| Page 1443 | Mommy Poppins - Things to Do with Kids

Spring Cleaning at Mommy Poppins Boston: Reader Survey

We want to know what you think! We're doing some spring cleaning on our website, and we need your help to make sure we're delivering content to your family that's relevant, interesting and informative. Please take a moment to complete this very short 5 question survey, telling us what you'd like to see on Mommy Poppins Boston.

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Thank you! We appreciate your feedback. Stay tuned for new stuff, and in the meantime, please feel free to explore our Events Calendar or check in with what we're talking about this week.

This Week: Easter Weekend, NYC Spring Break Fun, High-Tech Makerspaces

Submitted by Raven Snook on Thu, 03/28/2013 - 1:00pm

Mommy Poppins NYC may have been quieter than usual this week due to school recess and a pesky server outage, but our lives have been busier than ever. Our bloggers have been running all over our awesome city, enjoying all kinds of spring break fun. My daughter and I laughed our heads off at Bello Mania at the New Victory Theater (we even got the famed clown's autograph!), saw Rodgers and Hammerstein's reimagined Cinderella on Broadway and stopped to smell the blooms at Macy's India-themed Flower Show. (We posted a gallery of Flower Show pics on our Facebook page.) Meanwhile Anna and her family explored the Guggenheim's Gutai: Splendid Playground exhibit and enjoyed the first great playground day of spring. We hope you and your kids have been enjoying spring break as much as we have.

Of course we still have many days of fun ahead of us. Sunday is Easter and there are lots of egg hunts throughout NYC as well as Fifth Avenue's fabulous Easter Parade. And then Monday is April Fool's Day and our Boston site came up with 10 hilarious pranks to play on kids. And don't forget to check out our roundup of special spring break activities. There are so many great things going on in NYC right now, you'd need an entire season to try them all.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

Free and Fun Things for Kids and Families to Do in Boston Easter Weekend 2013

Submitted by Audrey Trieschman on Thu, 03/28/2013 - 7:00am

With two big holidays happening this weekend, Boston is buzzing with bunnies, Easter egg hunts, and Passover preparations. There is still time for kids to see the Easter Bunny around town and take part in some really big Easter Egg hunts. Plus, we have some great ways to fill your Easter baskets and Easter eggs if you’re celebrating at home. And signs of spring are finally cropping up all around us - including sheep shearing festivals! Plus, we’ve posted our April Go List - 5 special events happening in and around Boston this month.

Also on Mommy Poppins Boston this week, we share insights into two museums. Kristin and her toddler made some exciting discoveries when they decided to explore new territory at the Boston Children’s Museum, and Tara found a Providence museum that is well worth the trip: the Culinary Arts Museum. A reminder: it’s the final weekend of the Cre8tivity Challenge. We need some inspiration for our Pinterest board, A Month of Creativity. Send photos of your family's creative moments, and we'll post them.

Finally, are you prepared to have a good laugh with your kids on April Fool's Day? Check out some fun pranks you can play on your kids!

Here’s wishing everyone a great weekend. Read on for some of our suggestions of things to do. Enjoy!

12 Parks for Bounce House Birthday Parties in LA

Submitted by Roberta B on Tue, 03/26/2013 - 2:52pm

Sometimes we want our kids to have birthday parties teeming with enriching activities and professional party entertainment from start to finish. Other times, we just want them to go outside and jump somewhere far away from the sofa. Families with sprawling back yards might be fortunate enough not to need the information below, but for the many, many LA families raising kids in smaller homes than they ever imagined they would, our wonderful city parks are our life support system; the parks that allow bounce houses can be even more so. Check out 12 great parks we love that let kids enjoy bouncers at their birthday parties.

Out of the Box Birthday Parties

Submitted by Gretchen Allison on Tue, 03/26/2013 - 1:01pm

Can't bear the thought of another laser-tag or spa-day birthday party? No problem! We've rounded up plenty of options for you to choose from and some you might even enjoy doing right along with them. Here are a few fresh ideas for you that are sure to make this year's party a big success!

And take a look at our Long Island Party Guide for all things birthday-related.

Fairy Tales are Flipped, Twisted and Blown Up in The Stinky Cheese Man

Submitted by Raven Snook on Tue, 03/26/2013 - 12:00pm

Does anyone do fairy tales straight anymore? I don't think so—and that's a good thing. Even Disney threw out the old helpless princess saved by the handsome price routine over a decade ago. Still, no one has quite the same twisted take on childhood classics as author Jon Scieszka. He doesn't just reinvent fairy tales, he blows them to bits. In his world, the Ugly Duckling really is an ugly duckling, and she's totally okay with that, thank you very much.

Now Atlantic for Kids—the family wing of the decidedly grown-up Atlantic Theater Company—is bringing the ridiculous stories in Scieszka's 1992 book The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales to life and they are, as advertised, gleefully stupid. But they're also funny, silly, kooky and surprising and, best of all, the moral of the story is that there doesn't need to be one.

Best Baby Shower Advice from NJ-Based Planners

Submitted by Rachel Sokol on Tue, 03/26/2013 - 7:01am

Spring is finally here! A time for sunshine, flowers, and, of course, baby showers! The planning and design of baby showers have grown leaps and bounds in today's baby-happy world, and they've definitely have become more personal and creative. We spoke with four Jersey-based event planners about new trends in baby showers... plan a memorable one for a pregnant friend, or throw a fabulous one for yourself!

Makerspaces for NYC Kids: 3D Printing, Arduino and Other Hot Technology Workshops

Submitted by Anna Fader on Mon, 03/25/2013 - 10:00am

Recently, all the news about high-stakes testing and changes to the Common Core Standards has made me feel like NYC public schools are moving even further away from arts and creative learning and turning into what my father called "conformity factories." Luckily in New York City, innovative, cutting-edge learning is just a subway ride away.

Right now, one of the coolest things to do with NYC kids is to visit a makerspace where they can get hands-on experience with 3D printing, video game design, animation, Arduino electronics, digital music and more. Makerspaces are popping up all over NYC. Some allow you to drop in and try out avant-garde technology, others offer workshops, classes or summer camp programs designed specifically for kids.

Our kids are living in an age when they have the tools to bring their ideas to life like never before. My daughter created the necklace shown in our gallery at a local makerspace in under an hour, no major investment or factory needed. She has since started a blog for her jewelry designs and even has her own Etsy store.

Who knows what kinds of creativity and innovation this new technology will lead to? Today's young inventors will certainly lead the way. In the meantime, 3D printing is like having a factory at your fingertips, conformity be gone.

I'm sure this list will change as the makerspace movement continues to grow, but here are some of the coolest maker programs for kids in NYC right now.