If you were following our Facebook page last weekend, then you know the Mommy Poppins gang had a pretty jam-packed schedule. We posted pictures from our adventures at the Dumbo Arts Festival, Maker Faire and the Morningside Lights illuminated cityscape parade (see the attached photo). And we're not slowing down this Columbus Day weekend: OpenHouseNewYork, the Historic House Festival and the Blessing of the Animals are all on our must-do list.

Halloween festivities are picking up, too. The New York Botanical Garden opens its annual Haunted Pumpkin Garden this weekend—we're giving away tickets to the jack-o'-lantern display in our newsletter this week so make sure you're subscribed. And of course pumpkin picking is in full swing at pumpkin patches near NYC and even a few right here in the city.

The three-day weekend is the perfect time to take a day trip and our Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut sites all highlight the best things going on in their respective regions. Columbus Day weekend is also a great time to plan your next big out-of-town vacation (or just fantasize about one). Over on our Travel site we just finished a series of posts about Clearwater Beach, Florida, including our visits to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and the nearby Dali Museum, a review of the Hilton Clearwater Beach and our list of the best things to do with kids in the resort town .

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

With so much emphasis on reading, writing and arithmetic in elementary school, it's easy to gloss over other academic subjects. Science especially seems to get short shrift these days, a shame since children are naturally inquisitive about things like nature, space technology.

Luckily all that focus on reading comes in handy here. since there's a slew of wonderful science books aimed at school-age kids. For this month's Little Lions post, Deborah D. Allman, Head of Children’s Services at the Bronx Library Center, picked out eight of her favorites, and they're all way more engaging than your average text book.

Photo: Rise of the Jack O' Lantern

Ready? There is so much going on on Long Island this weekend, there's no time to be bored. In addition to pumpkin and apple picking and all kinds of farm fun, Rise of the Jack O' Lantern—a cool not-so-spooky walk at Old Westbury Gardens—starts this weekend, and there are so many fairs and festivals going on, no matter where you live, you're certain to find one right near you. Have a great weekend!

Okay, gods of Carma: we get it. We Angelenos are at your mercy. At your word the roads close and we’re glued where we stand. Now in your benevolence you have released us, and allowed us to pursue the infinite sources of entertainment within our reach. And there is a lot going on this weekend.  A lot. (You would think it’s a holiday weekend or something, but it’s not. Maybe in other places it is, but here it’s a run-of-the-mill, random, not-a-holiday weekend. With so much to do).

But I think you’ve taken it a little too far, my friends. Now, instead of being stuck at home, you want us to be in half a dozen different places at the same time. We’ve got the folksy fun of  Folk Festival Weekend at Underwood Farms in Moorpark, the playfully spooky Pumpkinliner in Fillmore, the Aquarium Kids Fun Run and Southeast Asia Day at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, the Angel Festival  in Sierra Madre, the Los Angeles International Children's Film Festival at LACMA, and Abbot Kinney Festival and Discover Marina del Rey Day on the West side. (Seriously, festivals in the Marina and Venice on the same day, who thought of that? Oh, that’s right, you did, {cough} Carmaggedon {cough}. Thanks for that).

And CicLAvia?  The event that winds its way through the city, a giant street party incorporating landmarks such as Exposition Park, Little Tokyo, MacArthur Park, Chinatown and the grand opening of downtown’s Grand Park… and all of it done without automotive interference? Oh Carma gods, now you’re just toying with us.  What are you trying to tell us? Do we need our cars?  Are we better off without them..?

To be continued next weekend, as the Space Shuttle Endeavour winds its way through surface streets en route to its new home at the California Science Center. Is it a plane? A car? Or something else entirely… stay tuned!

Keep reading for our favorite picks for this weekend!

Welcome to October, month of harvest festivals! You could just pack up the kids and go town to town "festing" this weekend. There are also other fun events such as the Family Harvest Weekend at Four Sisters Winery, WBGO Kids Jazz Concert in Maplewood, International Steampunk City in Morristown, Italian Festival in Seaside Heights, or the Star Wars Reads day across the state.  Read on for our top picks and remember, you can find a listing of all NJ activities for kids in our Event Calendar.

We love it when we have nothing but good news to share. And that's totally the case for this edition of our biweekly news post. We've got details about auditions for our favorite NYC children's theater troupe, the grand reopening of an American Natural History Museum classic, new play spaces in Brooklyn and beyond, and Staten Island's bid to get on the (tourist) map with a massive Ferris wheel.

Good ol' Linus from Peanuts cartoons said it best: "Happiness is a warm puppy." That is, of course, when he wasn't talking about his beloved blanket! There's just something about a baby blanket that makes moms and babies alike want to curl up, relax, and feel secure. I'll never forget my own blankie, which I affectionately named "Baby cover." A tattered yellow blanket adorned with a blue smiley-face patch, “Baby cover” was my best friend, my comfort, and really hard for me to part with until I was in second grade! Below, you'll meet some New Jersey-based moms and professional quilters who just love creating, and giving, personalized blankets.