Everywhere you look someone is telling you to get ready to go back to school. Stores are urging you to come get your supplies and new clothes. Parents are reminding you to get your bus passes and clean out your closet. Websites post lists for you to read through and check off before the first day of class. This list is different. This is the back to school list just for kids.

1) Did you do everything that you wanted to do this summer?

Think back to before summer break. Is there an activity you planned on doing? Is there a hobby you wanted to spend more time on? How about a friend you wanted to see during the holidays? Did you hope to arrange a treasure hunt or put new wheels on your skateboard? Think hard—then act. There is still time to take care of that one great idea.

2) You’ve grown up a little over the summer—so should your personal space.

Take a minute and think about your room, your desk and even the posters on your wall. Go through your clothes and try them on. Jeans and shirts that don’t fit should go in a pile to give to your Mom or Dad. Do the same with your action figures, your posters, the cool stuff you have on your desk.

Looking through your personal space and seeing what “doesn’t fit anymore” will show you how much a life can change in a couple short months.

3) Now, do some house cleaning on your social media.

Many people–and that includes kids–are going through their settings. They are cutting out “friends” from the people they really know from actual flesh-and-blood life. Many recommend taking a good, long look at your privacy settings.

Make sure that when you post a personal detail, only real human beings that you know can see what you’ve written. A good rule of thumb is: Would you feel okay hanging alone in your room with this person? If the answer is, “Geez, I dunno,” then think hard about giving that person a look inside your life.

4) Relax.

School is a phase of life that takes you into the future. You’ll be going to classes that don’t seem to make sense and doing homework that doesn’t seem to have any purpose. For some of you, people might be asking you about college or university and great future plans. The best thing for you to do before you walk into that big crowded building is to just relax. Do your best and the rest will come.

So how is your summer going so far? Are you having a blast? If you have a pet that plays with you outdoors, such as a cat or a dog, summer means more time to enjoy with them. So before school starts up again, now is also a great time to remind yourself about important facts regarding animal care for the summer and all year round.

1. GET YOUR PETS VACCINATED.

Summer is a time when families travel more and kids have more time to play outside in the sunshine. And if your family includes a dog, your pet will be out among other animals than usual. Also, some travel requires that your pet has necessary shots before crossing borders. That’s why now is a good time to ask your veterinarian of your animal’s shots are up to date.

2. KEEP YOUR PET UNDER YOUR CONTROL.

Strangers may not like your pets and could turn a great day into a big scene. Even if your pet is perfectly friendly and safe, some people have a fear of dogs and even your sweet pup runs up to say hello, the person may see the greeting as an attack. Always make sure that your pet is in your control, either well trained or on a leash. That way, everyone can have more fun.

3. NEVER LEAVE YOUR PET IN A HOT VEHICLE.

Remember that cars and trucks can kill a pet with heat. Every year people leave their dogs and cats in cars under a hot sun. Even with the window cracked, the heat can quickly become deadly. Leaving the air conditioning on when the family goes into a hamburger joint is okay, but always check occasionally to make sure that the vehicle is still running.

4. MAKE SURE THAT YOUR PET HAS A TAG WITH INFORMATION.

Your pet doesn’t have a cell phone to call home when lost, so make sure he always has his collar on. The dog or cat license from your town or city helps people return your pet if he or she runs off after a rabbit or another dog. Also consider having a special tag made up with your phone number as well as your pet’s name.

5. WATCH OUT FOR YOUR PET’S FEET, SUNBURNS AND DEHYDRATION.

If you can feel it, so can your pet! If the sun is so hot that you can’t stand on the sidewalk, then it is too hot for your pet to stand on the sidewalk. If your nose is starting to blister from the sun, your pet’s nose is in danger of a burn. If you’re dehydrated and sweating then you and your pet both need water. If you have your pet tied up, make sure there is shade and fresh water.

Happy Summer!
And remember, your pet loves you and depends on you to love him back.

Wow! You learned how to do the front crawl, earned $63 dollars with your lemonade stand and your whole family spent a week at a resort all the way across the country. And every day of your summer break, as your thumb hovers over your phone, you need to ask yourself one question: Should I post this?

As you think about that great picture of your sister with cotton candy all over her face, remember one of the basic rules of social media posting: Do not post a picture of anybody without that person’s permission. That includes your sister. Remember, too, that while you might get a laugh at an embarrassing picture of your brother and his bar-b-que sauce accident, posting that picture could be something you regret for years to come.

Another thought to go over as your fingers find the post icon is this: How many pictures do I post? The answer: As few as possible.

When you send picture after picture after picture after picture, people start to get annoyed. It can also seem a little desperate to load your page with dozens of images from the same place. Better to choose two or three cool shots to post and save the rest to show your close friends when you get home.

When typing text on social media, less is also better. Shorter posts are more likely to be read and less likely to contain detailed, personal details that could be used to harm you or your family.

It’s also more fun to show pictures and describe details in person. Then you can make sure that you only share with friends that are close enough to meet face-to-face. You can see the looks on their faces when you tell them about that awesome midway ride.

Considering that you will have more free time to post on social media, this is a good time to double check your privacy settings. It’s also a good time to go through your “friends” and truly think about who you really—really—know. When you go through the list, you could find people that are complete strangers to you.

Summer is a time when you have more freedom to explore and enjoy the real world. So grab that opportunity. Put down your phone and truly experience your summer vacation. What you do this summer can change how you feel, think and what you do for the rest of your life.

Yes, it’s great to have pictures and share the experience with your “friends.” What’s more important is the way reality can shape who you are. Take it easy on the social media and discover that the most important “posts” are the ones that you carry in your head and your heart and share by how you live.

Wow! This is going to be an exciting summer. You’ve got so much fun waiting for you and the best part is that you get to make the fun happen. Here are five ideas you can read and think about. Pick out a couple and ask your parents to help get the fun rolling.

This list may help you think about ideas of your own.

1. Treasure Hunt! You can go online and read about the different ways that you can arrange the hunt. The best way to get all your friends together and ask a parent to hide the treasure. It could be a batch of cookies or a gift certificate for a pizza or each child could bring one small toy to make up the treasure. Or you could be the treasure master, stashing the prize and making up clues that you hide in advance.

Clues could be something like “Look for the tree with the home-made swing,” or “Find the big grey rock and take three steps south.” Each clue leads to another clue and at the very end, the treasure. Maybe each of your friends could pick a day and hold their own treasure hunt. The hunts can be as long or as short as you want.

2. Have a Box Sculpture Contest! This is easy. Just ask your parents to get empty boxes from a grocery or chain store. Make sure you have a lot of them in a lot of different sizes. Then you need strong tape, glue and markers to decorate what you make. You could even decide on a theme, like box spaceships, box forts or box cars.

3. Learn How to Fly a Kite! Kites are relatively cheap to buy, but many kids prefer to learn about kites online and make their own. This activity requires you to follow the weather and look for good places to catch the wind, usually a park or a hill. This takes those reflexes that help you play video games and uses them in the real world. And it’s fun.

4. Put on a Kids Clothing Swap! Ask your parents what they think about this. It would be a good way to clean out closets as well as encourage everyone to recycle. Just make sure that all clothes are clean and mended when they are brought to the swap.

5. Explore Your Local World! Get a guide book or go online to find out what you can do in your home town! What is the oldest building in your city? Where was the first school built? Was anyone famous born in your town? Is there a museum you can tour? What about a pond where you can sail a boat?

No matter where you live, you can enjoy a whole world of adventure. All you need to do is use your imagination.

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