As my eldest started middle school last week (gulp), one thing became immediately apparent – my husband I are in way over our heads.   The principal at our school was throwing out words like sex-ed, internet safety, locker combinations, and body piercings.  As we looked around at the panic stricken faces of our fellow 5th grade parents, we knew that we needed to learn. A lot.  And fast. Someone has to know how to parent a middle-schooler, right?  I was pleased to find that there are several organizations in Fairfield County that offer classes or workshops designed to help parents navigate these crazy times.

Fall isn't just back-to-school time, it's also the kickoff to a whole new season of cool culture for families. Autumn is when New York City museums and galleries unveil new exhibits and installations, and we've got the scoop on the best ones for kids.

This fall's crop of kid-friendly exhibits is quite eclectic. Families can catch an alfresco flick at an artsy drive-in at the New York Hall of Science, enjoy hands-on design projects at the Brooklyn Children's Museum, learn about the birds and the bugs at the Children's Museum of the Arts and Central Park's Arsenal Gallery, find out what life was like for the crew aboard the Intrepid and more. Bonus: After months of work, the renovated Queens Museum in Flushing Meadows Corona Park reopens with expanded gallery space, new exhibits, a cafe and a shorter name.

While all of these exhibits are new this fall, you still have time to catch many of our summer picks, including Shipwreck! Pirates & Treasure and The Art of the Brick at Discovery Times Square, Frogs and Whales at the American Museum of Natural History, and a bunch of FREE outdoor public art installations.

Fall is the perfect time for an outdoor celebration, and there’s no better place than a farm, where the harvest and happenings are plentiful. Whether your child is 2 or 12, a thrill-seeker or an animal lover, there’s a farm party package to fit almost every taste and budget. I’ve rounded up a few places just a short drive from Boston where your child can celebrate the big day with friends, family, and a whole lot of fun. Here are five farms that offer a range of options, including corn mazes, bouncy houses, hay rides, pumpkin decorating, apple picking, homemade gelato, and even a train ride to the party room!

When you take your children to the Museum of Science, chances are you'll encounter at least one museum volunteer while you're there - the men, women, and teens in red coats and aprons that are at almost all Museum of Science exhibits, activities and special programs. And chances are at least one of them will help your children with a special activity, show you where the bathrooms are, or recommend a particular exhibit to see.

I've been a museum visitor plenty of times, but I've often wondered what it was like for someone wearing the red coat. So when the opportunity to spend the day as a Museum of Science volunteer came up, I jumped on it. The most important thing I learned? There is no doubt that the museum values and appreciates its volunteers, and there is no doubt that its volunteers are integral to a positive museum experience.

I arrived for my shift not quite knowing what to expect.

Confession: I grew up with a pool table in my basement. Totally awesome, I admit! But here’s confession Numero Dos: I never learned how to play pool. My sister and I would roll the balls around and watch the adults in our family play, but we never learned the ropes ourselves. However, it was pretty obvious the excitement of a pool table and all its colorful balls brought people together—and isn’t that most important? Below is a list of seven family-friendly billiards venues in New Jersey. Bring your kids in for some fun—and if they’re really good, can they teach me how to properly shoot pool? It’s never too late, right?

What have you been doing to keep the kids busy these final days of summer break? We here at Mommy Poppins are furiously crossing off items on our summer bucket lists. Yesterday, a few of us got together and spent the day on City Island in the Bronx. Today, we're off to the recently reopened Rockaway Park in Queens. Where do we go for destination inspiration? Mommy Poppins' in-depth NYC Kids Neighborhood Guides. For the past two years, we've been highlighting one neighborhood a month in a series of in-depth posts, and now we've put all of those hyper-local guides together on one jam-packed page. Even if you've lived in NYC all your life, you'll undoubtedly find cool new-to-you things to explore with your family. I sure have!

September has arrived, which means all of our sites have published brand-new Go Lists highlighting the absolute best things to do with kids throughout the month. It's a particularly awesome month for family events in NYC, with lots of our free fall favorites like Fort Tryon Park's Medieval Festival and the Dumbo Arts Festival. But you'll find plenty of great picks in nearby Westchester, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut, too, including things you can only do outside the city like apple picking and farm harvest festivals.

The back-to-school season is in full swing and so is our massive back-to-school giveaway. We have already awarded a few of our fabulous prizes but we've got a bunch to go including a $250 gift certificate for Sears Optical, a Disney Junior package, Schwinn bikes and KRE-O CityVille Invasion building sets by Hasbro. All of the giveaways will be over soon so enter now.

Here's what else we covered this week on the NYC site:

It happens every year. I whine and moan about the end of summer, and the incomprehensibly early start of school. Finally Labor Day comes and even I have to admit, it’s time for Back to School. And then I realize: no one in my house is in school yet. We're still at the pre-school phase. September, Shmeptember, it's all the same to us. Yay, problem solved. But then this year I realized, this is our last year pre school.  Our last chance to enjoy weekday activities (free museum days! Kids clubs at the malls!)  Time is ticking on free entry to museums and theme parks and the Metro. 

It’s not just about getting in free, it’s also about buying into the magic. Right now, my child truly believes that costumed character in front of her is the same animated friend she loves on TV. And this month alone I can take her to see the Octonauts, Doc McStuffins,  the Wiggles, and for the pièce de résistance Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Sofia the First in one show. (Seriously, if you’re bucking for Mommy of the Year, get your kids tickets to this one.)

Lucky you, no matter how old your kid is, you can still enter to win awesome back-to-school bootie in our Swagapalooza Giveaway. A few of the drawings have closed already (you snooze, you lose) but there’s still plenty of time to enter for a Target gift card, a Motorola MBP26 Baby Monitor and a $250 Sears Optical Gift Certificate, to name a few.

Keep reading for some of our favorite picks for the weekend…

It may be difficult to believe, but it’s the first weekend of (unofficial) fall, and with a beautiful weekend on tap, Boston offers kids and families plenty of festivals and other outdoor activities to enjoy, events like the Cambridge Carnival International, Boston Charter Day Celebration, Verrill Farm’s Barbecue & Farm Day, the Natick Food Truck Festival, and more. Our best bets for the weekend are below, and you can check our Event Calendar for lots of other options.

This is also the first good weekend for picking apples; check out some of our suggested orchards in the area (plus some recipes for using all those apples). And while most “big” kids are focused on the new school year, if you’re feeling like you need a little structure in your days with the younger set, we’ve rounded up a few nice playgroups for tiny tots. Working on the after-school schedule? Quite a few of our favorite local kindie musicians are also amazing teachers - check these music classes out.

Finally, our big back-to-school giveaway continues through September 15. Enter to win a slew of incredible prizes like Schwinn kids' bikes, a Disney Junior package, a $50 Target gift card, $250 to spend at Sears Optical and more. Each prize has a separate entry form and ends on a different date, so start clicking!