Mandatory summer reading lists can be a bit of a drag in normal years, but let's face it: We all need ideas for great new kids' books now more than ever. With distance learning petering out, camp in question, and many kids stuck at home, it's the perfect time for kids to get lost in a book (or five). So we polled librarians, parents, and publishers for their top summer reading picks, and came up with 30 exciting new books published in 2020 to suit various age groups, including preschoolers, early readers, middle schoolers, and high schoolers.

When they're not escaping to lands of unicorns, purple people, a volcanic village, or the Hunger Games, kids can busy themselves with hundreds of boredom busters in our Stay-at-Home Guide for Summer.

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.

Like many people recently, we've discovered TikTok and gotten a little (OK, maybe a lot) obsessed. The social media app can be a bit of a hot mess, but the fun TikTok dance trends are actually a great way for kids to get moving and have fun indoors. And the best part is the whole family can get involved.

Some TikTok dances are purposefully challenging, but many are easy and can even be done by toddlers. Here are some of our favorite kid-friendly TikTok dance trends for you and your family to try, plus some instructions to get you started on TikTok if you're new to the app. Who knows, maybe you'll get TikTok famous!

Find more awesome kids' music on our list of Free Kids' Music Playlists from Breakfast to Bedtime, and tons more boredom busters and family-friendly activities in our Stay-at-Home Guide.

Known for balancing its advanced liberal arts and sciences program with a deeply nurturing community, BASIS Independent Schools has carved out a space for itself in the New York City private school landscape since opening its first East Coast location, BASIS Independent Brooklyn, in Red Hook back in 2014. With the addition of BASIS Independent Manhattan on the Upper West Side in 2017, the PreK-12 schools now bring best practices found in top education systems around the world to students across the five boroughs. And while both locations have transitioned to distance learning as the city addresses the COVID-19 outbreak, they are eagerly preparing for the fall semester—accepting applications to fill the few remaining spots for 2020 and offering virtual admissions events for interested families.

New Jerseyans who are itching to get to the the beach this weekend after months of lockdown have something to look forward to. On Monday, Governor Murphy announced the next reopening stage of the five stage "road back" reopening plan for our state, explaining which restrictions will be lifted and which businesses can reopen, with key safety guidelines. New Jersey has entered Stage 1 (after Stage 0 of maximum restrictions) which allows relaxed restrictions on low-risk activities if appropriately safeguarded. 

Beginning Friday, May 22, New Jersey beaches and lakes can reopen. Plus, outdoor activities like batting cages, golf ranges, and horseback riding facilities are set to remove restrictions. After two months of non-stop Coronavirus news, only seeing each other in car parades and 8pm howls, giving our kids quarantine haircuts and virtual birthday parties, we finally have the beginnings of a plan to get out and enjoy the Garden State's natural beauty.

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.

Coronavirus lockdown has touched every aspect of our lives, and after months of living with stay-at-home orders, Pennsylvanians are giddy at the prospect of getting outside again. So while we've had to get creative with homeschooling hacks, virtual birthdays, graduation celebrations, and even at-home haircuts, we can look forward to visiting our favorite parks, restaurants, shops, and museums in the (hopefully near) future as Governor Tom Wolf begins to implement the Pennsylvania reopening plan.

Wolf's plan to reopen Pennsylvania has three phases, and parts of the state, particularly in the west, are already moving into the yellow second phase. With changes regularly occurring as the recorded cases of coronavirus drop, it can be hard to figure out what's open and what's still closed. Read on to find out what Philly-area amenities and attractions are beginning to reopen, including schools and businesses, as well as trails, beaches, farms, and more. With proper adherence to social-distancing protocols, including limiting gatherings and wearing face masks, outside-the-home fun is starting to come back to Pennsylvania!