Uncle Envelope will send your child a paper surprise every month from a different artist. Expect anything from unique from paper dolls, airplanes, trading cards, maps, games and more. As one child raved, “Random! Pointless!! Extremely hilarious!!!” $36 for 12 surprises, one per month. All are for kids, but enoyable by teens and adults too.

OrganicMania posts a round-up of environmental back to school blog posts from various mom bloggers around the web.

Serious Eats reports a new Shake Shack will be opening soon in Nolita in addition to current locations in Madison Square Park, across from the Museum of Natural History and at Citi Field.

A reader, Regina, saw Hull-O Farms advertised in our summer guide and took her family to try it out. They had a great time and reported back what an excellent experience it was and recommends it to other families:

It is an amazing place with amazing owners and I think many parents would enjoy this vacation destination. My kids have been extremely happy staying there and it was a great experience for the whole family. It is a unique place for many reasons: its history, its ownership, its location within 2.5 hrs from new york, planned kids activities and its hospitality.

Find out about other family farm vacations in an article Alison Lowenstein wrote for NY Family.  

In honor of the NY400 the Museum of the City of NY has compiled a list of the 400 most important New Yorkers of all time. Check it out with your kids to browse through NYC history.

If you didn't get a chance to see Obama's message to students you can watch it here. You can also take an Obama in NYC Walking Tour to learn about where Obama lived and how he spent his time in New York when he was young.