Am I the only one that feels like summer is the ultimate test of my mothering skills? I get to play referee, be the activity director and of course there's the short order cook position. Don't forget that your kids "must" do some sort of school-related work to keep the minds fresh and to make sure they don't loose everything they were just taught in school. Really? I never did school work in the summer and seemed to do just fine. Why is there such a push these days? Does it really make that big of a difference?
If I were a "good" mom, I'd have super fun activities planned each day. Maybe something like this...
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1. Draw with Sidewalk Chalk
2. Play with Water Toys in the Yard
3. Slip N Slide
4. Make Giant Bubbles5. Paint Items Outside with Water (It dries and there is no mess!)
6. Go to a Local Fishing Pond
7. Backyard Campout
8. Draw Monster Pictures on Paper, Hang them in the Yard and “Melt” them with the Hose or Spray Bottle
9. Head to a Splash Park
10. Go on a Treasure Hunt for Rocks and Paint them
11. Participate in the Summer Movie Program! (Kid Friendly Movies are only $.50 during the Summer!)
12. Collect Flowers and Press them in Books
13. Outdoor Picnic
14. Create a Campfire and Do S’mores
15. Head to the Zoo
16. Make a Lemonade Stand and Sell it Outside to the Neighbors
17. Take a Tour of a Fire Statio
18. Head to a Water Park
19. Go on a Family Hike
20. Have a Movie Night Outside with Pillows and Blankets
21. Make Homemade Ice Cream
22. Head to a Free Fireworks Show or Have Your Own at Home
23. Do a Family Game Night with Fun Prizes at the End
24. Go on a Bike Ride
25. Take a Family Walk
26. Go to a Park and Feed the Ducks
27. Have Bathtime in the Bathtub with Glowsticks!28. Build a Fort Inside on a Rainy Summer Day
29. Let them Color on your Windows with Window Markers or Crayons
30. Purchase Solid Colored Shirts and Hand Kids a Bleached Pen to Create their Own Designs
31. Make Your Own Playdoh32. Do an Outdoor Scavengar Hunt
33. Color Ice Cubes and Set on the Drive way to Melt
34. Fingerpaint with Pudding
35. Make Tin Foil Dinners and Cook them in the Oven.
36. Teach your Kids to Sew.
37. Make cute hair clips with your Kids.
38. Find Shapes in the Clouds
39. Water Balloon Fight
40. Play Outdoor Night Games
41. Go to the Library Each Week and Read Books at the Park
42. Make Homemade Popsicles43. Backyard Tic Tac Toe44. Make a Marshmallow Shooter, Spray Paint the Outside and Have Teams
45. Blow Up Balloons and Cut Water Noodles in Half for a Fun Game.46. Make Your Own Slime47. ABC Hunt- Write all 26 Letters on your Driveway and Find Items Outside and Place Next to Each Letter.
48. Make Rootbeer Floats
49. Go to One of the Free Museum or Free National Park Days in your area
50. Go to a Baseball Game
51. Make SnoCones at Home
52. Plant a Garden
53. Go to a Dinosaur Museum
54. Head to a Farm and Feed the Animals
55. Participate in Kids Bowl Free!56. Go Star Gazing
57. Go Miniature Golfing
58. Head to Free Movies in the Park (Check local cities for times.)
59. Do a Kid Fun Run
60. Make Your Own Lava Lamp61. Go to a Library Storytime
62. Go to a Carnival or County Fair
63. Go Fishing
64. Make Necklaces out of Colored Pasta
65. Have a Princess Tea Party Outdoors
66. Have a Muddy Sandbox Day
67. Flashlight Tag
68. Travel to New Playgrounds
69. On Rainy Days, Create a Homemade Music Video
70. Write with Chalk on your Trampoline. (It washes right off and looks more like a Chalkboard!)
71. Make homemade popsicles with fruit juice and popsicle molds.
72. Have a read-a-thon day at the Park with treats.
73. Go have a picnic at a park or a camp ground site.
74. Haul the TV and DVD player outside for a starlit movie night.
75. Door Bell Ditch Someone with Ding Dongs!
The truth is that we'll more than likely do several of the things on this list, but in reality, these activities only take up a tiny portion of that loooong day. And, does anyone have the magic solution to making opposite sex siblings agree on the same activity?
So, in my transparency today, I confess to you that summertime causes a bit of anxiety on my end. I'll pray my way through this summer and ask God to give me an extra dose of energy and creativity, because the last thing I want my kids to recall when they think about summers past is that they were torture because mom was cranky!
Anyone else need a summertime prayer? Leave me a comment or send me an email: dfrieling1@gmail.com.
6 comments:
You always make me laugh, only you would come up with a list like that! My favorite ~ make root beer floats! It doesn't stress me out, I like just letting them hang-out with friends and I make them go outside after our 'electronics limit!' :)
I was always pretty old-fashioned about summer. My favorite line was "If you're bored, go mop the kitchen floor. You might still be bored, but you'll have a clean floor to show for it." Amazing how quickly they found creative ways to entertain themselves!
You're too cute, you must be like the funnest, coolest mom ever. I hold an award for cranky mom. lol. Joking but I definitely don't have a list of fun stuff for the girls this summer. With them being almost 9 yrs apart, I play referee all the time, so yes, please pray for me ;) The official games begin tomorrow.
That sounds a lot like our list we just brainstormed….but you are right, some of those things take up about 5 minute of the day! May I adapt that old adage to say, the summers are long but the years are short?? I'll pray for you and you pray for me and we'll be okay! :)
What a great list! I sent this to a few friends that still have little ones at home. I'm sure they will have some fun with this. Don't forget that there isn't anything wrong with boredom once in a while. I think boredom is the link to creativity!
Love your list. I'm going to add some of your ideas to my list. Prayers much appreciated. My boys are five years apart and it's hard to get them to play together.
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