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,

Is summer really over? Do we have to trade beach towels for backpacks already? I'm reluctantly gearing up, shifting my focus from planning days in the sun to planning afterschool activities, lunches, and routines.

I've spent the last week or so updating our Classes Guide so you should find lots of great information about all kinds of classes for kids in there from Mommy and Me to preschooler classes to classes for big kids. We have a bunch more posts about cool classes coming up in September so keep an eye out for some ideas for what's new and cool in classes this Fall.

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 . Read this submission by Nataki Hewling about her fun day on Goveror's Island.

For years I have been sending my kids to great summer camp programs where they do awesome stuff all summer while I sweat it out, slaving away in the City. I think of summer as an opportunity for kids to experience all kinds of things they don't get to do over the school year, be outdoors more and try new things. But why should this only be for kids? Why can't adults get the same benefits from summer vacations?

Last summer we were invited to spend a few days at Club Getaway in Connecticut. Club Getaway offers family weeks in August and September where kids and adults can experience a summer camp-like vacation together. I was surprised that this mini-break turned out to be the highlight of my summer.

Read on about Club Getaway and find out how you can get $200 off a mini-vacation there this summer.

Summer's almost half over? I've spent so many summers in an office where you barely know it's summer at all. But living in New York City, each weekend can be a mini-vacation. This weekend take advantage of the water all around us at the City of Water Festival, or head to the beach for a sand-sculpting contest. Not traveling the world this summer? In New York the world comes to you. Soak up some culture: Japanese, Chinese, Latin, Gospel, theater and art.

It's going to be crazy hot again so you might want to head to Chelsea Waterside Park for some sprinkler action, the new Pier 6 playground or another great sprinkler park. Or at least feel the gentle breeze of one the city's best carousels. If you're heading out of the city, stop at a local farm to pick your own produce in NJ or LI. This weekend NJ events include a couple of county fairs (love them) and even a hot air balloon festival.

We've picked out all the fun things to do, all you have to do is pick your activities, grab your kids and go!

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.
Read this submission by Bernadette Rivera and Chazz Rivera about their fun day playing in the fountain Washington Square Park.

We keep pretty busy here with our daily posts on all the cool stuff to do with your kids in the city, but I usually have one or two projects I'm working on in the background to make the site better. This week I'm announcing two that I've been working on for longer than I care to admit, our new Preschool Guide and our new and improved events calendar search function. I hope both these new functions will be big improvements to the site.