This Week: Four Weekends Until School! Biking, Beaches & Boat Rides

8/13/15 - By Raven Snook

Are the back-to-school blues invading your home, too? Between the release of New York State's standardized test scores and a never-ending barrage of commercials for classroom supplies, I had to show my kid the calendar to prove that there are actually four more weekends to go before school starts. That's plenty of time to take a day trip to a nearby beach, water park, quaint town or kid-friendly winery (okay, that last one is mama's choice). But frankly, we'd rather just stay put in the city enjoying all the summer activities NYC has to offer—after all, who needs the country when Central and Prospect Parks are your backyards?

Another reason my child should be thankful she's summering in NYC? Kids in lots of other places have already gone back to school. Take Scottsdale, Arizona: As per our Travel site, there are many cool things to do with kids in town, but locals went back to class weeks ago. 

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

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Looking for day-trip inspiration? We rounded up the best water parks for preschoolers, five ferry rides to family destinations, boating in Hudson Valley and profiled a gorgeous and quiet Long Island beach.

But we also made a case for sticking around the city for the rest of the season. After all, Prospect Park beats any country house and you can camp overnight at this other great NYC park.

Even when you think you've done it all in NYC, something new debuts. Ex: the recently opened Brooklyn Bike Park, a 16,000-square-foot cycling spot with a paved pump track.

Although August is often a dumping ground for bad flicks, we absolutely loved the almost wordless Shaun the Sheep Movie, from the same Oscar-winning studio behind Wallace and Gromit.

Bets bets for the weekend include the annual Coney Island Sand Sculpting Contest, five FringeJR family shows and the last installment of Summer Streets until next year.