Bay Players, Duxbury’s Community Theater troupe, can help you fill those tricky few weeks before those blessed yellow chariots take your angels back to school. At least they can help for one or two evenings. Bay Players’ third annual Summer Teen Musical, Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland, Jr.,” goes up for one weekend only (this coming weekend) at the First Parish Church on Tremont Street, Friday and Saturday, Aug. 3 and 4, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 5 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 each. The show is directed by Theresa Chiasson and Janet Fortier. To reserve tickets, send an email to: tickets@bayplayers.org or call 781-361-2453. Bay Players will contact you to confirm the reservation. Since the show runs just this one weekend, I won’t be able to review it first to spark your interest. Here’s the skinny: the basic story line is the well-known tale of Alice, on a fine day in the park, seeing and chasing a white rabbit. He is once again late for very important date. She goes on to meet the usual characters – a Mad Hatter, the Caterpillar (who now blows bubbles instead of smoking a hookah), the Cheshire Cat, the Queen of Hearts, and all the other marvelous inventions of Lewis Carroll. Many of the characters are played by multiple children, and the production is liberally splashed with songs from Disney adventures old and new. In fact, there are 22 musical numbers, so you’re bound to leave the theater humming a tune.

If your kids have turned you into the King or Queen of Hearts, and you’re shouting, “Off with their heads!” you may find some solace here. Tongue in cheek, I offer the following tips for surviving the last few weeks of summer:

There’s still time for camping. Nothing gives kids more new material for complaining than a change of scene, especially in the great outdoors. “Mom, there’s nothing on TV!” becomes “MOM! There’s something crawling on the TV! What is that thing?”

Unplugged camping offers even more new experiences. Many formal campgrounds, or your own back yard, offer sites without electricity at no extra charge. You might miss the latest Red Sox loss, but a night of swatting mosquitos by the fire may be more fun for all. Campfires give the whole family a chance to decompress, tell stories, and singe eyebrows all together.

Make a game of shopping for school supplies. Have the kids gather the money they’ve saved from summer jobs, chores, or their allowances. It won’t take long. Now pile them into the car, drop them off at the mall, and have them see who can finish their shopping first. The winner gets to pick a movie to watch at the multiplex with his or her left-over money. If necessary, losers have to chip in for popcorn. You may choose to give them snack money. Figure $8 per child per day of shopping. School starts on Aug. 29, so be sure to pick them up before then.

Change all of their nicknames, and see how long it takes them to notice.

Practice getting them up in the morning. This one requires a little acting, along with perfect timing. While they’re still dead asleep, sweep into their rooms with your best school-year good cheer.

“Let’s get up like the birdies do! Cheep! Cheep! Cheep!”

Before they can focus their eyes, quickly return to your own bed. Deny everything when they confront you. Variation: coordinate with your neighbors to see how many kids you can all get to wait at the bus stop on, say, Aug. 10.

 Tell them that you’ve lost an envelope with money in it. Tell them, “I was cleaning your rooms. I had it in my pocket, and then, Pfft! It was gone.”

See how many days you can keep them searching by adding territory: “Wait, I know I had it when went into the cellar… the attic… the garage…” Avaricious kids can be prodded by offering to split the money with the one who finds it. Sneaky kids may not require any prodding at all.

Above all, remember that the halcyon days of summer are coming to a close. Halcyon: calm, peaceful, joyful. Maybe back-to-school will come soon enough, and summer hasn’t been so bad after all.