As the weather’s getting cooler and the days are getting shorter, it’s a great time to take advantage of outdoor nature activities before the winter arrives. This week, there are plenty of nature exploration opportunities, including Awesome Animal Artists, Preschool Walk: Gobble Gobble and Tot Walk: Animal Homes. Plus, enjoy some free and fun library programs including Magic Workshop and Bouncy Booktime. And don’t forget to check out our Event Calendar for even more options!

Craving some music and munchies? Both are hot themes on our calendar this week, the second full week of November. Get the little ones movin’ and groovin’ at Mommy & Me Kindermusik, Rutgers Children’s Choir Drop-In Day and Tom Chapin: Sensory-Friendly Performance. Enjoy creating treats at Make Your Own Pizza and Candy Corn Creations. And don’t forget to check out our Event Calendar for even more options!

Coming off that Halloween sugar rush, you may be rushing to find activities for this short week of school. Luckily, our November calendar is filling up. Relaxing theatrical performances are aplenty, including productions of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Pinocchio & Other Tales and Berenstain Bears: Hospital Stories. Before the cold weather sets in, take advantage of nature exploration this week at Fall Preschool Nature Classes and Fall Mini Nature Camp. And don’t forget to check out our Event Calendar for even more options!

Halloween is finally here! Costumes? Check! (since August in my house). Trick-or-treat candy? Check! Halloween plans? There are so many to choose from. Head to the 4th Annual Halloween Spooktacular at the NJ State Museum, learn about Historic Halloween Happenings at Fosterfields Farm or conduct some creepy chemistry during the Ghoul School event at Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Reserve. You can also close out October with a bang and watch your jack-o-lantern float away during the Great Pumpkin Sail at Echo Lake Park. And for a little break from the Halloween hoopla, check out the Weeki Wachee Mermaids at Adventure Aquarium or take in a performance of Curious George at the Mayo Performing Arts Center. Whatever you decide to do this Halloween weekend, we hope you enjoy it with family and friends. Be sure to check out the full list of Halloween and weekend activities in our Event Calendar.

It’s the week leading up to Halloween, and we’ve scared up some frighteningly fun Halloween festivities every day this week! Party Halloween-style at Surf Taco’s Parent-Child Costume Party and Garden State Discovery Museum’s Halloween Hootenanny. No need to wait until Saturday to trick-or-treat. Collect early-bird goodies at Westville’s Trunk or Treat and Downtown Millburn’s Trick-or-Treat. Don’t forget to check out our Event Calendar, and for even more family-friendly activitiy guidance, subscribe to our newsletter!

When I made the move from Manhattan to the New Jersey 'burbs, I craved a small town with a metropolitan feel. South Orange seemed like the perfect spot to make my new home. The tree-lined, gaslight-adorned center of the downtown, known as South Orange Village, is home to both local and retail stores, a variety of family-friendly restaurants, a New Jersey Transit train station and the renowned, state-of-the-art South Orange Performing Arts Center, or SOPAC. South Orange is not only a commuter town, with an easy 30 minute direct ride to New York City, it's also home to Seton Hall University. With a mixture of small town charm and cosmopolitan culture, make South Orange a day trip destination with your family. And while you're in Essex County, check out other small towns, including Nutley and Verona.

With Halloween just around the corner, there are plenty of opportunities to get in the spooktacular spirit this week. Have a bewitching good time at Bergen County Zoo’s Boo Zoo, Tuckerton Seaport’s Haunted Seaport and Heaven Hill Farm’s Great Pumpkin Festival. It’s also a wonderful week for Alice in Wonderland-themed fun, including A Very Merry Un-Halloween Day and Alice in Yogaland. And don’t forget to check out our Event Calendar for even more options!

This week kicks off with Columbus Day; a day off from school, meaning an extra day to entertain the little ones. Just Bead Yourself offers all kinds of creative workshops on Monday, such as Pinkalicious Reading & Beading and Afternoon Tea with My Doll & Me, or take a Rockin’ Rocket Ride on Monday at RVCC’s planetarium. There are plenty of opportunities for preschoolers to burn some energy this week, including skating at Tyke’s Tuesday and Kidz Village’s Paint Your Own Pumpkin And don’t forget to check out our Event Calendar for even more options!