There is strict security to ensure nobody but the teachers are in the playroom, not even parents picking up kids. You and your child have matching bracelets and you have a beeper so they can reach you. If you have children over and under 3, as I do, try teaming up with another couple and take turns staying home with the younger siblings while the other takes the older ones to the movies. Summer pajama story time. I know this sounds like something out of Norman Rockwell, but a friend of mine has organized a weekly bedtime reading in front yards around our neighborhood.
Kids show up after dinner and baths in their pajamas and bring their own milk or juice.
The hosting parents provide a snack and read a few of their kids' favorite books. We are going to try it in front or back yards, so the readers won't have to compete with indoor toys. We might move it inside if the heat, noise or bugs are too much. Here are some of the more popular suggestions from last summer's column. Hands-On Museum, which has new exhibits about children's diversity and bubbles.