School’s out for the Summer. Now What?
Filling those long summer days can be daunting. When my kids were younger I remember being thrilled for the first week or so of summer vacation. Then the long hot reality of the situation set in. Keeping the little ones entertained while keeping your own sanity is a tough task. I found three foolproof places that were my go to summer activities.
Walk With the Animals
If you’re lucky enough to have a zoo in your area take advantage of it! The Detroit Zoo is almost an hour from my house & it was worth the trip every time. At most zoos you can get a season pass for little more than it costs a family of four to go twice. It pays for itself in ease & guaranteed enjoyment. Just throw some water, juice boxes, granola bars, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches in a back pack along with a camera and some sunscreen and you’re ready to go. My boys never tired of all of the different exhibits and activities at the zoo. It saved us from boredom and tantrums more time than I can remember.
Life’s A Beach
Now’s the time to hit the dollar store for some great beach toys. Keep a duffel bag packed with your sunscreen, camera, snacks, floaties, lots of beach towels and some sand toys. After a long day of being cooped up together at home, we used to go to the beach around dinner time. That’s when most of the daytrippers clear out leaving wide open spaces for your little ones to run, build & splash. A few hours of sun and sand is a great way to wear them out before bed time.
Lose Yourself in a Book
Find out what you local libraries have to offer. I said libraries because unless you live in a rural area, there are probably several within a 45 minute area. Get to know the childrens librarians and find out which libraries have the best story times. Usually libraries have a summer reading program for youngsters. Our included a book bag, a library card in the childs name, book marks & a journal to record their books read. There were even programs for the little ones reading picture books. At you library you can probably utilize computers set up strictly with childrens learning games, puppet shows, movie screening & meet the author events.
What are your favorite activities to keep everybody happy during the long summer weeks?
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We have a trip to the zoo planned for next month! I can’t wait!
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We are going to be doing all three of these this summer! We won a pass to our zoo here. We are going to California for a family reunion in July and we will be going to library a lot!
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Our boys were lucky growing up. In our town we had a rescue zoo that was free. It had a bear who was severely burned, several large cats that used to work in magic shows, and many other animals that were abandoned by owners that just didn’t expect a _____ would get so big. They loved these animals and learned a lot. As a teacher, I always included academic activities: reading, writing, and vocabulary skills. Here’s a great article that details many of the things I did with my boys: http://penningtonpublishing.com/blog/reading/how-we-learn-vocabulary-from-reading-part-ii/
We plan on hanging out at the library a lot as well this summer. Our has a fun summer reading contest and weekly events. Our preschool offers some special events, and our city has a Fun In The Sun program at a different park every day of the week. We just enjoy doing simple, inexpensive things and enjoying the relaxed pace!
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We are gonna visit the library and zoos often. Those are 2 of our favorite summer activities. Picnics in the back yard or at a park – that’s something else we like to do! Feeding ducks at the local garden tour. The girls think that is a great deal of fun!
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Great ideas! We do everything after dinner here, because it’s so hot. So the zoo is actually hard in the summer, but we’ll probably brave the heat at least once this summer. I think the summer reading programs are a great idea, and I’ve read that teens can actually volunteer at the library in the summer.
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