This week's most important stories for parents, so you can be the most-in-the-knowiest.

Hard Times. Feeling the money crunch these days? You're not alone. Frugal Dad reports that nearly half of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. And, 25% of all workers reported they save nothing each month. If this is you, check out the post, there are some really good tips on what you need to do to start saving. And by the way its not just the little people, according to the Times, this week saw "one of the most dramatic days in Wall Street’s history" with major companies like Lehman Brothers seeking bankruptcy protection.

Financial Planning for Toddlers. With all this bad news, its a good idea to teach little ones the values of saving now.

I often wonder at what age my daughter will be ready to go to the movies. But until we were invited to The Green Sheep at the New Victory Theater I never even imagined taking my two year old to a Broadway show.

Based on the popular children's book Where is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek, the show is an interactive theater experience for kids ages 1-5. The audience sits in a "sheep pen" and the action takes place all around so kids are free to fidget, stand, talk, walk and hug their mommies which makes it the perfect first performance experience for kids. And, I can honestly report that I watched probably close to 60 babies and toddlers delightedly follow along and heard not one cry the entire time.

Sometimes the streets of NYC can be the most magical place in the world. This will become true for the next nine days when Bhutanese ritual dancers will be appearing throughout the city every day to perform their mesmerizing ancient Tantric Buddhist demon subjugation dance, called Cham. The elaborate costumes of the 13 monks who will be performing are enough to make this event spectacular, but the performance, a kind of danced yoga, makes this a once in a lifetime occurrence.

Bhutan is a tiny, secretive and isolated kingdom in the Himalayas, with very little outside influence and extremely limited tourism is allowed, making the opportunity to see the Bhutanese monks dancing on the streets of our city, for free, an absolutely not to be missed opportunity.

Photo courtesy of Lefferts Historic House

Did you know that you don't need to head out of town to go apple picking or watch honey bees?  Want to find out where you can see top Broadway stars dance and sing without dropping a dime?  There is so much going on all over the city this weekend I decided to do a best of the boroughs so you can explore the best of your neck of the woods.

Brooklyn - Harvest apples right here in Prospect Park, just as Brooklynites did years ago when nearly every farm in old Flatbush had apple trees.

[UPDATED: August 17, 2012]

Whether you want to preserve your heritage, develop your child's brain, or prepare them for the eventual Chinese world dominance, there are many foreign language playgroups in New York City, ready to help you out. Studies show that even brief, regular exposure to a foreign language at a young age can help your child's ability to pick up languages later in life as well as developing their ability to think abstractly and to focus.

Here are some foreign language playgroups to try out:

Have you checked out our Back to School Guide yet? Back to School is kind of a misnomer since it's got lots of helpful information even for little ones who aren't in school yet, like mommy and me classes and healthy snack recipes. With classes, activities, snack and meal ideas, even shopping...it's not one guide; it's a phantasmagoria of guides (I don't actually know what that means, but it sounds cool, doesn't it?).

Another great resource for New York City kids programs is the New York Family Classes and Activities Expo. New York Family Magazine is hosting three events where parents can learn about all the classes and enrichment programs New York City is overflowing with. In addition to this one-stop-shopping for programs you'll be able to meet and talk to top school consultants about private, public and nursery schools. And, make sure to bring the kids because there will be photographers on hand doing free family portraits plus, face painting (note to self: portrait first, face painting second), giveaways and goodie bags.

Sometimes you hear about the power of the internet; usually referring to how online mobs can pressure corporations into changing their policies. But here on Mommy Poppins we wielded the power of the internet in our own small way. Through the community of Mommy Poppins readers, friends of Mommy Poppins readers and Mommy Poppins' friends' readers, we were able to fulfill the Back to School dreams (and needs) of the dozens of homeless children temporarily housed at Seneca Houses in the Bronx.

It amazes me at what we were able to accomplish in a short period of time. From the moment I received the first email asking for help, to arriving at Seneca Houses with my car full of school supplies, was less than two weeks. That baffles my mind. Donations came not only from New York, but also from Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, and Massachusetts. In total we raised well over $1000 in pencils, pens, folders, crayons, markers, composition notebooks, back packs, school glue, construction paper, pencil cases, binders, pink erasers, rulers and flash cards.

This week's hot tips and important stories for parents, so you can be the most-in-the-knowiest.

The Mommy Wars staring Sarah Palin.  Having raised a bunch of debates with her scandal filled life, somehow this gun toting, moose eating, anti-choice woman is suddenly the poster child for working moms. I am all for her exercising her rights to make the choice to go back to work 3 days after having a kid even if I couldn't even get off the couch on day 3 but that don't make me like her. And anyway, in the end it's her politics that we need to watch out for not her mommy style. 

Blogger Susie Bright admits to feeling somewhat sorry for her, she's the latest "photogenic 'spokesmodel' that the GOP specializes in recruiting for jobs that they prefer to be handled by professionals behind the scenes". Vanity Fair reports on the reaction by Urban Baby mommies and it's not good. And for some reason her story inspires movie comparisons - Gawker does a Juno comparison and my favorite, Maureen Dowd's op-ed compares the whole saga to Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality.