Unpacking

"The best thing about your newsletter," said a reader who met me in person at an event last June, "is the sheer number of things to do, and the fact that they're just packed in there, all in one handy place."

"Thanks!" I said. I may have glowed a little.

"And the worst thing about your newsletter," she continued, "is the guilt trip. I know you don't mean to lay that on us. We can't do it all, so it means we read about so much we can't do. Especially in summer."

She was right, in one sense, of course. June and July are the most packed months of the calendar: Kids are out of school, families are ready for fun, and our communities respond. Each local organization gets to post its own events on our calendar for free, and many are featured in this newsletter, so what's happening is right there in front of you.

But I get it! And I hereby remove the guilt. Ego te absolvo. Of course, good families try to expose their kids to great things, but no one has the time, money, or energy to do it all. This stuff needs to be spread out over a childhood, not packed into a single summer, much less a single weekend. So make a family bucket list for Summer 2026. An easy way to do that is to take our annual survey of the Top 20 Places to Take Kids, which is open through June 20; it has dozens of places to have fun this summer, even though you only vote for your top 3! And you should also use our 50 Ways to Love Your Summer article for ideas that require zero technology, zero travel, and zero dollars.

Above all, go easy! Remember, summer is no time for grades! The only prize is the summer that's right for your family.

—Debra Ross, publisher

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