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.

Adventure abounds in Boston museums and cultural institutions this fall. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite entertaining (and educational) exhibits that will have families reliving Shark Week, ditching the plastic bags, learning about life in the 1960s, wondering which of their peers will be the next Jackson Pollock, and even stumbling around in the dark.

I had the honor of being included in a preview and roundtable discussion of the CBS News/48 Hours special “Bullying: Words Can Kill” at CBS studios today. The special, to be broadcast Friday, September 16 at 8pm EST, bears its provocative title for a reason: the terrible statistic of more than 150 children in recent years having taken their own lives due to having been bullied. Despite this tragic number and the unsettling content of the show, the 48 Hours special is not gloom and doom—showcasing a Rhode Island middle school that has taken strong measures to address their bullying problem with a great deal of success.

New York City always seems to hum with so much excitement at this time of year. Schools are back in session, vacations are over and local museums and cultural institutions unveil their new exhibits for the fall season.

As the temperatures get cooler (starting this weekend we hear), families will be looking for places to play indoors. Happily, this season's crop of exhibitions includes many interactive installations that are perfect for kids, from preschoolers to tweens.

Families can blast off into outer space at the American Museum of Natural History, join Peter on his Snowy Day adventures at the Jewish Museum and learn about staying healthy at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. Plus, Soho's Children’s Museum of the Arts moves into its new Hudson Square digs in October, and the New York Historical Society debuts its Children's History Museum and Library in November. We're even got a handy list of free museum hours so you can figure out when you can visit at no cost.

And that's just a bit of what's going on in the art world. Here are nine great exhibits for NYC kids this fall.

As an avid reader and writer, I'm very excited that my two-year-old is finally big enough to enjoy some of the free offerings at the annual Brooklyn Book Festival. I've gone every year since it debuted in 2005 to see my favorite authors read, and to buy way too many books from the vendors that set up shop. I even read there when my own novel came out, which was quite a dream come true.

Although the Brooklyn Book Festival isn't aimed at kids, there are events and activities for bookworms (and aspiring readers) of all ages. In fact, there are two specific areas specifically for kids: the Target Children's Area, a cute tent featuring craft projects and excellent readings by top kid-lit authors, and the more mature Youth Stoop with lots of workshops and readings for tweens and teens,

While there are random "bookend" events taking place around the borough during the days leading up to the festival, the main event happens on Sunday, September 18 around Brooklyn Borough Hall. There's so much going on, it really pays to plan. We've highlighted the family-friendly events we're most looking forward to (including a reading by Mo Willems), and we've got tips on how to make the most of your day at the Brooklyn Book Festival.

Mommy Poppins is growing, but before I tell you where we are going, I want to take a moment to look back.

I started Mommy Poppins almost five years ago as a New Year's resolution. As I began to write about raising my children and things to do with kids in NYC, I realized that I was quite passionate about the amazing opportunities for families in this city. And for the past four and a half years, I have worked on the site feverishly, with a burning energy I cannot really explain—trying to provide the very best, most unique information for parents on a well-organized and easy-to-use site that doesn't waste your time with a lot of nonsense.

I know that some people come to the site and probably think there is some big corporation behind it, but for a long time I was actually doing everything myself. Then I started having other moms write posts and run the sites. I have been fortunate to find amazing people who are now helping to make the site better than I could have all by myself. (You can read about our team on our About Page).

When it comes to after school programs, one typically thinks of the YMCA or programs held in schools that offer the usual activities:  homework help, arts and crafts, movies, games, and on nice days, possibly a trip to the playground or a walk outside.  But if you dig a bit deeper into the world of after school, you can find some alternate and unique programs for your child.

While it's true that the season of free outdoor kids' concerts is over, there's plenty of music to look forward to this autumn. That's why we're kicking off our fall culture preview with a roundup of awesome New York City family rock concerts, featuring some of our favorite local kids' bands.

In addition to picking the best bets from well known kids' concert series like 92YTribeca's Bring Your Own Kid, we did the research and found a bunch of cheap and even free live shows. Out of the 14 we're highlighting, three are $10 or under per person and five are absolutely free! 

With big names like Grammy winner Dan Zanes, Princess Katie & Racer Steve and Gustafer Yellowgold playing, we're looking to these shows as much as our kids are. So get ready to move and groove at the best kids' rock concerts in NYC.