Summer Activities for Kids to Help Parents Survive
1. Invest in memberships. If you can, before summer starts, start building up your memberships. Be sure to add your kids onto your local movie rental account so that you can run them by to pick out movies. Memberships to clubs, the local pool, parks and museums, are great ways to keep your kids active during the summer!
2. Enroll your child in a camp. Summer is a great time for kids to learn or enhance a skill that they have. Take advantage of the time and enroll them in a summer camp. These days, there is a camp for just about everything. Do your research early to ensure slots will be available when the time comes. Also check into local establishments who host sports camps and vacation bible schools. There is a wealth of summertime entertainment to be found in any community!
3. Hire a babysitter!!! If you are a stay at home mom, you can take advantage of the many high school and college students looking to earn a little extra money. Hire them for a day or two a week to give you a chance to get away or run errands. Not only will this help you keep your sanity, but it will also give your kids a chance to interact with someone new. Use that time to get errands done or to just pamper yourself.
4. Plan some activities!! Don’t just let you kids waste away with video games and the TV. Plan some activities for them to do. There are many books and websites with activity ideas for your children to do. Take them to the park for the day. Take them to one of the many museums in this area. In the Metroplex there is no limit to the activities you can do.
5. Start a new hobby. Kids are constantly thinking of new creative things. Summertime is a great time to encourage your children to keep their brains active. Plan a visit to your local hobby store and purchase art items such as blank canvas, paints and supplies. Perhaps one of your children would enjoy putting a model together. Help your children decide on a good project and encourage them to work on it a couple times a week.
6. Plan a vacation or short getaway. If you can afford to, plan your annual vacation. Kids love roadtrips as much as adults do. Plan to see some new sites or visit some old beloved ones. Visit far off relatives or just simply escape as a family for a few days. If you can’t afford a full-blown vacation, plan a weekend getaway to go tubing at the lake.
7. Have a summer party. Have friends and family over for a summertime celebration. Hang out by the pool or have a barbeque.
8. Teach some Economics! Remember the old days with lemonade stands? You can still enjoy simple traditions such as this! Help your children build their own lemonade stand and make homemade lemonade with them. They will enjoy the anticipation of potential customers and will learn a thing or two about making a few extra dollars this summer! If your kids are too old for lemonade stands, encourage them to make signs and host their own neighborhood carwash or lawn mowing service.
9. Have weekly drawings. Have each of your children write down a special activity they would like to do during the summer. Try to have them write down realistic things such as a day at the park or a trip to the local museum. Allow one larger activitiy such as a trip to an amusement park. Each week, draw an idea from the jar and do it! Your kids will love the suspense, and you’ll enjoy not having to come up with all of their entertainment ideas!
10. Plan a lazy day. Plan a day for lounging around and watching movies. Let your kids invite their friends over and let them zone out for a day!
Use these tips and remember that summer eventually ends. It doesn’t last forever. Use the summer as a chance to connect with your kids in a way you can’t during the busy school year.
