Anna Fader

Founder & CEO of Mommy Poppins
Anna was born in Park Slope, spent her early years in the West Village. By the time she graduated high school, she had lived in 4 of the 5 boroughs. Growing up in NYC in the '70s meant the streets were her playgrounds. Museums and avant garde music venues were the kid-friendly activities. And living downtown taught her the importance of creating community for families in NYC.

Now, raising her own two children in the city, she tries to create the same sense of magic and community she felt growing up, despite today's more commercialized version of kid-friendly New York.

She started Mommy Poppins in 2007 to share a more artsy, educational, uncommercial, community-oriented vision of raising kids in New York City. Today Mommy Poppins is relied on by millions of families as the authority on the best things to do with kids beyond New York City: from Boston to Philly, Los Angeles, Houston and travel guides for dozens more cities and destinations.

Latest posts by Anna

Swine Flu in NYC, Stay at Home Dads, Baby Born on 5th Ave, Secrets of AMNH, Bronx Zoo lays off Bats, Lauds New Baby Lion

Submitted by Anna Fader on Mon, 04/27/2009 - 6:48am

Sweating like pigs: This weekend there were basically two topics of conversation in New York City, the heat and the swine flu. I can't help you much with the heat, but I do think it is important that people are well informed about the swine flu issue. Read more inside to find out the latest details, the most reliable source of information for swine flu news and what you can do to protect your family.

Oh and...more news about the new stay at home dads, a woman giving birth on fifth avenue, the secrets of the American Museum of Natural history, Lemonade Day, the new and old animals at the Bronx Zoo and more.

Check out the Beautiful First Entries from The Kids of Hanami Photo Contest

Submitted by Anna Fader on Sat, 04/25/2009 - 12:18am

The weather is going to be beautiful this weekend and what better reward than to spend a wonderful afternoon in the beautiful Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, especially now that the Cherry Blossoms are in their prime. Of course, visiting the Cherry Blossoms could lead to its own reward if you enter your photographs of your children and the cherry blossoms into our Kids of Hanami Photo Contest.

Let me spell it out for you; the reward would be a Brooklyn Botanic Garden Pass, Mother's Day Luncheon at the Gardens and a generous prize package of beautiful gifts from the BBG store.

Take a look at some of the beautiful entries we've received:

Geek Out this Weekend at Kids Comic Con and Big Lightsaber Fight

Submitted by Anna Fader on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 10:04pm

Being a Star Wars fanatic or a comic book geek is pretty cool in my book. And these cool kid-friendly events celebrate and bring out the geek in all of us. A giant black-lit lightsaber battle? What could be cooler than that? A comic book convention just for kids. Let's go!

There's nothing cooler than these geeky activities:

Will Nursery University Preschool Documentary Make "Park Bench Wisdom" Wiser?

Submitted by Anna Fader on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 6:55am

Getting into a preschool in NYC is harder than getting into Harvard. That's the premise of a new documentary about the preschool admissions process in NYC. Nursery University follows six families from different walks of life as they navigate, ruminate and, ultimately, dominate the preschool process.

Nursery University starts by drawing you in to the all too familiar drama of NYC preschool admissions, beautifully capturing every piece of "park bench wisdom" that's ever passed the lips of a distraught NYC parent. Beware: this part of the film made me so sick I almost stopped watching it, about to shrug Nursery University off as yet another piece of media hype feeding the fire of parent's anxiety rather than portraying a real and balanced picture of preschool admissions.

It turns out the directors had me just where they wanted me.

Take Your Kids to Tibet for the Afternoon

Submitted by Anna Fader on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 6:30am

I've decided to homeschool my kids by traveling around the world and letting them learn through exposure to different cultures and experiences. What could be a better education than that? Our first stop on this amazing voyage will be Tibet where we will explore the Himalayas, learn traditional art-forms, get to see first-hand the creation of a Tibetan mandala, learn TIbetan calligraphy, children's games and more. It will be a most enriching experience for my kids and for myself.

Of course, leaving New York is kind of a hassle, and the kids kind of like going to school, so we'll do this homeschooling in New york City and on the weekends. Thanks to The Rubin Museum of Art's Family Day this weekend, we can travel to Tibet to experience the art and culture without having to give up our takeout or DSL.

Rubin Museum of Art Family Day: Celebrate Tibet in New York

Free Ben & Jerry's, Kick Boxing for Kids, Why not to Hide Vegs in Food, Hope for Kai, Still Tasty, More

Submitted by Anna Fader on Tue, 04/21/2009 - 7:34am

Save some money, save the Earth, save a child, save the food in your fridge, and save some time for fun. Find out about free ice cream and 50 cent iced coffees, earth day fun for kids, a child who needs our help, Baby Loves Salse, a site that tells you when to toss it or not, an argument for NOT hiding veggies in your kids' food, and a totally new cool class for kids. Coming attcha:

How to get on TV in New York City

Submitted by Anna Fader on Mon, 04/20/2009 - 7:02am

To be on TV: for some people it’s a life long dream. For a kid in New York, it’s a few hours diversion. All you have to do to grab your fifteen seconds of fame in New York is be at the right place at the right time. Sitting in a studio audience might not be kid-friendly, but you can get your mug on the morning shows just by standing outside the studios while they are filming.

Here are some of the right places and right times:

Gardening with Kids: Classes, Events, and Volunteer Opportunities in New York City

Submitted by Anna Fader on Sat, 04/18/2009 - 1:03pm

In a recent post we asked readers to leave questions for us as their entry into our giveaway. You all left lots of great questions and, while some of the answers are inexplicable (like why they haven't built a walking bridge over the Hudson River to NJ), we are going to try to go through them an answer as many of them as we can. If you have a question you'd like us to try to answer, send it to us.

kmaloy asks: Are there any gardening classes for kids outside of the NY Botanical Garden?

Good question. We actually wrote about gardening classes almost exactly one year ago, so it's high time to update it. Of course, the New York Botanical Garden and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden both offer great gardening classes, but there are a couple of other places to learn garden with kids in NYC also. In addition to gardening classes, there are many community gardens, gardening events and volunteer opportunities where kids can dig in and get planting. Here's what we found: