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I’m a Little Afraid
By Polly | June 18, 2006
Well summer vacation for my kids has officially begun and I have to admit, I’m a little afraid. How am I going to keep these kids from getting bored and making me miserable? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe a parent should try to entertain their kids every waking hour of the day, that’s why God gave them imaginations, but if I don’t provide some guidance and assistance, I’m a little worried what trouble their imaginations might get them into….So here are my strategies for this summer:
- Try and maintain some type of structure to their day and week - consistent bed and morning times, plan recurring outings (i.e. pool or library) for the same day and time each week
- Schedule one “do nothing” day each week. I like Monday’s for these because they are usually tired from the busy weekend. Gives us all a chance to relax and catch up.
- Arrange for my kids to play with kids other than each other. It only takes a week of your little sister tagging along or your older sister telling you what to do before you become very bored and frustrated.
- Have back up activities planned - craft kits, science experiments, treasure hunts and anything else I can think of.
- Enroll them in our library’s reading program. They continue to read and earn prizes at the same time.
- Enrolling them in a couple of camps, vacation bible school, volleyball, and performing arts. Other than vacation bible school, I try and limit the number of camps for each kid to 1.
- Make them continue to learn…this isn’t popular with them, but I try and have them do at least some type of learning activity each week.
What are your strategies?
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Anticipating Disruptions to the Daily Routine
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Topics: Boredom Busters, Family Life Tips |
June 18th, 2006 at 3:17 pm
I try to plan some “big” neighborhood, or friend, activities - once a month.
We always have a tie-dye party - usually during July or August. Everyone chips in a few dollars to order supplies. Bring-your-own tie-dye fabrics (tshirts, pillow cases, etc), drinks, snacks to share. Have fun!
Another fun gathering activity is just water play - sprinklers, water balloons, kiddy pools of water.
June 18th, 2006 at 4:17 pm
We make chocolate candy and give it to our friends for fun! Its especially fun to decorate according to the 4th of July! Chocolate dipped pretzels, strawberries are a big hit! The kids can do the dipping themselves and eat their creations!
June 18th, 2006 at 7:50 pm
Great plans!!
My son will be doing two weeks of bike day camps and we will be goign away a bit. On the other days I will borrow some of you tips - thanks!
June 19th, 2006 at 12:08 am
I would like to help out by letting everyone know about my contest for girls and their dolls. It is called “Me and My Doll On Vacation”. It is an opportunity for the girls to win prizes and most important have fun with thier dolls when they go on vacation. 3 chances to win and registration and all rules can be found on my site, A Girls Treasure at http://www.mytreasures.biz. I hope this will help keep someone occupied this summer!!!
June 19th, 2006 at 12:28 am
Great suggestions - thanks for all of them.
I’ve only got a toddler (gulp - up until a week ago she was still officially a baby!) but I’ve got a suggestion from my childhood days -
Don’t forget those emergency rainy day plans! My mom had a huge bucket she charged my brother and me with decorating, and we then filled it with dress-up clothing, cool toys, new crayons, etc. The “rainy day box” could only be opened when it was bad weather; so we never cried if we didn’t get to go out!
Jennifer
June 19th, 2006 at 2:40 am
Another idea is celebrating “Christmas in July” (turkey with all the trimmings) or a flashlight scavenger hunt (at night). Another nighttime activity is sleeping in a tent in the backyard as a family. Also, for those really “whiney” days a container filled with written activity ideas that can be pulled out as a “reward.” Real clay is another favorite around our house… for pounding, rolling, and moulding. Writing mystery stories or a kids’ newspaper, vegetable gardening, learning to play the recorder or guitar, and bread-baking are some other educational activities you might consider. How about a beach day, decorating bikes and scooters for a neighborhood parade, museum day, a real tea party, or making gift baskets for the elderly? I think I’d like to become a kid all over again!
June 19th, 2006 at 4:47 am
The little felt activity books from Story Time Felts are great for entertaining the kids quietly! They have felt figures that they play with on the pages. I have a 2.5 year old and he can spend an hour wih these books! http://www.funfelt.com My older kids like making up stories with the felt board story sets as well, such as the fairy tales or dinosaurs and they are 12 and 9! I hate plopping kids in front of the TV so this type of product keeps their imaginations going all summer long.
Karen
June 19th, 2006 at 10:25 pm
I am having a Summer Camp at home with my daughter this year. We have craft time, outings, scavenger hunts and other activities planned. There will also be some learning involved. Shh!! Don’t tell her! Her main project for the summer is to write letters, both snail mail and email to friends and family. Please take a look at our blog. I will be posting what we do on a daily basis. Perhaps you can find some inspiration
If you would like more information then please email me and I can send you ideas through email. crischeek@gmail.com
Have a great day!
Cris