Submitted by Mary Beth Lawlor on
By Julie Revelant
Summertime doesn’t mean your special kid should fall back on the progress he’s made throughout the year or miss out on all the fun the other kids are having. There are a host of camps in the area who have programs and facilities specially tailored to the special needs kid. Here are a few:
Submitted by heather on
It’s summertime, people, and we don't need to tell you that it's hot outside. Really hot. So we've been spending way too much time indoors glued to our computer screens, surfing, reading and gathering.
And that's great news for you, because we're passing along all of the cool info we acquired (and none of the extraneous junk) to you. Everything that made the moms at Mommy Poppins go "hmmmm" or “cool!” or “wow!"
From a Department of Education feedback form to mommy bloggers in Kenya to Harry hysteria, here's what we rounded up.
Submitted by Stephanie Ogozalek on
Unfortunately, the circle of sprinklers is not currently operational due to a faulty part. We will update this post once it's up and running again. Calling the water play area at Pier 84 a playground is a bit of a misnomer; it's more like a play space or even a play-scape. Regardless of how you label it, Hudson River Park's 44th Street pier is a cool summer destination, both literally and figuratively.
Nestled between the Circle Line and the hulking Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, the water area is one of many attractions at the pier, which also boasts amenities like bathrooms, a restaurant and shady picnic tables.
Here's how my son and I spent our day on Pier 84.
Submitted by Allison Tibaldi on
The Staten Island Ferry isn't the only free boat ride in town. The Ikea ferry also offers a (usually) no-cost tour of New York City's magnificent waterfront.
The Ikea Water Taxi departs from Slip A at Pier 11, right near South Street Seaport, and sails you to Red Hook, Brooklyn, land of funky post-industrial architecture, and trendy restaurants and shops. In addition to shuttling you right to the Swedish megastore, it's a great way to visit this cool neighborhood, which is quite a long walk from the subway.
My family and I had never taken this trip before, so this summer we decided to cross it off our bucket list. Here's how we fared during our maiden voyage.
Submitted by Stephanie Ogozalek on
My six-year-old son's been big on animals practically since birth, so I've been meaning to take him to Six Flags Wild Safari in New Jersey for a while now. The only reason I hesitated was because he can't stand amusement parks, so combining it with a trip to Great Adventure or Hurricane Harbor was out of the question. (He claims the rides at Victorian Gardens are too intense!)
Was Wild Safari worth the 90-minute drive and $22 admission price on its own? Short answer: Absolutely. I took my son and his equally animal-obsessed classmate on the drive-through adventure to celebrate the end of the school year, and it really kicked off their summer with a mighty roar. Here's why Wild Safari is the King of the Jungle.
Submitted by Jeff on
There are lots of free outdoor summer concerts for kids where you can check out all kinds of big (and lesser known) bands on the children's music scene.
Although I enjoy seeing established stars like Dan Zanes, I love being totally blown away by a new group. And that's exactly how I felt when I caught Shine & the Moonbeams at the Kindiefest music conference this past spring.
The NYC-based quartet is playing three free concerts this month as part of SummerStage Kids. Read on for details about the gigs, and why this soulful band should be on your radar—and once the CD comes out, on your iPod!
Submitted by Raven Snook on
It's hot in the city, hot in the city tonight! And we're not even talking about the weather. There's a ton of amazing things happening in NYC, and we've been running around like madwomen (more than usual) trying to cover everything.
This week we went to the Bronx to see what was growing on at the New York Botanical Garden, hit Queens for a preview of the Museum of the Moving Image's new exhibit Jim Henson's Fantastic World, caught a performance of the Berenstain Bears musical on the Upper West Side, and even chatted with Grammy winning children's music god Dan Zanes, who's playing a free concert this Saturday in Brooklyn.
Plus, we launched our amazing Hot List deal. For $4.95, you can download our ebook which features more than $1,000 in savings on the best things to do in NYC this summer.
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.
Submitted by Anna Fader on
Exactly a decade ago this month, a friend told my family about a new band for kids that was playing at Chelsea restaurant The Park on Sundays. We went the following weekend with our then two-year-old Emma, and instantly became fans of Dan Zanes & Friends, which soon became a children’s music juggernaut.
The Grammy winning group plays many different genres of music (rock, folk, world, blues, even show tunes) and the songs espouse positive values like having fun, making music and caring about others. The fact that Zanes—who played in the adult rock outfit The Del Fuegos in the '80s—and his collaborators are as popular as ever after releasing 10 albums over the past 10 years speaks (sings?) volumes about their talent, tenacity and creativity.
Emma was too young to remember those early concerts (that's a photo of her at age two with Zanes!), but she grew up listening to all of the band's CDs. So she was thrilled to get the opportunity to chat with him about his career, his favorite things to do in NYC with kids and how he plans to get ready for his big free Celebrate Brooklyn concert this Saturday, July 16 in Prospect Park, where he'll play tunes from his upcoming album Little Nut Tree.
What does a 12-year-old want to know from her first musical favorite? Read on to find out.—Sara, mom to Emma the interviewer.
