From the article: Everyday Summer Activities for Kids
When school lets out, kids sometimes think summer should be non-stop fun, but the reality is that most of us adults don't get the summer off. So we can't take them to museums, water parks or carnivals every day as a kid's summer fantasy might dictate.
Kids of work-at-home moms, in particular, must find fun summer activities to do at home. But that doesn't mean they can't have fun! What kind of summer activities do your kids do at home while you work? Share Your Ideas
Kids of work-at-home moms, in particular, must find fun summer activities to do at home. But that doesn't mean they can't have fun! What kind of summer activities do your kids do at home while you work? Share Your Ideas
old fashon fun
- my kids love playing in the yard and finding old scraps of wood and making cubys and forts. It takes effort but at the end of the day we all are proud of what we have done.
- —Guest sam
Neighbors
- Lease your kids to a kindly neighbor for the summer and let HER keep them entertained!
- —Guest JuleS
Fun Summer Meal Nights
- Our family tradition each summer is to have a fun family meal each week. Some examples are a picnic (indoors if it rains), dessert first, breakfast for dinner, fancy speak dinner (where we use the biggest words we can think of to say everything), candle light dinner, welcome to china dinner (or any other country), and the highlight is our family progressive dinner which we do at the end of every summer. For this each person hosts a course of the meal in their bedroom. They clean and "decorate" their room to prepare for their course. They shop for their course (little ones have to stay with mommy but get to pick out what they want for their course.) They secretly prepare and set up their course. Then at supper, we go from room to room starting with the appetizer and ending with dessert. We parents host the entree in our room and have been known to use the crock pot or electric skillet in there. We try to do them on the same night each week, even when we are on vacation elsewhere.
- —Guest Fun Summer
get young teens off the couch
- We tried a camera scavenger hunt. It was a hit! I chose a list of ten things ex. Dragonfly, lizard, animal track, partner making funny face, purple flower, etc. The kids suggested next have more pics with them doing something (maybe a pic of the other teams when they are not looking). It was fun and free. It got them noticing some nature and each-other. First one through list got to pick dessert!
- —Guest jeannette
I have tons of ideas that kids love....
- I have had shaving cream & jello days (yes exactly how it sounds) where they go outside in their bathing suits & cover each other in the stuff. Then they run through the sprinklers & have water balloon fights to wash it all off. This is one of my favorites. Another thing that is cheap is getting a 2 dollar bag of fake creepy crawlers & hiding them all in the sandbox the kids spend forever trying to find all of them & I usually call it the dino dig! They think they are great explorers discovering fossils!
- —Guest Nanny Shannon
Summer Activities
- Make a treasure hunt, & have a treat for the treasure, then have the kids make one. * Kids lay on the sidewalk and draw around them with the 3D chalk. They add facial features and design clothes. Pictures of course. * Put streamers on small dowels, & record them dancing to music with them. * Kids LOVE sleeping in tents. Library books to read with flashlights. * Pancakes? Spray metal cookie cutters, & put on the grill. Fill with dough. Use tongs to remove the cookie cutters when ready to turn, or pour heart shapes for the pancakes. * PBandJ tastes even better w/a picnic at the park. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Make butter from whipping cream to put on the sandwiches. Instructions on the net. * Snow cones machine-good investment for summer treat. * Kids plant a small garden. They eat carrots better when they grow them. * Bake cookies and take to an elderly neighbor. * Bible devotions before bedtime. Lots of them on the net. Time is THE best investment for kids. * Love, Granny Bev
- —BeverlyAnderson
For youngsters
- I'd suggest a coloring book (from the net maybe www.the-coloring-book.com or any other site) or buying an activity set like pottery, beads etc. This way they will develop their faculties and enjoy too.. just make sure they keep the house clean :).
- —Guest Oly
Weekly Themes
- Since my kids are little, I like to try and do a weekly theme. I find them coloring sheets, work sheets, craft projects, games, books, or whatever else that go along with the theme. Some of the activities keep them busy while I work, others we do together.
- —Guest Carey
Old Fashioned Fun
- We live in a suburban area, and my kids really enjoy getting out on their bikes or just running around in the sprinkler. The regular suburban neighborhood stuff. I love sitting under the carport on my porch swing with the laptop while I work. I can keep an eye on the kids while they tool around in the yard. It's these simple activities that they seem to enjoy the most, and even forget about the XBox for a while.
- —DiyRain
structured and unstructured time
- We try to create a balance of structured and unstructured activities. So we have a basic weekly schedule that the kids can hang their individual preferences on. Early morning they hang out at the local rec center so they have time with other kids. Then each day has a theme, and over the summer the kids build on the theme. Monday is art day and we do activities around that, and have "shows" in the "gallery" from time to time. The kids create movies on Thursdays that build over the summer. One day is devoted to creating a play, etc. Friday is field trip day. And in the afternoons we have several hours of open play with a setup pool which the kids adore. We have a trampoline and lots of natural area in which to play. We are also close to a river so the woods around it are great for exploring, as is wading along its safer edges. But I have to send them off for a few hours in the morning so I have time to bang out some work, uninterrupted.
- —peraltagal
Play outside!
- I shoo the kids outside as much as I can. In our backyard we have a playset with swings and climbers, plus all kinds of ride-on toys and a driveway area. Then there's sidewalk chalk, bubbles, etc. We picked up a used, kid-sized picnic table and the kids love to eat out there too. (I have a hard time working outside due to laptop glare though--anyone know how to remedy that?)
- —FamilyFitness
Summer activities at home
- Thank heavens for H2O! When mine were little, filling the wading pool in the backyard was good for hours of entertainment. Now that they're older, they head for the neighborhood pool.
- —parentingyoungadults
Variety
- I think variety is key. We usually do like a field trip Friday. If your chores are done and you follow the rules during the week, we all go out on Friday for those fun things. Some days I get centers set up for fun stations. It might be something lame like a Wii fit station, reading station (BYOB), make your own snack station, bubble machines at one, bikes, etc.
- —Guest MomofMany
finding a balance
- We're trying to find a balance between day-camps, overnight camps, and playing around the house. We have a creek near us, and the kids would live down there if we let them, we've also put up a couple of hammocks in the yard, and the whole neighborhood hangs out in those! We'll be making picnic lunches, snowcones & relaxing in the shade. I'm also looking for volunteer opportunities for my 11 & 13 year old, so that they're out doing activities that they can enjoy, but that don't cost money.
- —Guest Suzi
What we do...
- Let's see. We are lucky to have a ton of outside area to play (25 acres) so lots of time is spent building forts and lean-tos, foraging in the woods for flowers etc., and just tromping around. We got one of those Easy-Set pools a couple of years ago and that occupies a lot of time. I have to watch them, but I have a laptop and can watch them from my deck while I work. Ideal! I admit that I recruit help (my husband, who's a teacher) to watch the kids in the summer, though. It would be tough not to have another adult helping with that.
- —laurenware
