We are so glad that many of the restrictions have lifted in our area. We have been invited to pool parties, we have played a season of youth softball already, and we delighted in the local Memorial Day parade. It feels so good to be on track to normal again!
While we are getting back out there, and brushing up on our social skills as often as possible, we are still full into summer, which is 3 months of free time. I have been putting a lot of effort into spreading our summer fun out over the months and finding ways to keep everyone at home entertained. That is one perk from covid, if any, that my kids got used to chilling at home and don’t feel the need to run errands and go somewhere everyday.
My friends are always amazed at how I can keep everyone happily engaged at home with limited extra circulars in the summer. Here are a few of my go to solutions to bust boredom before it begins.
1) We swim. A Lot.
I invested about $250 on a pop up style pool. I invested about $50 for a fence to keep it safe and within local regulations .My Kids swim every day. They invite their friends next door over, and friends from the neighborhood sometimes and I keep them stocked in towels, floats and snacks. My kids would never leave home if given the choice when its always a pool party.
2) We Read. A Lot.
My husband isn’t just eye candy. He is also a brainy librarian. So, we encourage our kids to read a lot. We try to visit the local library, a little free library, or the thrift store often for new reading materials. We also buy ebooks to keep the kids in books.
Speaking of all that reading, kids are always growing, and advancing. We keep a pile of ‘baby books’ to distribute to little free libraries whenever we see one. That makes it like a scavenger hunt for my kids whenever we are running errands to find one and drop off a few titles for another child to enjoy.
3) We Let the Kids Game
We cave and let them game more than we would like. It makes them happy and counts as socialization as they are online with their school friends. Plus, it is hard to say anything about a few extra minutes of Fortnite when I want to game on this page myself.
4) We Do Art
I buy up the little canvases from Dollar Tree and let the kids get busy creating art. They love to work on their canvases and they have a goal to hang them all in the stairway for everyone to enjoy. This opens the doors to conversations about art. We also try to visit the local art museum once a season to admire other local artists efforts. $10 at the dollar store can stock an art kit to last for a while.
5) We Embrace Lazy DaysThere is nothing sweeter than a day spent jumping on the trampoline making up new games, like popcorn. Or chasing after lightning bugs as the sunsets. We dig those kinds of carefree days here. We love laying in a hammock listening for the ice cream truck, with hope, and a book in hand. Imagination blossoms when nothing is on the agenda and we are left to our own devices for a little while.
I hope this helps you to find ways to keep your kids busy without running all over town this summer.
