Happy Wednesday!
Thanks so much for stopping by today. Shay is cruising around Alaska this week so she’s taking the week off. I’m hosting solo but am excited to share (and learn from you) ways I work at keeping my kids busy all summer long.
My special mom secret for keeping kiddos busy is to WEAR THEM OUT before 3:00 p.m. so everyone’s tired and chilled until dinner time. Anyone else try to do this?
This is what works for us…
*LOTS OF POOL TIME
Nothing wears my kiddos out quicker than swimming! It’s a great way to keep the kiddos busy.
Most of the time I make sure some of my girlfriends will be in attendance so not only do my kiddos have people to play with but I have some friends to chat with as well.
We usually eat at the pool (which means no mess in my kitchen…WAHOO!).
If friends are meeting us, then everyone always has someone to play with.
*VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
VBS is one of my favorite summer memories as a kid. Anyone else? Ours was always just a couple weeks before school started and I remember selecting my clothes very carefully every day. Haha!
*WATER PARK FUN
I’m not exactly sure how this will work this year with Britt, but we have a local water park that is all kinds of fun. Last year Shay and I took our kids several times. I’ll never forget the first time we went last summer we left the park around 2:00 and we both went straight to Chick-Fil-A. Everyone was starving! (And SO tired when we got home!) If you have a local water park, usually the season tickets are worth it if you plan on going several times. And the kiddos are so tired after a day of water slides. Win-win!
*GET OUTSIDE
In Texas this is pretty hard to do in the middle of the summer heat, but any relatively cool day we have we try to get outside. (I’m talking without the pool.) We golf, go to the park, play in the street with neighbors, ride bikes…just get out of the house!
*SUMMER CAMPS
My kiddos are signed up for a couple camps this summer. Nixon is in baseball camp this week and he loves it.
Sports camp has been right up his alley and SO GOOD for him!
*RUN ERRANDS
My kiddos aren’t the biggest fans of this one. We all have errands we need to run and as troublesome as they can be with your kiddos, I encourage you to do it! Sometimes these little errand runs turn out to be a blast!
*DOWN TIME
If we’ve been active and busy all morning long, then I don’t mind one bit if my kiddos have down time in the late afternoon. A little I-Pad time or some television watching is earned if you’ve played hard. If I’m really lucky, I’ll have a kid or two fall asleep! 😉
Pinterest is full of ways to keep your children busy over the summer. I made our own daily summer plan based on several I saw on Pinterest. Basically, I made a list of about four things my kiddos need to do prior to asking for electronics…read for twenty minutes, clean up your room, etc. One day last week I thought it worked great! Another day I felt like I was constantly on them about…”Have you read yet?”, “Have you made your bed?” and on and on. I’m sure it will just take some time but I’m hoping that daily plan helps them stay productive at home.
What about you? How do you work at keeping your children busy over the summer?
And next month we’re sharing a WEEKEND IN THE LIFE. Doesn’t that sound fun? We’re all big fans of those DAY IN THE LIFE posts so this should be a blast! Mark your calendars and be sure to join us!
Have a great day! XO
The picture of Bowen in the shopping cart has me laughing! Love that kid!! Happy Wednesday!!
That Inspired Chick
As a grandma to 5 kids my biggest annoyance is them having plenty to do but saying "I'm bored". We nixed that by me letting them know if they ever said that to me they had to scrub the toilets. So they wouldn't be bored of course Works like a charm!
Heidi!
Aww, these pics are too cute! Love your ideas. We don't have the hang of going to the pool just yet, but I know it would be a great way to wear out my kids!
All great tips! I like the to do list before electronics!
I love it! You know I am a big fan of the pool days too! Thank you for the link up! Xoxo
Yes to all of these!! We also use the summer to work on increased responsibilities. This summer my boys are working on folding laundry (in addition to putting away their laundry that they already do). Trying to teach them that school is their "work" and if they aren't in school they can help with the work that needs to be done at home.
http://www.lettinginthelightblog.com
I"m not a mom yet but I'm going to remember your advice to wear them out before the late afternoon hits! Being outside and being active is so good to keep them away from constantly being on an electronic device all day long. Good job, Mama!
Sarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts
I love this!! Anything they wears my kiddos out by mid afternoon I'm totally for! 😉
Would you be willing to share your summer list on what they have to do first? Do you have it in one spot?
Sounds like a great summer! Love that the kiddos have to earn their screen time. We've been working on this at our home too. We just finished VBS week! We're off to a kids' play in the park. Thanks for hosting! 🙂
Your couch looks so comfy yet stylish and perfect for family movie time. Do you mind sharing where it's from? Ours is stylish but so uncomfortable.
Our summers sounds oddly familiar 🙂 Now that the oldest is old enough to take several camps, we're all over it, now to find someone to take him to these said camps while I work…hmmm…???
My kids dont ever ask for electronics (we just arent there yet, I guess. Elle is 5, but it's just not part of her routine so she doesnt ask) but I really like the list of things to do before you can have them. I like that it's not just chores, too, but creative things. I also like to wear my kids out really well in the early part of the day. Then, maybe we can ALL take naps in the afternoon! (Wishful thinking!)
We do very similar summers! I created one of those printables on my blog today about list of things to do before screen time. We have been sleeping in WAY late and it's been glorious…and Ryan being home has been great too!
Love this, Erika!! Missing you from Scottsdale 😎
I think it is so neat how your friend group is so close & that your kiddos are so close, too! I'm sure that makes summer such a fun time for all of you!
My kids are teenagers now, but when they were younger I kept ingredients on hand to bake cookies–especially on rainy days and plenty of craft supplies for creating–that would keep them busy for awhile.