New York City is examining a range of ways to reopen public schools in the fall, including staggered schedules and potentially more remote learning, according to a letter Chancellor Richard Carranza sent to school staff earlier this week. The chancellor breaks down the reopening plans into an eight-point "Fall Framework" and points out that there are still many unknowns.

While the letter does not offer a firm NYC school reopening date other than September, the city's mayor hinted that September 10 is a possibility during a Thursday press conference. Mayor Bill de Blasio referenced the date several times in responding to questions about the school reopening plan, saying, it's "impossible to say, 'Here's exactly what's going to happen on September 10, 2020,'" and "there's going to be a certain number of parents that even if school was open to all in person, they're not going to be ready necessarily on September 10 to send their child back."

Read on for the full contents of the chancellor's letter to learn more about what the new normal might look like for NYC's 1.1 million students come fall, including a combination of in-person and online instruction, split schedules, social distancing protocols, enhanced health measures, and more.

New York parents and day camp directors alike got some much-needed good news this week: Summer camps statewide will be allowed to open on June 29, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday. 

While the order applies only to summer day camps (no decision on sleepaway yet), the decision offers some parents weary after months of distance learning a helping hand on the horizon. 

This summer is sure to look different than years past—both at camp and elsewhere—but the other good news is that after 80 days on lockdown, New York City moves into Phase 1 of reopening Monday, while the Mid-Hudson and Long Island Regions are likely to enter Phase 2 next week if necessary health metrics are met.

Read on for more details on summer camps and the other reopenings each NY region can expect soon. Visit our Summer Camp Guide for open local camp slots. You can also register for our upcoming Online Camp Fair, where you can attend live panels and info sessions with camps and explore virtual info booths for online and in-person camps. We've also got a safety summer camp checklist to help everyone have a healthy camp experience. 

Updated: Wednesday, June 22: Six Flags Great Adventure and Safari has announced a reopening date of Saturday, July 4, with a member preview day set for July 3. Reservations will be required, and all guests must undergo a contactless temperature check before entry. Capacity will be limited, masks required, social distancing enforced, and enhanced sanitation protocols will be put into place. Due to its popularity, the drive-thru safari will remain open for the foreseeable future.

Families fed up with online field trips take note: It's time to grab your binoculars and cameras because Six Flags Great Adventure and Safari is reopening its animal kingdom as a drive-thru experience this weekend. Timed-entry tickets go on sale this week.

This isn't the first time Six Flags Great Adventure and Safari has allowed visitors to drive their vehicles through the attraction; some parents may still have vacation photos from the good old days, when baboons used to jump on the family station wagon. The 350-acre park operated as a drive-thru adventure from its 1974 opening through 2012.

The return of this classic experience is temporary, though. So if you aren't quite ready to flock to the beaches at the Jersey shore, read on for how and when your family can get tickets for a local safari. We've also got the scoop on what Phase 1 of reopening means for NJ families.

If coronavirus quarantine has got you down, help is on the way. New York on PAUSE is out; New York Forward is in. Governor Andrew Cuomo let the state-wide stay-at-home order expire last week, but what does that mean, particularly for downstate families who have been living at the center of the nation's coronavirus outbreak, enduring 2+ months of lockdown, only seeing each other in car parades and 8pm howls, giving our kids quarantine haircuts, and trying to find something to celebrate every day? Well, right now, it's more of the status quo, but the end is in sight, and once a region has met seven data-driven metrics, New Yorkers ranging from Manhattan to the Hamptons and Staten Island to Westchester can enter Phase 1 of the four-phase reopening plan.

Read on to find out what that means for families and when your favorite local businesses might fully reopen, plus info on outdoor fun at beaches, parks, and more.

The arrival of June means it's Pride month, a vibrant, rainbow-filled celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community that is marked by over-the-top parades, jam-packed rallies, and marches in cities across the country.

Whether you're a member of the Queer community or consider yourself an ally, here are 24 ways to celebrate Pride Month this June with your kids. For local parades and rallies, be sure to check your area's calendar of events.

For further reading for kids of all ages, check out our list of the Best LGBTQ Books for Kids To Celebrate Pride Month.

Like summers past, Memorial Day weekend brings with it the opening of beaches across much of the tri-state area. Though NYC beaches remain shuttered for the foreseeable future, city-dwellers won't be left to sweat it out, because, from the Jersey Shore to Long Island beaches, and the sands of Connecticut, there are plenty of family-friendly beaches nearby where the sun and the surf await.

While many local shorelines are reopening, beachgoers can expect the summer beach season of 2020 to look a little different than years past, with limits to crowd size and fewer amenities, but we're doing our best to break it all down for area families, so you can enjoy some traditional summer fun. At popular state-run beaches like Jones Beach and Robert Moses State Park, capacity will be limited by putting caps on available parking spots. Elsewhere, at local Long Island, Connecticut, and Jersey Shore beaches, the sale of beach tags will be restricted and be forewarned: Some spots will be limited to residents only.

This means families must plan beach outings days in advance, and arrive early to beat the crowds and heed closures. Rules and regulations are likely to change throughout the season, so be sure to click through to your favorite shoreline's local home page for details on its current status before you head out.

Small businesses have been particularly hard hit by stay-at-home orders across the country, including Mommy Poppins and the many local businesses we’ve introduced you to over the years. In response, a new normal has been created as children's birthday party providers, class programs, and now camps are adjusting by going virtual. To help support these local businesses and provide a place for families to find these top programs, we created Poppins@Home, a micro-site offering free and affordable, parties, classes, and other enrichment activities for children and families. Find it at learn.mommypoppins.com. 

The website already has dozens of free programs and more are being added daily. Programs include free dance activities from Dance Theatre of Harlem, Mandarin classes, cooking classes, and preschool STEM classes, among many others. Virtual birthday parties have also been increasingly popular, and we have a variety of affordable options to choose from. We hope you’ll consider trying a few of these fun, affordable, and creative classes—and spreading the word among your friends—as yet another way to support, uplift, and get through these challenging times together!

No matter how much I like to cook, it's exhausting putting meals on the table morning, noon, and night for weeks on end. Judging by my social media feeds, I'm not the only mom who needs a break from the kitchen. So, for Mother's Day, I decided to set my daughters (ages 6 and 10) free in the kitchen, and challenged them to make Mother's Day brunch recipes all on their own.

The results were impressively tasty, as was the stack of dirty dishes. Luckily, clean up is one age-appropriate chore I leave to my teenage son. Read on for four Mother's Day recipes kids can make for you, plus our picks for kid-friendly kitchen tools that make the job a little easier.

While Mother's Day brunch is sure to make any mom's day, kids can earn extra brownie points with a homemade Mother's Day card to serve as the centerpiece to the table. No matter how you celebrate, we wish all moms a very happy Mother's Day.