Picked your apples? Trudged through the pumpkin patch? Readied your costumes? Don’t think you’ve done it all for October yet! New Jersey boasts a variety of fests focused on everything from horses to cranberries, and garlic to pumpkin catapulting. Launch!

This Fall there are lots of new, wonderful art exhibits in the NYC museums. Natasha Schlesinger from ArtKids has offered to share some of the best ones, along with tips for enjoying them with children. So take a break from the same old kid venues and head out for some real art experiences. We've even including some of the museum family programs to make it more kid friendly.

Everyone's going crazy for Where the Wild Things Are movie coming out later this week. And New york City is so excited they've dedicated the entire week to the movie launch. This week you can hear the story read by the actors from the movie, get your picture taken in a scene from the film and see, or even buy, original illustrations from the book. Check out these fun, and free, events celebrating Where the Wild Things Are.

Many museums and venues that aren't regularly open make an effort to open on school holidays and offer special programs for families. Here's a list of some of your best bets for Columbus Day.

Many New Yorkers associate City Island with summertime (that is, if they even know about it).  Afterall, the main cuisine offered is seafood, there are panoramic water views, and sailboats galore.  However, we find the best time to visit City Island is a) anytime but a Friday or Saturday night (lunchtime is fine) and b) off-season!  Therefore we're recommending it as a perfect weekend daytrip. 

I have family visiting and I was thinking today that there really couldn't be a better time to visit Long Island than now. Fall is here, it's pumpkin and apple picking season, Fall farms are bustling, and there are plenty of Fall Festivals happening across the island as well. The weather forecast looks great for Columbus Weekend, and here are a few of our favorite suggestions for activities for you and your family to enjoy over the long weekend:

I've added a new page to the site that I wanted to share with you. The Arts and Kid Shows Guide has lots of information about museums, performances, art shows and other fun cultural activities to do in New York with kids. There's also money-saving tips, like free times at all the museums, some ideas for how to make a museum outing more fun with kids, and recent reviews of kid shows.

I'll keep adding more info as we write it and all new reviews will be in there, so you can always check the guide for the most current exhibit and show information. You'll find it by clicking on the Art & Shows tab at the top of the site.

I hope this page will be a helpful addition to the site. If you have any suggestions please email me.

Visit the Culture Guide now.

I can't believe it's October already. The first month of school went by so fast and we've been so busy. Meanwhile the DOE has been busy too: a new rule prohibits bake sales in schools. On the flip side, the junk food industry has launched a campaign to fight City Hall's attempts to fight the obesity epidemic. A study shows that Charter Schools perform better and Bloomberg asks to lift the cap on them. And Obama wants to keep kids in school longer while some kids may be missing school after going to swine flu parties. Lastly, we learn about the silver lining of recessions and how you can see the philharmonic for just $16.