Summer and the Stay at Home Mom

[CampCrazyMom]

My girls will be out of school soon. I don't plan any classes or structured activities for them during the summer. I like to keep it as free as possible. On the other hand, I do need to keep them busy.

They're 12 & 9. We have a pool, a zoo pass, a car - we like going to nature centers (free) I saw a post somewhere for free bowling for kids. (I do hate indoor things during the summer). We camp a lot during the summer. We go downtown to Lake Michigan. Pack a lunch, make a day of it.

I have lots of craft supplies. Girs+crafts=happiness. Park days, sports days. They could go hog wild.

What are you doing to keep your sanity this summer? Is it bad to think about me time?

[imagine]

We do the fun free things when they pop up if we are interested.

We have a standing park day with a group of friends (and have lunch there or sometimes go out with them) this park time they think is for them to play with friends but it is my time as I get to visit with my dear friend.

Also during the summer the children help with the chores more so we have more time to play. I don't assign chores I just post everything that needs to be done that week and everyone is responsible to get it done. If it is we have finished all the chores by Friday we reward ourselves by going to family swim night at the aquatic center (fancy pool) On family night you pay a $5 for everyone in the family to swim (and no one under 18 admitted without a guardian) It is great fun to swim with other families. The children generally find a friend to swim with and I generally can find a mommy friend to visit with while I splash in the pool.

[nuisance26]

~Since I also homeschool I get to worry about my sanity all year, not just in the summer. I prefer the summer because we can spend hours outdoors playing & picnicking. I catch up on a lot of reading in a shady spot while the kids enjoy the warm weather.
I also school year round so there's that to do everyday still.
On the crazy hot days I let the kids play video games all afternoon in the AC. We plan to have a tiny pool this year for the first time as well. I've also got my eye on a croquet set for the yard. Kids love yard games!
My older kiddo, who is 7, is getting antsy being home most of the time now though. So this year I'm planning more day trips to the park for disc golf, mini golf and beach trips especially trips with just him and Daddy or just him and me.
I'll be watching this thread for ideas for older kids since I'm approaching the ages where I need more activities.~

[Mom2-3]

I never plan activities in the summer. The first week we lay around sleeping and watching movies After that, we make it up as we go along. We do barbecues with friends weekly. We a lucky enough to have a huge backyard with a pool, so most of the summer is spent out back.

[porembam]

I am also stay at home . I used to plan so much that the kids were tired out. ds is 14 and dd is 12. Last summer I took a laid back approach and it actually worked. They had free bowling here once a week, we would visit all the summer fairs, we have 2 places that offer free concerts at night and the whole family enjoyed that.
Friends seem to have taken an important part of their lives which I actually enjoy not having to plan their every moment.

We have quiet time everyday - reading books and magazines
This is for my sanity : )
This is the 1st year I'm not "worried" about the long summer

[pollypurebred39]

Gosh, I just don't know. My youngest will be 16 this Summer and I'm hoping for more then a Summer filled with computer games.

I'd like to be able to get enough money together for dues for the swim club, but at $350 for the Summer I have serious doubts I'll be able to pull it off.

Hopefully I'll see some ideas on this thread that will help round out an older childs Summer. When my boys were younger we took day trips and packed picnic lunches, set up play dates, went to the free movies every Tuesday mornings, went to the library for Summer activites and free events in the community.

[porembam]

Gosh, I just don't know. My youngest will be 16 this Summer and I'm hoping for more then a Summer filled with computer games.

I'd like to be able to get enough money together for dues for the swim club, but at $350 for the Summer I have serious doubts I'll be able to pull it off.

Hopefully I'll see some ideas on this thread that will help round out an older childs Summer. When my boys were younger we took day trips and packed picnic lunches, set up play dates, went to the free movies every Tuesday mornings, went to the library for Summer activites and free events in the community.

My kids love to write and record music. Sometimes they also make videos. I agree with you , when they get stuck on a video game you just sometimes have to find something that takes them away from the trance

[krbshappy71]

I'm not stay-at-home but I have summers off if I don't get chosen for extra hours.

For the younger-not-teens I would suggest having them create a garage sale themselves which can entail the following tasks:

day 1) Make lots and lots of posters. Get creative with these posters. (to save money you can have them use the back of recycled paper or fliers, cardboard from boxes, etc.) This should take at least a morning or afternoon if they dedicate themselves to the project.

day 2) Choose what they are selling. I love this one 'cause I turn it into a "clean your room" type project. *snicker* Don't let them just grab a few things, oh no, stretch this sucker out for its own day.

day 3) write prices on those tiny dot stickers. Or to save money, masking tape. They can do this while watching cartoons or you can send them to the park with a pen and a package of stickers and a cold drink.

day 4) walk walk walk to put up the signs. Depending on your neighborhood, of course. Mine had to stick together "buddy system" no splitting up.

day 5) if you let them and have the money, they can make lemonade and/or cookies and sell that as well.

day 6) sit outside and run the garage sale. Ahhh, my favorite part, having the kids SIT, STAY. hahahahaa!

day 7) of course they now have money (if the sale went well) to go do more stuff through the summer such as swimming, movies, rent a movie, walk to the ice cream store, etc. YAY!

For the teens I tried to just always have a few bucks around to send them away. I would send them on the most ridiculous errands. Oh wait, I still send the younger one. ha! "wow, I'm out of baking soda...shoot. Will you walk to the store and get me baking soda PLLLEEEAAASSE???" then I let them keep the change which extends the time they are gone even longer 'cause they never know what they want to buy. By doing this I have created a reason for them to get out into the fresh air, which they wouldn't have done on their own necessarily, they are happy they got something out of it, and with any luck they keep doing this whenever you ask. It's been a sanity saver for me.

[lisaflex]

4 days away right after school lets out. then camp 6 hrs a day 5 days a week for 6 wks. then 1 week camp that is 3 hrs. then, hopefully a week down south at the beach!

[Lady_V]

Diva gets out of school 2 weeks before the kids who go to public school.

2 whole weeks of no kids screaming, no fights... also means 2 weeks she will be bored.

Her mandatory summer reading assignments will be finished early and we'll only have to do math pages to keep the brain rolling.

We'll write down a bunch of things we want to do that summer... no matter how silly it is. (last year I said I wanted to have lunch along the French riviera we had bread, cheese and grapes on a blanket next to the creek instead).

We try not to make plans that can't change - with exception to our camping trip the end of July. That is important when it comes to sanity... no disappointments = no guilt.

We have a pool here at the complex, but to be honest, I can't stand my neighbors when they are inside, I care for them less poolside.

I will be taking Diva to the other house and using the pool and hot tub there... read a book, work on my tan... RELAX.

[joyofsix]

Well, I've got kids all over the age spectrum so it depends on the age. We also homeschool lightly through the summer.

18,16,14 year old need jobs! Finding one will be their full time job until they find one.

11,9,6 yo will swim, play, do soccer and go to church camp, eo the library reading program,hang out with friends

2yo will just hang out

[Palooka]

We have an awesome bike trail that we spend a lot of time at. Either biking or walking. It goes for miles and we have seen some cool wildlife.

My kids are so spread apart in age. When the two where younger I bought a pool pass and spent 3 days a week there.

We had a pool for about 3 summers but it was a pain and expensive to keep up. We have a ton of neighborhood kids so that helps. Hopefully the teen can pick up more hours at her job this summer. I'm more worried about her than my toddler. Because she will just want to run around in her car with friends all the time. For about 4 summers she had a pass to World's of Fun and Ocean's of fun. That was sweet.

I'm just going to try to spend a lot of time with the little one outside.

[Labontet]

I have gotten some very good ideas to keep my 7 yr old grandson busy.
I am new to this because when my girls were school age, I worked outside of the home and they went to a daycare. So, I never really had to come up with things to keep them occupied.
But now I am at home and take care of my grandson after school and now during the summer.
Sometimes I think I am too old for this.

[Neeley]

Our kids will be 17 and 15 this summer.

*First and foremost on their list of activities for the summer is volunteering. DD has put in a minimum of 250 hours per summer volunteering at the museum over the past two years. DS will finally be old enough this summer to begin his volunteering. He is planning on splitting his efforts between the museum and the zoo.

*Second, we have a huge backyard with a pool.

*Third, they both have had jobs for the past three summer. DD works for the minor league baseball team and will typically work three to five games per homestead. DS has had his own lawn service for three years. He has seven regulars, cutting their yards every other week.

*Fourth are their sports. DS plays on the JV and varsity football team at his school so there will be lots of practices and workouts. He also plays baseball. If he makes All-Stars then the baseball season will go until mid to late July. If not, baseball will end by the first of June. DD plays on a summer volleyball league. She also coaches an elementary/middle school girls volleyball team. Two nights a week she also plays on the adult pick-up volleyball game at church.

*Fifth would be going to the gym. Three or four times a week DD and DS hit the gym to lift weights for a couple of hours.

*Finally, they can go to the zoo with our membership. We make several trips to the lake on Sundays. They go to the movie theater, bowling, batting cages, or the mall. They've got a Wii, Xbox360, PS2, their own laptops and just about any game you can imagine.

*DD is a part of a civic group for 11th and 12 graders. They have a mandatory three day overnight camp she will attend.

*They are going to Gatlinburg and surrounding areas with their grandparents for a week in late July.

We take our big family vacation each Christmas to Disney, so we don't so a big summer vacation. Instead, we will make a weekend trip to Six Flags, a couple of days down to the beach and possibly hit the water park a day or two.

I absolutely love having the kids home from school. I miss them terribly when school is in session. I get enough "Me Time" during the school year to last me all summer long.

[Michelle]

I am trying to get ideas from this thread. My fil & his wife are splitting up, and we used to use their pool quite often in the summer. We're also not going anywhere this summer, so that's a bummer too.

My kids will be 13 and 10...they're planning to volunteer at the library one morning a week (only time available), and they go to Aikido one night per week.

Other than that, I'm stumped. We don't have the money to join the Y...no matter what they seem to think. None of my friends are SAHM's, so we can't hang out with them.

Yard/garage sales & lemonade stands won't work here on our dead-end street. No neighborhood kids to play with. I don't drive on the highway. I'm trying, but I am truly stumped. I'm all for relaxing, but there comes a point where all I will hear is how bored they are.