Beat the summer heat at one of New Jersey’s spectacular water playgrounds, known as spraygrounds. On a hot summer day, my kids last 10 minutes on a conventional playground. Add some water play to the mix and we have a low-cost, low-maintenance day of fun. Spray parks and splash pads are popping up all over the state. Most of these water playgrounds are free or inexpensive and can be enjoyed by all ages. Get wet at these Central and Southern New Jersey spraygrounds, including some newcomers. For more water fun throughout the state, check out the Best Water Playgrounds in NJ and 6 Awesome New Jersey Water Parks.

They just don't make summer vacation the way they used to - by which I mean it didn't used to end in the middle of August. But since you get what you get and you don't get upset, it's time to make the best out of the small amount of summer left to us. Catch some free movies; dance at some free concerts, and indulge in some beach shack food and ice cream. This week there are meteor showers and campfires worth staying up late for, so long live summer break!

When you're homeschooling and don't have a built-in school community, it's always nice to connect with other homeschooling (or unschooling) families. It’s also ideal for your kids to have opportunities for exploration and enrichment beyond the regular curriculum. Organizations like the MFA, Mass Audubon, and The Eliot School offer those extracurricular activities where homeschooled kids can connect at times that don’t revolve around a traditional bricks and mortar school schedule. Here are some excellent extracurricular classes and programs for homeschoolers in clay work, nature exploration, fine arts, woodworking and juggling.

If you’re willing to venture out just beyond city limits, you’ll find unique and wonderful art and craft making classes for your kids. Sure, the city of Boston has fine art classes at the MFA, glass crafts at the Diablo Glass School, and woodworking at The Eliot School. But Greater Boston (Cambridge, Somerville and Brookline) boasts its very own stitch lounge, a different (and wild!) museum art making experience, and studios where kids are encouraged to get messy. 

Add another item onto your Summer Day Trip list: The Delaware River. Whether it’s hiking to Sunrise Pond or floating quietly in a tube, there's a variety of activities to suit all members of your brood. The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area offers fishing, boating, swimming, hiking, camping, and water sports. Enjoy local farms and eateries, or take in a historic landmark. Horseback riding, picnicking and bird watching are also options to make a full adventure complete!

So your kids think they can dance? Is your little hoofer looking for a challenge beyond ballet or tap this fall? With the popularity of television shows geared towards singing and dancing, it seems that more and more little ones are hitting the dance floor. This fall, New Jersey dance studios are offering a variety of unique dance classes for girls and boys of all ages. And don't forget to check our Classes Guide for an ever-growing list of extra-curricular activities in NJ!

August marks the beginning of the Back-to-School blitz, which I try to tune out as much as possible, because really, summer is my jam, and because this year, I'm returning to work full time.  But if you're ready to go there, there are some amazing parent-toddler classes, from music to art to yoga, on offer throughout the city and suburbs, many of which will be enrolling shortly.