This is a sponsored post. Although I received compensation, all opinions are 100% mine. School’s out for the summer! Words every kid gets excited over and most parents dread! Regardless of your work situation, having kids home for the summer poses a myriad of issues. The question is how to easily transition to summer when school ends? And how to do so without everyone losing their minds!

• Keep Your Schedule: One of my biggest errors in the summer is letting the kids stay up late. This means they get up later in the morning. When school starts, they are dragging butt for the first few weeks. Everyone is miserable until they get back on their schedule. Instead, keep your school schedule going. For older kids, letting them stay up an extra hour should be fine, but no more than that.
• Secure Childcare: One of the biggest changes a family can face is finding summer childcare for the kids. I am blessed to work from home, so this is not an issue. For many working families. this can be a tough one. Check with your local YMCA. Many have affordable summer care and camps. Also Girl and Boy Scouts and the Boys and Girls Club of America are good sources as well.

Initiate Independence: During the school year, the kids chores are at a minimum. This is a choice we made to ensure they can concentrate on their homework and studies. During the summer, they help out at home. They are also expected to do things for themselves that I usually do during the school year. This includes making their own breakfast and lunch. Since my kids are older, they can make a handful of items. Even the youngest kids can muster up a bowl of their favorite cereal, right?

Schedule Fun Time: Summer is a time to relax and have fun. For many families, it is a time to re-connect after a hectic school year. We have family in Atlanta, which is a three hour drive from our home. We visit often during the summer. We also visit many of the local attractions and theme parks. A lazy Sunday is perfect for a family picnic too! The possibilities are endless!

Schedule Friend Time: My daughter is a social butterfly. She loves spending time with her friends from school. We live a bit out of the school district, so her friends live farther away. During the summer, we make sure we get together at least a few times a month.

Another fun idea for your kids this summer is a contest Lucky Charms is offering. Do your kids fight over the marshmallows in their Lucky Charms? Mine do! It is a race to see who gets the most once they open that sacred box of deliciousness! So, what if you had the chance to win a Lucky Charms Marshmallow Only box? A dream come true, right? Well, dream no more!

Now, Walmart is giving a chance to their shoppers to win a box of Lucky Charms Marshmallow Only at participating stores! I could just scream!! Squee!! All you need to do is head over to your participating Walmart Supercenter. Head to the cereal aisle and grab a specially marked boxes of Family Size Lucky Charms and ring that sucker up! But hurry, because this is only while supplies last!

There will be 10,000 boxes given away!! Just look for the in-store signage or head online find more! You can also enter online! Lucky Charms is one of our favorite cereals, so this is especially exciting for us! As a mom, I love that they are now gluten free, with the same recipe and the same taste. I love the original while the kids enjoy the chocolate flavor!

So, what would you do with a box of Marshmallow-Only Lucky Charms? Personally, I would hide it from my kids and keep it all for myself! OK, just kidding, I would share…a little! So, here are the specifics on the contest. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C. who are 18 years of age or older. Make a Qualifying Purchase/Request Free Code by 12/31/17. Enter Code(s)/Play Instant Win Game by 12/31/17. For Rules, free method of obtaining Codes, prize pools, and complete details, visit www.MarshmallowOnly.com. Void where prohibited.

So what are you waiting for?!? Hurry to your Walmart Supercenter and stock up on those specially marked boxes of the Family Size Lucky Charms cereal!