A friend asked me for some ideas of fun activities over the summer and since all moms are on the look out for things to do I figured I’d just blog about it! I am guessing lots of you are probably recognizing that summer is here and your children are already saying, “I’m bored”, what’s a mom to do? 
As far as I’m concerned, summer time means no agenda. We drag our children from task to task during the school year, so for me summer is not so much about what we do, it’s about who decides what we do!
In our home I try to approach summer days by asking my daughter and son what they’d like to do. Usually they have an idea, if not I throw out some suggestions. Now realize, Mom, you’re opening yourself up to having to do something that may not sound so thrilling to you. But hey, since you usually set the agenda, turn off the to-do list part of your brain and let them choose. It’s actually fun to see what they come up with!
Here are a dozen examples of how we’ve spent some summer hours:
- Prepare something yummy—cookies, bread, homemade popsicles. (Deliver some to a neighbor or friend!)
- Trip to the local park with a football, frisbee and and ice chest of water and enjoy random fun.
- Bike riding, horseback riding, go-cart riding, dirt bike riding. (Yeah, we like “riding.”)
- Marathon game playing day. (We take turns choosing the game to play.)
- Creativity with Play-Doh and cookie cutters. (Yes, mine still enjoy Play-Doh!)
- Play loud music and perform for each other. (Hair brush mic optional. Warning: “old” dance moves will get you laughed at … big time.)
- Enjoy a lazy pajama/movie/popcorn day. (This is a gift to mom, you HAVE to do nothing with them—WAY cool!)
- Pull out paints/pastels/pencils/crayons and produce masterpieces. (Grandparents are VERY happy to receive summer surprises in the mail!)
- Library day choosing books, audio books, and videos.
- Outdoor play—wiffleball, kickball, four square or pickleball tournament. (If you don’t know pickleball, learn about it, amazing game, great fun no matter how unathletic you are!)
- Water gun/water balloon fight. (Mom gets to pull out the hose if she’s losing!)
- Go to the sports store, farm equipment store, electronic store and wander aimlessly looking at all the cool stuff. (No purchasing, just looking—it can be done!)
The idea is not to pack a lot into one day, these fun-filled hours were spread out over time.
What I have learned is that children just get plain old sick and tired of always having to do what we want, so the joy of summer for my children are the days that they get to do what they want. Even when it’s unglamorous and boring to me, I fake it and end up getting into it and we have some serious fun together—it’s about creating memories and having no agenda!
So, tell me what your children come up with – that will give me some ideas for some summer suggestions when mine draw a blank!
(This post was originally published at FamilyLife MomBlog.)
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