In the summer months a lot of other Moms & Dads I know freak out about the kids being home. Home for the WHOLE summer. ACK!!! The freak out moment of “Oh, my God the kids are going to drive me absolutely crazy. I have NO idea what to do ALL summer with them!” I can understand that fear, it’s because the routine of the year is being thrown off for a few months & there’s worry of everyone driving each other crazy without that routine.
But there are some great ways to keep the kids busy in the summer. On the days when just relaxing & free play is leading to the “I’m Bored” Syndrome. Syndrome doesn’t just strike thee kids but it can strike Mom too!
1. Check out Homeschool Websites for ideas.
Seriously, these mommas are finding all sorts of great ways to engage their kids on a regular basis. Why not look at the ideas they have & adapt them to your family? We homeschool in the summers, although it is not a rigid school approach it does allow for us to have some routine. I find that coming up with some ideas for the week is great. However, a word to the wise don’t worry if your really great plan doesn’t work one week or you don’t create every single activity you thought was amazing. Instead, be flexible. It may be that you changed plans because the weather was so awesome that you decided spend all day outside exploring.
Two great Homeschool Sites are:
Simple Homeschool
The Homeschool Classroom
2. Have a craft bin on hand that is easy for the kids to use.
We have pencils, colored pencils, crayons, scissors & scrap paper available for quick use. I also keep some paper that is lined & available for them to practice writing or making books with. Just make sure the kids know to ONLY use the scrap paper. Once I had them use important paper that was for work to make some pretty sweet books.
3. Make use of the library.
It’s free & if you set up a day to go weekly you know ahead of time that it is an activity that’s waiting for you. Don’t be afraid to take your little ones into the library, it’s a good experience for them to connect to books & to learn how to work on “quiet” voices. Some libraries have great kid corners that have activities for kids. Libraries often have special events for kids & families. Check out the summer schedules & see what’s available at your local library (remember you can also check out those in nearby cities!). Our kids love the library. We go on a regular basis. When we get home we have some quiet reading time, we set up a reading corner in the basement & the kids have bookshelves in reach in their rooms (and the basement). Just make sure you turn your books on time to avoid late fees.
4. Get out & explore nature.
You can do these by just walking around your neighborhood, heading out to a park, a nature reserve or the beach. Take a camera with you and a notebook to capture things you would normally walk past. Have the kids point out what they see that’s of interest to them. But don’t turn it into 20 questions, let it be fun! You can also have a picnic outside & discuss what you see. My kids love doing this, they think a picnic outside is the coolest thing since sliced bread. Hey, they are easily impressed. I’m taking it for all it’s worth right now. And plus, it’s really cool to see the different things they come up with & when you get home you can explore their interests together.
5. Memberships to the zoo and local museums.
Getting a membership can be a great way to get out of the house & get some fresh air with a change of scenery. I found the zoo last year to be a great place to explore. We’d walk around, talk about the animals we saw & just enjoy the fresh air. Pack some snacks & water for your trip that way you don’t spend more money while there. Children’s museums can be a wonderful resource as well. A day could easily be spent exploring one area of the museum. You might also want to check with your local library. Many libraries offer passes available for a free check out to local cultural experiences. I was really pleased to find out ours does. Even if it only covers 4 people, our family 6 still would save money if we were only going for a single day trip versus multiple times over the summer. If we were going for many trips then a membership might be a better deal, price checking is always good.
AND remember if the kids say they are bored they can always help with cleaning. Have some nontoxic cleaning supplies on hand & give them a rag. Boredom will be overcome.
What are the ways you keep kids busy in the summer? Any tips you’d like to share? Anything you remember doing as a kid?
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I think over the last year with adding another baby to the mix, working what sometimes feels non-stop & with Hubby & I both trying to finish our graduate degrees I’ve realized a few things. And by the way we both are done now with school! Hubby is an official graduate next month!!! I’m so proud of him for earning his MBA while working full-time, being present for his family & staying sane. And so throughout all this craziness there were 5 things or lessons that I realized.
5 lessons on managing family time & work time.
1. A visual wall calendar.
It turns out that not having a visual calendar to glance up at left us missing appointments, forgetting school schedules and all around losing track of everything that was going on. We both have calendars in our phones, but having the larger week or month ahead to look at on the wall together allows both of us to see what is coming up & what we need to plan ahead for. It also makes it easier to see everyone’s schedules, with 6 people in the family & all our other commitments having this is tremendously helpful. I wish we had this the entire year, we did last year & it was life saver this year we learned the hard way it is still a life saver.
2. Some meal planning.
I’m not one to map out the entire year, month, or even week to the letter with food. However, having a list of go-to meals that were fast & simple to put together really saved time & money. Without a loose meal plan we would be left scrambling for something & that often means picking up food that costs more & isn’t as good as homemade. Even ending up with cereal every night would cost too much & not be as good as homemade. Having a loose meal plan with a few go-to meals & ideas for the week saved us huge headaches & money.
3. Have adult time as a couple.
We can largely thank family for helping watch the kids to let us out among adults after dark. Without their help we’d never have that. But if we didn’t have family we’d have to be more creative to find sitters through the local high school or friends who might have a night a month (even once a month can be a sanity saver) for us to get out. When we are home we also have time for each other after the kids go to bed, we do this every night, making time for each other. We spend that time talking about our days, relaxing and just enjoying each others’ company. Being able to stay connected helped us to face the challenges of the day as a couple & to continue to grow together in love.
4. Have adult time for yourself.
Hard to do but really very necessary. I found that blogging, reading and getting together once in a while with friends for breakfast (even if baby was along for the ride) helped me to refocus my time. I focused on what was good & was able to laugh about what might have gone wrong (like say if you leak breast milk all over yourself during a lecture). My husband had football nights and other times he went out with friends, he also took time to find books he wanted to read. Even if we didn’t get out for hours on end we found ways to have time for self everyday. I realized how true it is to say “without some time for you, you can’t give back to anyone else.”
5. Make the most of family time.
It’s easy when trying to schedule everything & get through the week to forget family time. We realized that unless this, like adult time & time for self, was a priority we’d end up not spending time with the people we were working so hard to make a living for. I mean what’s the point in busting your tush to get to the weekend only to spend it zoned out in front of the T.V. not even talking to each other about what you are watching & realizing you wasted the time to be together as a family? Yes, you are technically “together” but you are not engaged in real family time. Instead, we wanted real family time the kind where you actually talk to each other & get to know each other. We planned trips to the library, did errands with kids in tow (even if it was just one of us taking 2 kids, while the other spent time home with the other 2 kids), had game nights, read books together as a family and if we watched T.V. together we made it an event like family movie night or living room camp out with talking. Making time for family was & is important.
I am sure I will continue to learn more lessons as we figure out how to manage daily life. Heck, even before kids we had to figure out a lot of things. Now it’s just with more people!
So, for you all out there, what are your lessons on managing family & work?
Remember it doesn’t matter if you are stay-at-home, work-at-home, work-out-of-the-home or any combination of these things we all work & we are all trying to manage our days!
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If you are a student, paying for a course, please for the love of all that is holy in this world open the book. Open it at least once, even if just to look at the pictures. The pictures are bright & colorful. Even if your instructor is not. You paid for the book, open it.
And as a side note: whatever you do, don’t tell your instructor that “I had a cool party to go to so that’s why I missed class” or anything else along these lines. Instead read the book, go to class for lecture and prepare yourself. If you don’t show up because you’d rather party don’t tell your instructor because I hate to break it to you she or he does NOT care. Unless they are invited to said party, keep it to yourself. It will make everyone happier.
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