So it is getting that time of year where you may start hearing those dreaded words “I’m bored mommy.”
My main objective this summer is for the girls not to turn to electronics for the full 24/7, they are home on summer break. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my electronics and I definitely have passed that love onto my girls. They can work about any electronic they want, but I just want them to have a mixture of activities that will help stimulate their brain and work wonders on their ever so funny imaginations.
One thing I will be starting the first week they are out of school is Field Trip Friday. I will be doing a post each Friday about our adventures and would love for all of you all to join in. Our adventures we have planned so far for Field Trip Friday are:
1) Visiting Our Local Caverns
2) Going Gem Mining
3) Spending the day at our Science Center
4) Going to a Local Fun Museum
5) Visiting an Amusement/Water Park
6) Going to the Zoo
Each week we will start out discussing what our adventure of the week will be; which will call for some really fun conversations, I believe.
Also summer camps are another great option for kids. Of course I don’t think you have to send your child to a summer camp each and every week as it can get expensive. The camps here in the mountains are really expensive this year. With us being a very cost effective family, I have chose two camps for my girls. One is a soccer camp that is two days and costs $40.00. Another will be a clogging camp that lasts 4 days and we will get a discount since our girls are involved in clogging at the place of business. Check with your schools or local colleges to see if they have any camps going on as well for children. Your local 4H office in your county also usually have several mini day camps that they offer children for $5 to $10.00 a child. I am planning on signing the girls up for a couple of those as well. Visit your county recreation office for more athletic camps that will help kids be on their feet more :).
Another great summer activity my girls always look forward to each year is Bible School. We are self pro-claimed bible school junkies. We usually do 2 each summer. This year we will be doing one during the day for a week and one at night for a week. The girls just get in there with their friends and have a great time laughing, talking and playing together. You may want to check your local churches in your area as most churches are now starting to require registration.
We will also take a beach trip this summer as well to wrap up the summer before the girls start back school in August. This is a time to reflect on the summer and spend time as a family before chaos of school and extracurricular activities start up. Check out our video of the wonderful Ocean Isle Inn located here on the coast of NC. If you are looking for a great, fun, clean family vacation, I am going to highly recommend Ocean Isle Inn.
I hope some of these ideas will help you and your family plan a summer that will be unforgettable. Don’t forget summer evenings can be fun family time as well. Here is my list of 7 ways to spend summer evenings that I wrote for BabyCenter.
Happy Summer to Everyone!!!
I can remember when my kids were growing up and we wondered what to do when school let out. It is very important to keep them busy with activities and it sounds like you have a fun outline planned. I love the new pictures on your blog. That pool looks so refreshing!
Rhonda (Mimi)’s last blog post..Elvis and the girls
Wonderful ideas for fun with the kids! I hope you enjoy the start of summer! Waahooo!
Excellent Post. Thanks
I love fieldtrip Friday. Getting the kids out of the house is one thing, but getting them to talk about it the week before is a great idea to give them some focus in their summer fun. When out on fieldtrips, I have found that my kids’ talent for electronics gives me an extra way to keep an eye on them. Cricket wireless offers a pay as you go phone where you only pay for the days you use the phone. So I can give each kid a voice only or text and voice phone for the day and know they can reach me if we get separated without having a monthly bill.
We’re doing “Home Summer Camp” this year and I’m ready with arts/crafts/activities/sports everything – including my clip board and daily planner. Although I applaud your effort at easing back on electronics, I have found a very cool e-learning site called BigIQkids.com that is offering a summer special for $29.99 (3 months unlimited) that includes all their K-7 learning programs. The best part about BigIQkids.com is the interactive nature of the site. My kids love it and are happy to be “online” and in doing so, they are learning grade appropriate spelling words, vocabulary, math and US geography. The site is good for about 1 hour per day per kid which then gives me time to breath, prepare lunch AND I know what they are doing because I get daily email updates on all their lessons etc. Week 1 of Home Summer Camp is going well!
Camping can be fun to if you know how to treat them. Or if you live in a village, you can visit city for a holiday. Shopping at the mal, dine in the cafe, or playing a virtual games and go to recreation center. This is just my opinion.
I found a great Junior Lifeguard program for my 14-year-old. This is perfect for a teenager. She’ll get exercise, be with friends and learn something that could turn into a summer job in a couple of years. The only downside is that I have to drive her to and from the beach (about 25 minutes each way) every day for 3 weeks. Yikes!
I love all the free summer concert series and movies – especially outdoor movies. It;s super hot in summer where we live and we are fortunate to have several parks with water fountain features nearby where we have playdates. With no school you can take advantage of weekday free museum days in many cities. We have a big list of music, movies, sports, craft programs and more.
Lots of great summertime fun ideas here! When the rain and stormy weather brings activities indoors, I enjoy simple craft projects.
Well…i read this post.it has wonderful information for everyone.
Bible School was always a favorite summer time thing as was soccer camp. Also during the summer my sister and I always participated in this bike riding thing. About 20 kids and a few adults would bike around to different places and do crafts or learn something from someone and then bike back the original meeting place. Good times.
I am impress with your views its really wonderful and Excellent idea for Children summer vacations.i try your ideas for my children vacation,i hope they will be enjoy.
It;s super hot in summer where we live and we are fortunate to have several parks with water fountain features nearby where we have play dates. With no school you can take advantage of weekday free museum days in many cities.
I love going to zoo, especially with my kids. They enjoy things like this as much as i do.
For me, it is one way for us to bond as one family and a chance for my kids to enjoy summer.
Great summer.
complimentary medicine’s last blog post..ADD / ADHD Alternative Natural Treatment
Your ideas is wonderful and i like it.i am confuse about my children summer activities but now i have some option for my children.
oo! solutions for the biggest summer problem! thanks for the post, but i have to say something: when i was a child my parents leave me alone and i had to learn to get entertained by myself, and it wasn’t that bad! i think today we give too much importance to trivial things and we ignore the most important
Hi and thank you for good funny advices. I and my kids was spend so wonderful:)
Finding activities to do to keep your children not bored as well as to help them bond as siblings and as a family is very important, I love your ideas!
I start reading your blog the moment i read the article “Making a Special KeepSake for Grandparents.” I got lots of information here and real life stories, I also like the “Deep Wounds Can Be Healed.” And here’s another article i read that gives me more information… thanks..
Great advices thank you so much:)))
Good advices for getting best activities for children, very usefull info…thx
Great ideas! I want to try the free summer bowling! Thanks.
The topics about this good topic are presented by the paper writing services thus, students want to buy essays or research paper about this.
Anyone caught this cool new channel? Filled with great summer/winter sports. The Ski Channel. http://www.theskichannel.com
Moms. I came across this. Maybe it will help.
Here’s a great idea for moms for the summer! It’s iMOM’s latest program called Operation Summer. It’s a FREE summer-long program that will draw you closer to your children, and you’ll have fun with them while doing it. Go to http://bit.ly/iMOMOpSummer to learn more and sign up! And don’t keep it top secret – tell your friends that iMOM Operation Summer is here! I know you’ll love it!
Summer camps are a great option also. There’s such a huge variety now, including rock music camp, rock climbing camp, filmmaking camp, iPhone programming camp – no matter what your children are in to, you can find a camp they’ll like. A good place to look is Sign Up For Camp (http://www.signupforcamp.com)