Central Park's Zoo has revved up it's educational offerings for families, youth and even adults for Fall 2010. They have expanded their toddler series and created exciting new programs for families and big kids. You can make treats for the animals, enjoy some fall and winter fun, meet some of the staff at the zoo and get an inside peek at what they do and a lot more.  Plus they have a new winter zoo camp for kids.  My son has done a ton of programs at the Central Park Zoo, even a few summers of camp, and the programs here are great --organized, interesting, well thought out and fun.  They usually fill up fast but the Curator of Education assured us that there was still room in every program.  So don’t wait too long.

[UPDATED: July 12,2012]

Kids today get to do way better stuff than I ever did when I was a child.  When I was a kid, after school programs consisted of sports or scouts with maybe a piano lesson thrown in for good measure, a far cry from the opportunities available to my son.  Unique and enriching classes are abound in New York City:  rugby, veterinary school and stand up comedy are just a few of the classes available nowadays.

Some of the coolest enrichment classes for kids in NYC:

There’s something new at the zoo! (Besides the new face painting and glitter tattoo artist, of course). The charming Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange has been around since 1963, but it’s always re-inventing itself. In late September (date to be determined) Turtle Back will open its newest exhibit, “Worlds of Water” aquarium. Here I'll share details with you about the aquarium that will definitely be on your must visit list.

Cooking with your child is a great way to spend some quality time together. The hands-on exploration of cooking is not just a great sensory experience, but can also help to get junior interested in what he eats, and might just tempt him out of his hot dog and applesauce comfort zone into the wilds of more exotic flavors. Plus, it's fun. Family cooking activities abound this fall, and we've found some great parent-child cooking workshops and classes for you. Here are a few options.

This evening my 7 year old unloaded the dishwasher, swept the kitchen floor, made his bed, picked up his toys, and expressed gratitude in the form of a polite "Thank you for making dinner." I kid you not...and I'm not trying to impress you with my uber mothering either. In fact, this is the first time he ever did some of those things.

The magic behind this household chore windfall was a new app I installed on my iPhone and my son's iPod Touch,

If the only concerts you’ve seen recently involved singing dogs, dinosaurs or puppets, maybe it’s time to check out a cool music festival that you will enjoy as much as your kids will. On September 11^th, the 3^rd Annual Hastings-on-the-Hudson “Take Me To The River” Grassroots Festival hits Draper Park in Westchester. It is an all day event and in addition to the musical grooves celebrating local and nationally acclaimed blues, folk, jazz and alternative musicians, it is also a festival showcasing an array of art, various art installations, and art activities for the kids. And you don’t need a car to get there.

We've asked our readers to share their awesome outings with us this summer. We'll be posting the best ones on the blog and one lucky winner will win a Flip Video Camera. Find out more details in our Summer Fun Activity Guide. Summer is coming to a close and so is the contest. We will accept submissions until Labor Day and then announce a winner the following week. So send in your story. We want to know about your awesome day.

Read this submission by Susan Atkinson about her fun day on Goveror's Island.