Jody Mercier

When asked to illustrate her dream job as a first grader, Jody drew a picture of a mom with one kid on each hip and another clinging to her leg. All these years later, that is her reality, raising three kids in New York City. Since that gig only pays in hugs and kisses, she has spent her professional career as a journalist covering health, fitness, sports, and parenting topics. She's currently the regional editor overseeing the Mommy Poppins NYC, New Jersey, Long Island, and Westchester sites and can be reached at jody@mommypoppins.com.

Latest posts by Jody Mercier

Reopening NY State: What the Four-Phase NY Forward Plan Means for Families

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Fri, 05/22/2020 - 2:44pm

New York Forward reopens the state on a regional basis as each area meets the criteria necessary to protect public health.

If coronavirus quarantine has got you down, help is on the way. New York on PAUSE is out; New York Forward is in. Governor Andrew Cuomo let the state-wide stay-at-home order expire last week, but what does that mean, particularly for downstate families who have been living at the center of the nation's coronavirus outbreak, enduring 2+ months of lockdown, only seeing each other in car parades and 8pm howls, giving our kids quarantine haircuts, and trying to find something to celebrate every day? Well, right now, it's more of the status quo, but the end is in sight, and once a region has met seven data-driven metrics, New Yorkers ranging from Manhattan to the Hamptons and Staten Island to Westchester can enter Phase 1 of the four-phase reopening plan.

Read on to find out what that means for families and when your favorite local businesses might fully reopen, plus info on outdoor fun at beaches, parks, and more.

NYC Beaches Are Closed; These Beaches are Open in NY, NJ, and CT

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Wed, 05/20/2020 - 12:00pm

NYC begins to prepare for a hot summer with closed beaches. Photo courtesy of NYC Parks

Like summers past, Memorial Day weekend brings with it the opening of beaches across much of the tri-state area. Though NYC beaches remain shuttered for the foreseeable future, city-dwellers won't be left to sweat it out, because, from the Jersey Shore to Long Island beaches, and the sands of Connecticut, there are plenty of family-friendly beaches nearby where the sun and the surf await.

While many local shorelines are reopening, beachgoers can expect the summer beach season of 2020 to look a little different than years past, with limits to crowd size and fewer amenities, but we're doing our best to break it all down for area families, so you can enjoy some traditional summer fun. At popular state-run beaches like Jones Beach and Robert Moses State Park, capacity will be limited by putting caps on available parking spots. Elsewhere, at local Long Island, Connecticut, and Jersey Shore beaches, the sale of beach tags will be restricted and be forewarned: Some spots will be limited to residents only.

This means families must plan beach outings days in advance, and arrive early to beat the crowds and heed closures. Rules and regulations are likely to change throughout the season, so be sure to click through to your favorite shoreline's local home page for details on its current status before you head out.

Find Free and Affordable Online Classes, Parties, and Camps on Poppins@Home

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Sat, 05/16/2020 - 4:19pm

Fight the restlessness of quarantine, join in for LIVE ONLINE YogiKids classes held every day, twice a day!!! Photo courtesy of Yogi Nation

Small businesses have been particularly hard hit by stay-at-home orders across the country, including Mommy Poppins and the many local businesses we’ve introduced you to over the years. In response, a new normal has been created as children's birthday party providers, class programs, and now camps are adjusting by going virtual. To help support these local businesses and provide a place for families to find these top programs, we created Poppins@Home, a micro-site offering free and affordable, parties, classes, and other enrichment activities for children and families. Find it at learn.mommypoppins.com.

The website already has dozens of free programs and more are being added daily. Programs include free dance activities from Dance Theatre of Harlem, Mandarin classes, cooking classes, and preschool STEM classes, among many others. Virtual birthday parties have also been increasingly popular, and we have a variety of affordable options to choose from. We hope you’ll consider trying a few of these fun, affordable, and creative classes—and spreading the word among your friends—as yet another way to support, uplift, and get through these challenging times together!

Mother's Day Brunch Recipes Kids Can Make to Spoil Mom

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Sun, 05/03/2020 - 12:05pm

No matter how much I like to cook, it's exhausting putting meals on the table morning, noon, and night for weeks on end. Judging by my social media feeds, I'm not the only mom who needs a break from the kitchen. So, for Mother's Day, I decided to set my daughters (ages 6 and 10) free in the kitchen, and challenged them to make Mother's Day brunch recipes all on their own.

The results were impressively tasty, as was the stack of dirty dishes. Luckily, clean up is one age-appropriate chore I leave to my teenage son. Read on for four Mother's Day recipes kids can make for you, plus our picks for kid-friendly kitchen tools that make the job a little easier.

While Mother's Day brunch is sure to make any mom's day, kids can earn extra brownie points with a homemade Mother's Day card to serve as the centerpiece to the table. No matter how you celebrate, we wish all moms a very happy Mother's Day.

Broadway Shows and Other Top Entertainment Streaming Online for Free

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Sat, 05/02/2020 - 12:11pm

Disney On Broadway has released a new instructional video teaching fans how to dance the opening number “Arabian Nights” (above) from Aladdin. Photo by Deen Van Meer

Any theater lover knows the show must go on, and a global pandemic certainly hasn't slowed our entertainment options, it's just repackaged them for online, at-home consumption. One glimpse at our weekly events roundup proves just how many virtual entertainment options are available. From the bright lights of Broadway's Great White Way to London's National Theater, the Sydney Opera House, and world-famous orchestras and dance troupes, now's the time to nab some VIP seating and catch a front-row view of all the top entertainment streaming online for FREE right now.

Whether you want to introduce your kids to iambic pentameter, they've memorized the Hamilton cast recording, or need a new piece of choreography to master or concertos to memorize, we've found 25 picks for spectacular streaming entertainment. Our picks range from some of our favorite family-friendly Broadway shows to spectacular streaming concerts and dance performances at world-famous performance venues.

Now, don your fanciest yoga pants, prop your feet up, and enjoy a night out ... in.

NYC Coronavirus Updates: New Grading Policy, Overnight Subway Shutdown, More

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Thu, 04/30/2020 - 5:56pm

The coronavirus means the MTA must sanitize each train car daily. One problem: It means an end to 24-hour service. Photo by Marc A. Hermann for the MTA New York City Transit

Just more than a month into its coronavirus-induced remote learning program, the New York City Department of Education announced a new grading policy for the school year. That's far from the only news story to come out of City Hall this week. Read on for the latest pertinent coronavirus updates spanning from Lower Manhattan to Albany.

As you're hunkered down with kids, be sure to visit our post on FREE coronavirus resources for NYC families and our Stay-at-Home Guide, which is chock full of boredom busters to keep kids entertained.

NYC Coronavirus Updates: Outdoor Pools Won't Open, City Summer Camp Cuts, and More

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Thu, 04/16/2020 - 5:30pm

New Yorkers will be on the outside looking in this summer: There will be no city pools. Keeping them shuttered saves the city $12 million.

It's hard to believe it's been just one month since the coronavirus shut down schools and most non-essential businesses in NYC, but here we are, and the news, if anything, keeps getting worse for city families. Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled his executive budget Thursday morning, bringing with it severe cuts to city mainstays, including the closure of city pools for the summer and the elimination of the Parks Department's affordable summer camp. Beaches are also unlikely to open. The City Council must approve the budget before it takes effect.

Read on for more details on these coronavirus cuts, the new mask mandate, and an extension of NY on PAUSE.

NYC Coronavirus Updates: NYC Schools Will Remain Closed, Regents Canceled, Dog Runs Shutter, More

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Thu, 04/09/2020 - 6:10pm

All New Yorkers are eligible for FREE meals at 400 DOE meal hubs. Photo courtesy of NYC

In the past month, the one thing that's been constant in NYC is change: Changing schedules, changing conditions, changing rules, and regulations. It's hard to keep up with all the change, while also being quarantined in a tiny apartment and homeschooling little New Yorkers. With that in mind, we're rounding up a handful of NYC coronavirus updates particularly useful to our readers. Read on for the stories you might have missed this week.

For a helping hand, see our roundup of coronavirus resources for NYC families and our Stuck at Home Guide, which is chock full of boredom busters, activities, homeschooling help, and more.