By Kathleen Harvey, AAP Columnist

Summertime is when the days are long, the living is easy, and the kids are…still home!?! We all have some nostalgia for the summer days of our youth, but summertime as a parent is a little more complicated. Between shifting schedules, busy social calendars, sleepovers, camps and the days when the kids are home and bored, moms and dads have a lot on their plates.

So, what can you do with the kids are underfoot for four more weeks of vacation? The key is preparation. A little extra planning can make for a more stress‐free end of summer.

Keeping track of social calendars for an entire family can be a challenge. I use the calendar widget on my cell phone to keep track of my appointments and scheduling. But they aren’t designed for an entire family to keep track of sports, camps, picnics, driving schedules for play dates, all the things every family needs to coordinate. There are a couple of old fashioned, simple ways to keep track. Use a chalk board or white erase board as a weekly or monthly schedule. Use different colored chalk or erasable magic marker for each family member. Mount it in an easy to find spot in the kitchen or family room so everyone can see where they need to be and when. If these types of boards aren’t handy, another alternative is to use a piece of plywood or whatever is handy and attach post it notes, again one color per family member.

Summer wouldn’t be the same without ice cream and popsicles. When the kids plead for you to stop the ice cream truck that comes down the street for an after dinner dessert that isn’t always affordable and definitely isn’t healthy for every night. There is a budget-friendly and healthier way to keep the kids satisfied. Purchase small disposable paper cups, the kind used in the bathroom. Fill them with the kids’ favorite juice; add some fresh, canned, or pureed fruit; place a lid with a straw opening on top; add popsicle sticks or a straw through the slit; and leave in the freezer. When the kids want something cold and delicious, take them out of the freezer and remove the paper cup. These are especially great if you purchase fresh fruit in season, such as blueberries, cherries, and peaches. Even orange juice and fresh lemonade can make great popsicles. My mother did this for years when I was a kid. It also makes a great summer party treat for the kids running around the backyard during a barbeque.

But where there are frozen treats, there is melting and sticky fingers, which leads to sticky everything the kids touch. Enjoying summer’s sweetest treat without all the mess requires one simple addition, a cupcake liner with a napkin underneath. Positioned at the base of an ice cream cone or popsicle, the liner catches falling juice, so your hands and clothes don’t. Speaking of a summer barbeque, nothing kills a party faster than a shortage of ice-cold drinks. Luckily, there’s a quick way to serve beverages chilled to perfection. Wrap a wet paper towel around a lukewarm bottle of wine, beer, soda, or water, and place the containers in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the bottle or can, then open and serve toast-worthy libations to keep the party going!

Keeping cool during the summer months often requires ceiling fans. Switching the direction of your ceiling fan’s rotation in the summer can yield energy savings. Run fans counterclockwise in the sweltering season to optimize energy use. When Old Man Winter knocks, reverse the fans to circulate warm air and help keep the heating bills down.

These quick summer hacks can help make for a more enjoyable summer. Stay cool, see you in September!