Zoom became popular during the pandemic, but the video chat platform—and others like FaceTime and Skype—is great for more than just quarantine times. For families like mine, with grandparents spread across the country, a Zoom date is an easy, satisfying way to foster face-to-face connections between generations. While a casual chat is fun in itself, sometimes we like to up the ante and incorporate some fun activities into the video session. Here are our 10 favorite activities and games that kids can do with grandparents over Zoom.

For more fun Zoom tips, be sure to read our roundups of ways to make virtual hangouts more awesome and the best games to play with friends virtually.

New York City is examining a range of ways to reopen public schools in the fall, including staggered schedules and potentially more remote learning, according to a letter Chancellor Richard Carranza sent to school staff earlier this week. The chancellor breaks down the reopening plans into an eight-point "Fall Framework" and points out that there are still many unknowns.

While the letter does not offer a firm NYC school reopening date other than September, the city's mayor hinted that September 10 is a possibility during a Thursday press conference. Mayor Bill de Blasio referenced the date several times in responding to questions about the school reopening plan, saying, it's "impossible to say, 'Here's exactly what's going to happen on September 10, 2020,'" and "there's going to be a certain number of parents that even if school was open to all in person, they're not going to be ready necessarily on September 10 to send their child back."

Read on for the full contents of the chancellor's letter to learn more about what the new normal might look like for NYC's 1.1 million students come fall, including a combination of in-person and online instruction, split schedules, social distancing protocols, enhanced health measures, and more.

Updated: Wednesday, June 22: Six Flags Great Adventure and Safari has announced a reopening date of Saturday, July 4, with a member preview day set for July 3. Reservations will be required, and all guests must undergo a contactless temperature check before entry. Capacity will be limited, masks required, social distancing enforced, and enhanced sanitation protocols will be put into place. Due to its popularity, the drive-thru safari will remain open for the foreseeable future.

Families fed up with online field trips take note: It's time to grab your binoculars and cameras because Six Flags Great Adventure and Safari is reopening its animal kingdom as a drive-thru experience this weekend. Timed-entry tickets go on sale this week.

This isn't the first time Six Flags Great Adventure and Safari has allowed visitors to drive their vehicles through the attraction; some parents may still have vacation photos from the good old days, when baboons used to jump on the family station wagon. The 350-acre park operated as a drive-thru adventure from its 1974 opening through 2012.

The return of this classic experience is temporary, though. So if you aren't quite ready to flock to the beaches at the Jersey shore, read on for how and when your family can get tickets for a local safari. We've also got the scoop on what Phase 1 of reopening means for NJ families.