I am an optimist by nature, but this pandemic has thrown me off my glass-half-full, always-look-on-the-bright-side stride in short order. On Wednesday, March 11, I was a NYC mom about town, enjoying a rare trip to Broadway with my oldest kids courtesy of tickets gifted by a friend. By the time the curtain closed and I exited the theater with two kids in tow, I was hit from all angles with breaking news alerts as I flicked on my phone. An NBA player had tested positive for the coronavirus; the season was off. Tom Hanks and his wife were positive, too.

By noon the next day, I learned my son's high school was shutting down indefinitely. By the time I went to pick up my two daughters from their school that afternoon, my husband and I had already had the "are we stupid/irresponsible/bad parents to keep sending them to school" conversation, and I was spiraling out of control with worry.

The hits kept coming. One by one, the things we relied on to enrich our all-too-cramped New York City way of life were taken away. No school. No museums. No libraries, No playgrounds. No ballfields. No safe escape from our Harlem apartment, where the virus had stricken neighbors one-by-one and our zip code quickly ranked among the hardest hit in the city, which was the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak. We don't have a car, relying on public transit to get around. It suddenly felt like a surefire way to invite the virus into our home.

As the debate over school reopenings rages on, New York City's Board of Health voted Tuesday to allow city daycares to reopen on Monday, July 13. Daycares must meet a series of heightened health and safety protocols to reopen. The announcement affects approximately 3,000 child care providers across the five boroughs and is welcome news for working parents who may have been called back to the office with the city squarely in Phase 3 of reopening.

City-supervised daycares have been shuttered since April 6; those supervised by the state were never ordered closed.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza announced the framework for getting the nation's largest school system back to school in September 2020. The key takeaway for city parents: Though students will be learning five days a week during the 2020-21 school year, it's unlikely they will attend in-person classes more than 2-3 days a week as the city adopts a "blended learning" plan for the upcoming school year.

"Students will return in September to either a blended model or a fully remote model if they so choose," de Blasio announced. "Blended learning means students will be taught on-site in school for part of the week and remotely for other portions of the week. Over the past several months, we've worked with many stakeholders, including our principals, to develop scheduling models that can accommodate limited in-person attendance."

New York City's public schools, which make up the largest school district in the nation, have been shuttered since March 16, and the city's 1.1 million students finished the school year remotely.

It's been a long road, but summer vacation is upon us. It's no secret Long Island is jam-packed with family-friendly summer activities. After all, there's a reason our city-dwelling neighbors to fight traffic to flock to our shores. Summer 2020 is bound to look a little different for all of us. Most summer camps are going virtual, and though we've found a few affordable in-person options, it's more than likely you've got extra time to entertain the kids this summer.

We've pulled together this list of ultimate summer staycation ideas to entertain you and your brood, whether you're looking for a family-friendly beach day, want to explore a newly-reopened sprayground, or enjoy a creative only-in-2020 outing like a drive-in movie or drive-by animal tour, we've got options. So, read on for 50 summer activities for your Long Island summer staycation.

On the day when beaches reopened for swimming and splashing, New Yorkers got some more welcome news: 15 of the city's 53 pools will reopen by August 1, providing another place for city families to seek some relief from summer's heat.

Though many of the reopening pools aren't on our list of the most family-friendly swimming pools, the 15 pools selected are among the city's largest. Spread across all five boroughs, their locations are concentrated in the neighborhood's hardest hit by the pandemic and those furthest away from the newly reopened beaches. Four pools are located in Manhattan, there are three each in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn, and two in Staten Island. Three pools—Wagner in Manhattan, Mullaly in the Bronx, and Liberty Pool in Queens—have a reopening date of Friday, July 24; the rest are slated to open on Saturday, August 1. Pool season generally lasts through Labor Day, which falls on Monday, September 7, 2020. NYC's public pools are FREE.

Read on for more details on the 2020 pool season, which will have even more rules than usual, and be sure to see our roundup of the best spraygrounds in NYC to keep your kids cool until they can take a dip.

One of the most anticipated reopenings during Phase 2 of NY Forward is the return of sit-down restaurant service, and New York City's bustling dining scene is ready to welcome visitors back. The catch, though, is that all in-person dining must occur alfresco. So, if you're itching for a break from the kitchen, we've rounded up 20 outdoor restaurants throughout the five boroughs who are ready to serve you—and your kids—your next meal.

We've combed our Kid-Friendly Restaurant Guide to locate our favorite outdoor restaurants that have reopened, and added a few fresh picks to this list. But, keep in mind, even spots that don't usually serve meals outdoors have been allowed to add outdoor seating as NYC reopens, so be sure to check with your favorite local haunt, whether they've traditionally served meals on the sidewalk or not. They just might be ready to welcome you back, too.

Zoom became popular during the pandemic, but the video chat platform—and others like FaceTime and Skype—is great for more than just quarantine times. For families like mine, with grandparents spread across the country, a Zoom date is an easy, satisfying way to foster face-to-face connections between generations. While a casual chat is fun in itself, sometimes we like to up the ante and incorporate some fun activities into the video session. Here are our 10 favorite activities and games that kids can do with grandparents over Zoom.

For more fun Zoom tips, be sure to read our roundups of ways to make virtual hangouts more awesome and the best games to play with friends virtually.

Ready to get out and see a bit of the world again? Or maybe just take a drive? We've rounded up 17 summer day trips near NYC just right for area families ready to make a break for it. These destinations are all within easy driving distance from NYC, Long Island, and Westchester.

The tristate area is in various stages of reopening, so we've done our best to pick outdoor day trips from NYC where maintaining some social distance is possible. No matter where you travel, don't forget to bring your masks along (they're required in New York state and encouraged most places), plus plenty of hand sanitizer.

Visit our Days Trips Guide for more summer getaway inspiration, and our National Travel Guide if you're ready to wander further afield.