5 Tips to have the best summer ever:

1. Set aside some time every day to have fun with your children. Whether it's running through the sprinkler together on a hot afternoon or counting the stars on a blanket in the backyard before bedtime, do one thing a day to connect and have fun.

2. Institute daily reading time and biweekly library visits. Read to your kids, and have them read on their own.

3. Help your kids develop a healthy relationship with time , one that is without technology. Time is, after all, what life is made of. To help kids learn to structure their time, set up a Boredom Buster Jar. I found some great ideas at www.sugardoodle.net

4. Strictly limit technology to certain times of the day. When kids are bored and it's hot outside, screentime has a way of swallowing up all their time. It may be a good babysitter, but we all know that's not what kids need. The more you limit screen time, the better kids get at finding creative things to do with their time -- and the less they bug you to watch TV or play computer games.

5. Plan some fantastic family memories, even if you don’t have the money or time to head off on vacation. Don’t wait. The key is to get out a calendar and schedule the things you really want to do.