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

Visiting the 9/11 Memorial with Kids: Should You Do It and What You Need to Know

Submitted by Anna Fader on Sat, 05/10/2014 - 12:00pm

Whether you believe it's important to discuss the events of September 11, 2001 with your children or wish you could shield them all together, kids learn about 9/11 at school, from the media and their peers. So the question is, what can we as parents do to help our children process and learn from the events of 9/11?

For children born around or after 2001, 9/11 probably seems like something abstract—a tragedy that happened in history. Visiting the 9/11 Memorial can, perhaps, help make it feel more real. So, what's it like to visit the 9/11 Memorial with children? What's the security like, and how do you get tickets? I took my nine-year-old this weekend and I'll share our experiences.

I'm Sharing My Secret Formula for Perfect Family Travel Planning at NY TravFest

Submitted by Anna Fader on Fri, 04/25/2014 - 1:44am

This weekend I'll be speaking at NY TravFest. On Saturday I'm sharing my secret formula for planning the perfect family vacation and on Sunday I'll be part of a panel discussing how to balance travel with kids, careers and stability. There are tons of amazing speakers at this event and opportunities. Check it out. I'd love to see you there.

As part of the festival I've created a Travel Babel video sharing some of my personal travel inspiration and some of my own childhood travel experiences that changed my life. I think traveling with kids is so important and taking longer vacations where you can really become immersed in local culture is a gift that never gets old. Take a look:

No-Mess Easter Egg Decorating: Sharpie Easter Egg Designs

Submitted by Anna Fader on Mon, 04/07/2014 - 6:57am

Yes, I love decorating Easter eggs and some of my favorite memories are of decorating eggs with my kids, but there have definitely been some years when I hedged a bit wondering if I really had to do the whole dying thing and deal with stained hands and whatever else the dye got onto. Then there were my son's sensory issues which meant he didn't like getting his fingers wet. Some years I tried to short-cut by having them draw with crayons on the eggs, but the crayon colors don't take well to the egg, so they just looked a mess. I wish I'd thought of this method. No mess, no wet, stained fingers...and a teenager will enjoy making these eggs as much as a toddler.

Our New Camp Guide & Business Listings with Improved Search & Features

Submitted by Anna Fader on Tue, 03/04/2014 - 4:00pm

Last fall, we asked our readers to take a short survey and share their thoughts about how to improve our Summer Camp Guide. Overwhelmingly, we heard that you wanted a combination of our editorial recommendations, plus the ability to search listings and find recommendations from other parents.

So we're happy to debut our newly updated Camp Guide and our Camp Directory, now featuring an improved search, parent reviews and star ratings, and other enhancements. Even better: Our overhauled Directory isn't just for camps. We have listings for party places and services, enriching classes, indoor play spaces and special needs services, too.

Read on to find out more or head straight to our Day Camp Guide, Sleepaway Camp Guide and Directory to browse the listings and leave reviews for your favorite programs.

DIY Mini-Fig Winter Olympics Activity

Submitted by Anna Fader on Tue, 02/11/2014 - 6:14am

Last week we posted ideas for hosting a kids' Winter Olympics party at home that showed how to use plastic toy figurines to play your own Olympic Games. The post inspired me to think of some more ways to create Olympic play, especially using Lego mini-figs to actually recreate the Olympic sports competitions. We had so much fun with this: first building our Olympic arenas and athletes out of Lego, then competing in our own Olympic games. If you don't have Legos you can do this with other types of toys. Read on to find out how we did it and then add your own ideas.

BASIS Independent Brooklyn: Redefining Education at a New K-12 in Red Hook

Submitted by Anna Fader on Mon, 02/10/2014 - 10:00am

If there is one thing that is universally true about NYC parents, it’s that we care about our children’s education. A lot. Meanwhile, the world is changing fast. Technology and a more global outlook means rethinking the very core of our educational systems. One of the upshots of these changes is a multitude of new learning options. One of the schools that is rocking the educational boat is our sponsor, BASIS Independent School, opening in Red Hook this coming fall.

BASIS was founded by a mother (and educator) and her economist husband in Arizona with the goal of creating U.S. schools that are more on par with the high expectations and substance of the best educational institutions in the world. BASIS.ed now manages 12 schools in Arizona, Texas and Washington D.C., which consistently rank among the best not just in the country, but world over.

BASIS Independent Brooklyn will be a unique offering on the NYC education scene with a STEM-focused curriculum and a model that is somewhere between a charter school and a private school. We interviewed Jill McConnell, the founding Head of School, to find out more about BASIS and STEM education.

Foundation for Jewish Camp's BunkConnect Helps Families Experience the Magic of Summer Camp

Submitted by Anna Fader on Sat, 01/04/2014 - 10:00am

Every child should experience the magic of summer camp. After all, summer at overnight camp is the adventure of a lifetime. It’s where kids discover who they really are, build connections and create memories they’ll hold onto for their entire lives. And, it also happens be a whole lot of fun.

For years the Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) has worked to help children experience the immersive atmosphere of Jewish camp where Jewish values, connection to Israel, and the culture of Judaism are entwined with sports, arts and crafts, and friends. With BunkConnect—along with a Find-A-Camp tool and the One Happy Camper grant program—Jewish camp should be accessible for every family.

Free Sledding and Hot Chocolate in NYC Parks Saturday, January 4, 2014

Submitted by Anna Fader on Fri, 01/03/2014 - 3:00pm

It's official... an official snow day that is. On Saturday, January 4, the Parks Department is inviting New Yorkers to come out to a neighborhood park for some winter fun. White-capped hills around the city are open for sledding, snowman-making and more. And at five designated locations, the Parks Department will be handing out sleds and free hot chocolate while supplies last from 11am to 3pm.