Here we are halfway through summer break and I'm finding that my eight-year-old son is getting a little too much screen time. Long rides in the car (or on the subway or bus) to reach far-flung destinations, waiting on lines for various activities and even playdates all inspire him to beg for my iPhone or iPad. And of course when we're at home, the TV, the laptop and the Wii all beckon.

Of course the issue of limiting screen time for kids isn't unique to summer. I'm a stickler about it year-round (even though I admit I check my own email every ten minutes). While the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests school-age children spend no more than two hours a day engaged with "entertainment media"—TV, computers, smartphones and other electronic devices—I try to keep his screen consumption to 30 minutes a day. And usually, I manage to do it without my son devolving into fits. Here are 9 easy-to-implement ideas that will help get your kids—and you!—to turn off all those screens.

Take me out to the ball game! Or at least take me to a batting cage. Pre-kids, my husband and I frequented batting cages for fun (romantic, I know). But now that we have kids who can swing a bat, it's even more rewarding to hit up (pun intended) the area cages. We suggest you give it a try, too. Choose from slow to fast pitch, softball or baseball. Smack your troubles away, and watch the kids jump with delight when they make contact. From the Valley to the OC, it's a great place for beginners to figure it all out, and for the more advanced to finesse their swinging skills. Batter up!

This morning my daughter ripped the July page off her calendar with a mix of excitement and sadness. She was giddy because she turns eight this month but she was bummed because she realized that summer break is halfway done. That's why we plan to make the most of the next five weeks by crossing off items on our summer bucket list like hitting Rockaway Beach, going on rides at Coney Island and getting out on New York Harbor for a sight-filled sail.

We're actually doing that last one this Sunday at Stories & Songs of the Sea, the first in a series of Mommy Poppins Family Cruises we're hosting with Manhattan by Sail. My daughter can't wait to hit the water on the Clipper City Tall Ship for close-up views of the Statue of Liberty, tunes and tales by Bill Gordh, face painting and other family fun. Tickets are still available so book yours now.

While my family has been enjoying our NYC summer staycation, other Mommy Poppins bloggers have been traveling both near and far. Anna and her family got to test drive the 2014 Subaru Forester on their adventures in New England and the Maine. Our Boston peeps shared their picks for offbeat fun on Nantucket and our friends in New Jersey hopped a NY Waterway ferry for the first time.

Since it's a new month, all of our sites shared their respective Go Lists, highlighting the best things to do throughout August in each region. There's lots of FREE fun on tap for NYC this month but it's worth checking our Go Lists in Westchester, New Jersey, Connecticut and even Boston since a really special event might inspire a day or weekend getaway.

This week's giveaway is a bilingual birthday bash by Bilingual Birdies and you still have time to enter. And forgive us if we brag for a second, but Mommy Poppins got a nice shout out in the Huffington Post this week. One day you'll get to say you knew us when.

Here's everything else we covered on the NYC site this week:

Maritime festivals, arts festivals, outdoor concerts, the circus - there are more outdoor celebrations (most free!) in and around Boston going on this weekend than there is time to enjoy. Among the options are the Salem Maritime Festival in Salem, Family Day at Newburyport’s Yankee Homecoming Day, Massachusetts Marketplace Festival in Wellesley, Circus Smirkus in Newbury, and an outdoor concert with Karen K and the Jitterbugs on Georges Island. Planning ahead? Our August Go List has top (free!) festivals every weekend of the month.

Summertime is also movie time for many families. Outdoor options are plentiful, and for something different, Tara has everything you need to know about a family night at the drive-in: Five reasons to go to a drive-in theater, five drive-ins near Boston (and one that isn’t), and five tips for enjoying your experience to the fullest. And check out Tara’s review of Smurfs 2 in 3D - interesting takes from a parent and her kids!

If your travels take you to Nantucket, our friends at Nantucket Bucket have 10 off-the-beaten-path destinations to check out. You’ll find this and other related posts in our Cape Cod and the Islands Guide.

Enjoy!

Oh, summer! I like having you around. Your weather is inviting, and our dance cards are filled with one fun activity after another. But I’m a little unsettled: with the arrival of August, does that mean our time together is half over? Or is it really half just-begun?

Perhaps I shouldn't worry. Some of the best activities of the season don't even start until August. This weekend we have the premiere of an all-new Shakespeare production that's free, outdoors, geared for kids and has -- wait for it I can't wait any longer -- superheroes!  The Getty's Garden Concerts for Kids start this weekend as well, and they're free, outdoors,  geared for kids (this is starting to sound familiar) and -- alas - no superheroes -- but who needs superheroes when you have those awesome views at the Getty that you get to by riding a train up from the parking lot!

And if you like superheroes and vehicles, boy are you going to love this next thing. It's actually many things, over 15,000 of them across the country in fact. Next Tuesday's National Night Out celebrates our communities, and gives families a chance to say hi to their neighbors, their police officers, and their fire fighters. And if your kid gets to pet a police horse or climb into a helicopter, all the better. We have a few local celebrations listed (Beverly Hills, Burbank, Santa Monica, and Studio City), but if those aren't near you, poke around a bit and odds are good you could find one closer to you. (We'd list them all but, you know, 15,000).

Keep reading for some of our favorite picks for this summer-in-full-swing weekend...