Popsicles might be the ultimate kid-friendly recipe: They are almost as fun to make as they are to eat. Recently, as a way to beat the heat and pass the time on a summer's day, my sons and I tried several popsicle recipes. They loved prepping the fruity ingredients, pouring the mixture into molds, and, eventually, working the frozen pops from their silicone molds for the "big reveal." Even the anticipation was delicious! Here are eight popsicle recipes we love—from red, white, and blue popsicles for Fourth of July to cake batter popsicles for an indulgent treat to frozen hot chocolate pops for any season.

Find more Easy Recipes for Kids at Mommy Poppins.

Apologies, but I am about to blow a well kept secret wide open: Newport Beach has a cove hidden in plain sight that may be the best family beach day in the Southland. Of course the definition of "best family beach day" may not be the same for everyone; only continue reading if your ideal beach day would include kayaks, SUP boards, paddle boats, and an inflatable water park in a warm surf-free lagoon surrounded by clean sand, fire rings for s'mores, easy parking, and clean bathrooms. Only head to Newport Dunes if you're prepared for that level of nirvana.

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.

Like most things this summer, Apple Camp will look a little different in 2020.

Apple Camp takes place entirely online this year, but with live orientation sessions to kick off each project, and drop-in Q & A sessions to get help. Like the in-store version, Apple Camp at Home will focus on a project from start to finish. These projects traditionally have taken two days at in-store sessions, with a third day to showcase campers' work. The virtual camp allows kids to create at their own pace, with support available during the week that the project is live.

If you've got an 8-12-year-old interested in STEM or movie-making, you'll want to act fast; Apple has just opened registration, and space is limited. These special annual camps are 100% free—and they traditionally fill up quickly!

For more camp information and ideas, check out our Camp Guide and Directory.

Connecticut parents on the edge about what school is going to look like in the fall got some more information on Monday, June 29, when the state released 50 pages of guidance for the 2020-2021 school year. The guidance covered remote learning options, hygiene, mask wearing, social distancing, transportation, and more.

Read on for 16 takeaways about what to expect for our kids come September, and don't forget to stock up on kid-approved face masks—it's the new school shopping! And while vacation is still in full swing, keep kids busy with these safe summer activity ideas, courtesy of Mommy Poppins.

Summer 2020 is turning out to be a retro summer, and taking kids fishing fits right in with going to a drive-in movie, playing in the back yard, and pitching a tent for the weekend. Whether you catch and release or fry it up over a fire, there is something timelessly relaxing about fishing—especially as a way for kids and parents or grandparents to spend quality time together. The fishing lakes below are great spots to learn to fish within easy reach from Los Angeles, and all are open so far this season.

Wondering if in-home child care is right for your family and how to find a home daycare, preschool, or childcare program near you?

On June 8, Massachusetts officially entered Phase 2 of Governor Charlie Baker's reopening plan, which means child care facilities around Boston are opening their doors. As families emerge from months of quarantine and some parents and caregivers even start heading back to work in real live offices, many are resuming or starting their search for quality care for their kiddos. Of course, child care will look pretty different in response to COVID-19, so parents are considering a number of new factors when deciding what type is the best fit—from preschools to corporate childcare centers to home daycares.

If you're not familiar with licensed Family Child Care (FCC, or in-home daycare), read on to learn more about the many pros of these small-scale individualized home-based options. Then find out how NeighborSchools—the largest network of home daycares in Massachusetts—is using their Match Me tool to connect families with the right FCC for them.

New Jersey plans to return K-12 students to physical classrooms as much as possible this September. Governor Phil Murphy, along with Education Commissioner Dr. Lamont Repollet, released a 104-page set of guidelines Friday, June 26, aimed at reopening New Jersey schools for 2020-20201 academic year.

“Absent a shift in public health data, school buildings will open in some capacity for in-person instruction and operations in September,” said Repollet. “The reopenings of our schools will include necessary limitations to protect the health of our students and staff.”

The guidelines insist on plenty of social distancing for schools, but also the option for a hybrid education model that would combine in-person instruction with remote-learning, or possibly students attending school on alternating days or weeks. All districts, however, must create a school reopening plan that includes some in-person instruction, the governor and commissioner said Friday. “There’s no one size fits all approach,” noted Murphy.