Every Saturday from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m., Bargemusic presents "Music in Motion," a free admission family concert followed by a Q&A session with the musicians. With the backdrop of the East River and lower Manhattan skyline, it is a beautiful place to spend a late-July afternoon.

Bargemusic quotes Ms. Bloom: “Today our cargo is beautiful music. Our audience and supporters are the good, brave, strong towboats pulling us along in our destiny—as are the fine artists from all over the world who perform here, and the good, brave, strong captain Mark Peskanov who programs our mystical endeavor."

We're not sure that the winning Bunny Bisque looks like this, but we're inspired.

If you are what you eat, we’d love to meet the kids whose Kickin’ Chicken Salad and Bunny Bisque with Secret Service Super Salad won them a seat at the White House “State Dinner” taking place on August 20.

Trey Sims and Michael Lakind, Kickin’ Chickin and Bunny Bisque masterminds respectively, are among the 54 kids ages 8-12 chosen from the 1,200 who applied to the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge launched by First Lady Michelle Obama in conjunction the Let’s Move! Initiative to help solve the problem of childhood obesity. Epicurious editor-in-chief Tanya Steel, Assistant White House Chef and Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives Sam Kass, celebrity chef Jose Andres and representatives from the USDA and Department of Education helped to choose the winners, who represent all 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia.

Applicants were allowed to enlist the help of a parent and required to represent each of the food groups while adhering to USDA nutritional guidelines. Banana boats may not have floated the judges’ boats, but Haley Matthews’ Stuffed Zucchini Boat certainly did.

The August lunch will feature a selection of the winning recipes followed by a grand tour of the White House kitchen garden. The full list of winners and recipes has been made available online, and a printable e-cookbook will be out in late August. Not only will the book be a big step for a healthier lunchtime, but this may be the first time that the names “Power Pesto Pasta” and “Tuna Schooners” have graced a recipe book. We're excited!

An appropriate weekend activity for a museum whose slogan is "where learning begins with play." We're on the same page with Steve Klusmeyer in that there is much to be learned from LEGOs. In an article titled “Lego Lessons for Life,” he noted: “All LEGO men are created equal (1.5625 inches tall). What they become is limited only by imagination.”

Long live LEGOs indeed. We quote Albert Einstein: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

Alternatively, if you’re looking to clear out a few legos from the attic, CMEE also accepts donations.

As CEO and co-founder of Everloop, Hilary won the prestigious 2010 DEMOgod emerging technology award. (We worshipped her demigod-ability to appear radiantly cheerful fresh off the plane from Cali.) She has also won a Parent’s Choice Award and Edison Invention award and was listed as one of AlwaysOn’s Top 25 Women to Watch in Tech.

With issues of internet safety rising alongside increases in technology, Hilary and fellow mothers were concerned that kids be able to publish selectively – to share information with just soccer friends or gymnastics friends or friends on the football team, for instance.

As a mother of two with cousins on the opposite coast, she wanted to give her children a means to share photos, without having to share them across "everything." She and co-f0unders Kim Bruce and Paige McCullough came up with the pre-Google circle concept of "loops" that did exactly that. By placing kids in different loops according to age and interest, Everloop allows a large range of users to safely populate and maximize the site, while also creating a space for parents.

We spoke with Hilary about trends in online social networking and parents’ role in helping their children navigate the online world:

Eight is the minimum age for Everloop?

It’s not—it’s interesting. It’s 15 and under. We initially thought to say eight because eight seems to be the year that, in school, kids start to formally express themselves with sentences. But what’s happening is that technology is scaling down so much—parents are giving their 2-year-olds iPads and saying, "Just play with this right now." So these kids are so much more advanced.

We have a massive amount of kids now on it that are 11, 12, 13. I would have [thought that] those thirteen-year-olds are still on Facebook—what’s happening is that they’re doing both. Because of loops, you can have young kids and old kids. There’s a writing loop, right, for kids who love to write – well what happens is we populate different loops: you’re a girl and you’re 12; you’re a girl and you’re seven; you’re a boy and you’re 13.

We have dating loops now. The dating world has changed. Communication in kids is no longer what we’ve seen. We’re trying to keep kind of the youthfulness of it within the loops. [Kids] can give [each other] little gifts – we call them “goobs.” There’s this one that’s the kissy goob – that’s what girls now are sending boys. It’s innocent play. We’re bringing back the ability, again, to keep kids kids longer.

What are the staple features of the website?

Where we started as the social platform for tweens, we now are really the safe communication platform across all devices. It’s interesting because parents want—when their kids are on their cellphones, when their kids are using a tablet, when their kids are on other sites—to make sure that their kids are behaving in the way that they would be proud of them right because it’s a direct reflection of a parent and how you’ve raised your child if your child is swearing, text-talking negatively, cyberbullying…

Parents now are looking at us. [They] use Everloop because [they say] “Everloop is going to help me manage my children in the digital world so that I can be proud of them.”

[It’s] still the underlying social platform, but it’s taken on new meaning.

Parents can approve friend requests, yes? How do you navigate having parents “intrude” on this space?

It would be a horrible environment if you had your parents right there with you. We really think that there has to be a separation, and we want it to be a homebase for kids, but we also want it to be homebase for parents.

[My son] knows that online I have a presence, but he can still go do something—he knows that I’m at least aware. I’m not this blinders-on type of parent—you can’t be today. Kids are getting themselves into trouble and we’re seeing it on Everloop, kids are posting things they shouldn’t, but we block it. We block it before it can embarrass them on Facebook or get them in trouble.

What is it that parents should be aware of?

I think that the hard thing is that parents don’t really understand what cyberbullying really is. In some states you can be suspended, expelled—and they don’t know the rules behind it.

Other companies can customize their own social networks through Everloop?

Yes, they can have their own loop. This is really important because, with kids, to have kids come to your site – if you haven’t updated it, changed it, made it cool for them, it takes a great deal to get them back again, so what we allow for – Metel for instance, has a fantastic show; it’s a webisode called Monster High. Monster High and Metel thought Everloop was so great because when one of their webisodes comes out, they can actually post to the kids that are in their group, their loop, and say “Come watch the new webisode” versus [having] kids continuing to check back [and finding that] there’s nothing new.

Any plans for the near future of Everloop?

We pre-announced our mobile, and that’s coming in the next few weeks. It’s the first time that a social platform will be on a mobile device for kids, which is just great—again, I’m crossing over platforms.

We are excited and proud to present to you our first Scooter Newsletter. This will be circulated to your mailboxes every Friday and feature the content that we have posted in the week preceding.

While our magazine may reach your doorsteps, offices and lobbies just two times a year, we understand that parenting is a year-round and, most certainly, a 24-7 job.

We have aimed and will continue to aim to bring you relevant information on the benefits of parenting and raising children here in New York – always, when we can, with sense of humor. From gadgets and gizmos to the latest children’s fashion to conversations with influential New York parents and events taking place around the city, we aspire to bring to you the latest trends and topics.

We are also excited to announce that our website is scheduled shortly for redesign. All of the fabulous content that we have brought to you will soon be organized into beautiful verticals.

A stylish website for stylish readers, yes?

We look forward to sharing with you our thoughts and discoveries and to hearing your thoughts and comments in return. We welcome any and all suggestions, whether they be events to cover, places to visit or people to profile. We know a lot about New York and its families, but we do not know everything.

Stay stylish,

The Scooter Team

The Steiff Somersault Bear 1909

A woman named Pam Brown once said, "In a world gone bad, a bear—even a bear standing on its head—is a comforting, uncomplicated, dependable hunk of sanity.”

Today, as part of its 150^th Anniversary Celebration, FAO Schwarz has unveiled a gallery of classic Steiff collectibles.

In 1905, Steiff brand introduced the five-piece “Barle Bear," which was renamed the "Teddy Bear" in 1906 after Teddy Roosevelt, out on a hunt, refused to shoot an injured bear.

The walk-around gallery will feature early Steiff teddies in addition to vintage stuffed animals and pop culture characters, the likes of Mickie and Minnie. All of Steiff’s products are handcrafted and characterized by buttoned ears (an element introduced to prevent counterfeit) and the brand’s motto that “only the best is good enough for children.”

Perhaps best recognized in the form of the nearly life-size animals which tower from FAO’s shelves, Steiff pieces have been a long-time fixture of the store.

Four bears, two vintage and two commemorative, have been made available for purchase: The PB 28 Rod Teddy Bear, only five of which are known to exist and which fetches a nice price at $32,000; the Center Seam Teddy Bear: Early in the 1900’s, Steiff would join two rolls of mohair fabric every seventh bear to prevent waste, creating a distinctive seam down the center of these bears' faces; the 30-Piece 150^th Anniversary Edition Bear and and the 1,500-Piece Limited Edition Anniversary Bear.

On August 23, the granddaughter of Steiff founder Margarete Steiff's nephew, who invented the Teddy Bear, and the great-great granddaughter of F.A.O. Schwarz will come to the store to discuss the brands and sign purchases. Experts will also be on site to offer complimentary appraisals of Steiff memorabilia.

For more information on the gallery or items for purchase, visit FAO's 150th Anniversary page.

Jazz Musician Hayes Greenfield (Photo courtesy of www.jazzamatazz.com)

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a now rare slang use of "jazz" as “energy, excitement, ‘pep’; restlessness; animation, excitability.” Cited in the definition is a line from a 1913 San Francisco Bulletin: “What is jazz? Why a little of that ‘old life’, the ‘gin-i-ker’, the ‘pep’, otherwise known as the enthusiasalum.”

This Thursday from 10:00-11:00 AM as part of a free summer concert series for kids presented by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and the Fulton Mall Improvement Association in Albee Square, renowned saxophonist, recording artist and composer Hayes Greenfield will prove that there is still plenty of pep and gin-i-ker in contemporary jazz music.

His interactive show, Jazz-A-Ma-Tazz, claims to capture the imagination of audiences ages 3-104.

“When I get done with them they leave chanting, singing, and knowing that jazz is alive and well and not old fogey music,” he said in a press release. “After coming to my show, they make jazz their own.”

Mr. Greenfield plays Vandoren saxophone mouthpieces and reed and is endorsed by Vandoren as a Diamond Elite Educator/Artist. He is an active member of the New York jazz scene and has headlined such clubs as the Blue Note, Birdland, the Knitting Factory, and CBGB’s, among others.

The goal is “to stretch their ears and minds to the magic and joys of improvisation in a way that enables kids to embrace this beautiful music and make it their own," he said.

Albee Square is located between Fulton Street and Bond Street in Downtown Brooklyn across from the Cookies department store.

We're also a fan of this vinyl decal for iPad from Etsy.

You may be hopping in the car tonight or tomorrow morning, or planning to wait in the crowd to see Nathan’s hotdog contest tomorrow afternoon – regardless, you’re bound to have a few minutes of downtime. If you’re an iPhone or iPad user, here are a few ways to fill the time:

FOR THE COMPETITIVE: With the Bang 4th of July app (Free), you can battle your favorite Patriots and Loyalists: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Deborah Sampson, George III, William Franklin and Benedict Arnold – the whole gang. Each player has a different role and objective. (This app rates 12 and older.)

FOR THE ARTISTIC: Try the 4^th of July version of Kids Fingerpainting (Free). Color any scene  — the possibilities! — from pre-set color patriotic palettes and add frames, autographs or messages. You can even turn masterpieces into puzzles or save them to Photo Library. When your kids' work makes it to the Met, you'll have these to remind them who to thank.

FOR THE HISTORIAN: Top 100 U.S.A. Historical Documents (Free) arranges some of our nation's most important pieces of prose in order of popularity: The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, Articles of Confederation, President George Washington’s First Inaugural Address, Brown v. Board of Ed., Gettysburg Address, United Nations Charter, among others. "Four score and seven years ago...." (We still know that one.)

WAR BUFFS, LISTEN HERE: Revolutionary War Site Locator ($1.99) finds places in your vicinity related to the Revolutionary War. As you scroll your map, it automatically updates to show up to 500 locations at one time. Time travel, we're getting closer!

FOR THE FIREWORKS ENTHUSIAST: Fireworks Sound Effects ($0.99) allows you to loop one of four firework sounds over and over. If you are perennially upset when the fireworks are over, consider this an investment. Regardless, they make a great sound effect. We'll leave this to your imagination.

FOR THE FUTURE-SAVVY: Forget who you’re going to marry and where you’re going to live. Now you can figure out what will happen at your Fourth of July barbecue (will Master Griller or will not Master Griller burn the burgers? See below) with an Independence-Day-themed game of M.A.S.H. (mansion, apartment, shack, house).

FOR MASTER GRILLERS: Even the pros can use a second opinion. Grilltime has everything from timers to recommended grilling times and temperatures ($1.99). No one needs to know they're using it.

FOR THOSE “ARE WE THERE YET” ASKERS: Roadside Presidents ($2.99) is a database of presidential information and trivia with stats on First Ladies, VPs, sibling, pets and even presidential wannabees. It locates everything from birthplaces, to museums and monuments, to places where these figureheads slept, ate and — yes — dropped dead. We most certainly feel more enlightened having located JFK's favorite restaurant booth.

Sailboats aglow on Central Park's Conservatory Water (sailthepark.com)

Model sailboats have set sail on Central Park’s Conservatory Water for over 135 years.

Every Friday and Saturday night in the summer, the pond stays open for sailing until 9 p.m., and the park's rental shop rents out multicolored, illuminated boats for the nighttime hours. With statues of Alice in Wonderland and Hans Christian Andersen bordering the pond, the scene starts to look more and more like something out of a fairytale as the sun sets. Who knows? You may even spot Stuart Little.

Bring your own sailboat (BYOS) or, if you are new to this beloved New York pastime, the rental shop will happily teach basics. The shop and pond are located on the East side of Central park, between 73^rd and 75^th.

If you’re early to bed and early to rise, get up on Saturday and make it over by 10:00 a.m. to watch the races, then grab a light snack from the café inside Kerbs Memorial Boat House or peruse its collection of model ships.

For more information on nighttime sailing and pond hours, visit Sail the Park.

Let the littles tagalong (Photo Credit: Taga)

We think we need to see a few more of these around Central Park.

Influenced by the traditional three-wheeled Dutch bakfiet (meaning "box-bike" or "cargo-bike"), the Taga bike is both a lightweight, luxury stroller and stable carrier bike.

Just this month, Taga made its bikes available for purchase online to customers in the U.S. and Canada and is offering free shipping on purchases of at least one bike by the end of June.

The best part: You can do the conversion in T-20 seconds. (One mustn't keep the kids waiting.)

Also available for purchase are an extra-child seat, rain covers, mudguards, side bags, an eco-shopping basket, wooden double seat and car-seat adapter.

"Kids are naturally excited by the images whizzing by and have too much fun to even think about crying," says Taga's site.

The child seat fits children ages 3-4 and 5-6, and the extra child seat fits children ages 3-4. But no need to toss the bike when your kids have grown up. Taga says you can use this multifunctional bike for at least 10 years.