kids don’t really care if music is popular or current, they just know what they like. Last year we were all about classical. I was pleasantly surprised by how much we both enjoyed the concerts by the Little Orchestra Society (especially since I'm a rock and roll girl at heart). He even asked me to take him to the opera and he loved that, too.

My son recently finished reading a book that featured Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong as a main character, and he began asking lots of questions about the trumpeter and jazz in general. With Black History Month coming up, it's the perfect time for me to introduce him to the genre.

Although we may start our journey with a visit to Armstrong's childhood home in Queens, which is now a museum, what I really want to do is take him to a live jazz concert. While there are a slew of jazz clubs in New York City, between the free-flowing alcohol and late night hours, most of them aren't family-friendly. But there are a handful of NYC jazz spots that not only welcome kids, they cater to them.

So…you’re thinking of moving to the New York City suburbs and you keep hearing about Fairfield County, CT.  Great!  We look forward to welcoming you here.  But which town, you ask, would best suit your lifestyle? 

There are a lot of factors to consider, especially if you desire a town that is easily commutable to NYC.  Eight years ago my husband and I debated these issues for months.  After many glasses of wine, several arguments, and some hand wringing, we packed up our things and moved from Boston to Fairfield County with our then 1 year old.  While we were apprehensive about moving to such an affluent county, we have been tremendously happy with the many wonderful people we've met, the ease with which we can get into Manhattan, and the incredible (free!) education our children are getting.

Read more to find some insights on a few popular Fairfield County towns:

We're spending a lot of time inside these days visiting some of our favorite indoor spots, from museums to play spaces to fun stores where kids can run around. We've also been taking a lot of classes, which is why we're thrilled to offer our readers deep discounts to ten NYC programs we love.

Of course we have spent some time outside, too. As you can see from the photo above, last Saturday my daughter and her friends had a blast ice-skating at Lasker Rink. (That said, we spent brutally cold Sunday holed up in the Children's Museum of the Arts, which was a madhouse!)

If you're looking for seasonal fun, we've got some great ideas in our Winter Activity Guide. This week, we wrote about no-car ski trips from NYC, and our New Jersey site covered pond ice-skating, snow tubing, ice fishing and snow shoeing. We also have posts on family ski resorts and snow tubing spots in NJ. And if you're looking to celebrate Chinese New Year, we've got roundups of awesome parades and festivals in NYC, New Jersey and Connecticut, so you can ring in the Year of the Dragon all over the tri-state area.

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 sites in Boston and Los Angeles.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Nature and science activities abound this weekend, with a bird-watching walk, Family Science Saturday at the Long Island Science Center, a Wildlife Safari, and the Dinosaur Petting Zoo at the Tilles Center. There's also a Chinese New Year celebration at the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum and Family Sundays at the Nassau Museum of Art.

Just because it's (literally) freezing outside, doesn't mean you have to keep the family inside this weekend. Get out, explore nature, and have fun! Gung hay fat choy!

It's cold outside (finally) so going to the playground is no longer a sure bet. Time to sign up for some winter classes. We reached out to some of our favorite play spots and asked them to extend deals to our readers. The result is ten excellent offers for kids that you won't want to miss, from babies through tweens. Save up to 50% on classes like chess, music, cooking, swimming, art and more. Or snag amazing savings on children's gym memberships and classes. Act fast! These deals are too hot to hang around long.

Yep, it's definitely winter now!  Although this seasonably cold weather has my family spending lots more time inside, I also find this time of year to be perfect for slowing down and focusing on family bonding.  This weekend in New Jersey there are lots of great indoor options where you can connect AND have fun with your kids. From unique (and many FREE) music and theater shows to a celebration of marine mammals to a sensory-friendly planetarium show, read on for all of our picks and remember, you can always find additional options in our Events Calendar. Have a fantastic wintery weekend whatever you chose to do with your family!

The weather’s looking a little cloudy this weekend, so why are hordes of locals heading to the beach? For the opening weekend of Cirque du Soleil’s Ovo, of course! As we told you last week, we’re giving away a four-pack of tickets to the show, and you’re in luck: you have until Tuesday, January 24 to get your entry in.  

Without a doubt, Mommy Poppins is your number one source of the coolest, most enriching, and just plain awesome things to do with Southern California kids.  However, if there’s ever a day that our calendar of weekly events fails to provide you with the perfect activity to do with your kids (unlikely, true, but it could happen) no worries, we’ve still got you covered. Our latest post reveals our list of 100 Things to Do in LA with Kids Before They Grow Up. I for one can't wait to go skydiving at Universal Citywalk.

Keep reading for our favorite choices for this weekend, and to find out how a rainy day could be a winning proposition for you.

it’s all about animals this weekend!

Dragons put in an appearance, as celebrations of the Chinese New Year begin. Events like The Monkey KIng puppet show at the Peabody Museum, a Chinese New Year celebration at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, and a book launch of Dumpling Days at Porter Square Books help welcome in the Year of the Dragon. Clifford, the Big Red Dog (in costume character form) visits the Harvard Coop for Kids, Rainforest Reptiles slither and crawl to the Children’s Museum, and birds of prey swoop in on the Ipswich River Sanctuary. Read on for our weekend picks, and check our Events Calendar for more options.

We also continue our Summer Camp series with a focus on summer camps in Boston, Brookline and Cambridge. We’d love include your favorite camps in future posts - please let us know about them!

Enjoy!