Even though we're raising our families in the urban jungle, there are a multitude of ways to keep New York City kids connected to nature.

We've already written about many great outdoor activities you can do in the five boroughs, like bird-watching, hiking and gardening, and many items on our list of 100 Things to Do in NYC with Kids Before They Grow Up involve communing with Mother Nature.

Now we've rounded up our top 20 places in (or near) New York City where your family can marvel at, learn about and connect with nature. So before you plan your next trip to the country, check out our list. You may not need to rent a car after all.

[UPDATED: July 18, 2012]

Preparing your child for back to school should be simple.  Buy them some clothes, let them pick out a cool new backpack, and the best part of all – shop for new school supplies (I loved my Trapper Keeper back in the day). But as a parent of special needs children, feelings of joy and anticipation of successes in the new school year can sometimes be replaced with anxiety.  Have they regressed over the summer? How they will function socially with a new teacher and different classmates?

[UPDATED: August 1, 2012]


Cooling off in local sprinklers or pools is a rite of summer in the city. But nothing beats the fun of taking a day trip to a nearby water theme park, where families can spend the whole day getting wet and wild.

There are many water theme parks within driving distance of NYC. In fact, Splish Splash on Long Island—which is considered by many folks (including my son) to be one of the best water parks in the country—is just a 90-minute drive from midtown Manhattan. Bonus: You can see it from the the Long Island Expressway, so you can't get lost on the way there! 

The 96-acre park has two dozen rides, ranging from tame kiddie pools to dark tunnels of terror. Plus there are other attractions like two wave pools and a bird show.

In addition to being super-cool (in both senses of the word), Splish Splash is immaculately clean and comfortable. The water is pristine and there's a surprising amount of shade. My son and I recently went on our first trip there with a bunch of his friends, and to say we were impressed is an understatement. We closed the park, and my six-year-old and his pals have been begging to go back again before the season ends.

Last week my boys and I had the pleasure of attending our first tween concert at Stepping Stones Museum's Summer Jam Live.  Lil P-Nut is an 8 year old rapper who has been featured on the “The Ellen Degeneres Show” and currently has a deal with Cartoon Network. The boys and their friends were mesmerized as he rapped about elementary school and puppy love. When asked to have their photo taken in front of the sponsor wall the boys said they felt like they were "on the red carpet". The next day, when I saw the photo on Stepping Stone's Facebook page I couldn't help but giggle at the excitement and awkwardness in their smiles.

Last night I drove from the Litchfield Hills, leaving my view of (albeit small) mountains, to the quiet serene beaches of the Long Island Sound in little over an hour. It reminded me of the years I lived in Santa Monica, California where within one day, if you were crazy enough, you could surf in the morning and then ski in the afternoon. We don't have the California weather but we certainly have a diverse state full of fun things to do!

This week on Mommy Poppins Connecticut we began a weekly day trip series and the first two reviews were for Stamford Museum and Nature Center and the Essex Steam Train and Riverboat Ride. For the history buffs, we also reviewed the Keeler Tavern Museum in Ridgefield.



Before summer is over I've got to take the kids out to one or two more water parks. Lucky for me, we wrote about 5 Water Theme Parks in and around CT and gave some great insider tips on what to expect.



It's World Breast Feeding Week and The Big Latch On world record attempt is happening this Saturday at various locations in CT.

This weekend we plan to relax at the Litchfield Jazz Festival and spend time with visiting friends. Maybe get some blueberry picking in too. You can't beat fresh picked-berries. Here's our list of picking farms near you.



This week really flew by—more so than usual. Maybe because it was cool enough for us to actually get outside and run around (unlike the week before).

Playing was our theme. We profiled a new Destination Playground in Elmhurst, Queens, wrote about nonprofit organization KaBOOM!, which is building play spots all over the country, and we stumbled across a blog by an energetic nanny who's attempting to visit every single playground in Manhattan. Just thinking about that tires us out!

We're also busy gearing up to launch our sister sites in Boston, Los Angeles and Orlando later this month. To make sure you're notified when they go up, sign up for the newsletters now.

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.