For most areas around Colorado, school is officially out for the summer. The kids are home yet as a work-at-home-mom you still need to get some things accomplished with the extra duty of making sure the kids are happy and occupied throughout the day. So now what?
Here are some ideas
Plan ahead - schedule your week so that you leave some extra fun play time to spend with the kids. You can use this time to head to the pool for an hour after lunch on Thursday or play at the park for an hour on Tuesday. Try to work in a few full day activities, but not too many. The trick is to keep the kids occupied with fun things they don't do all the time, without creating a schedule where the kids come to expect all your time will be focused on them.
Make activities accessible - come up with activity, craft and project ideas that you know the kids will love but that they can manage themselves. Keep these projects low maintenance for yourself such as playing with bubbles or play dough. Try to avoid offering a list of activities that you have to set up and monitor throughout the entire activity time.
Play dates are the best - work out with other stay home and work-at-home parents to have play dates at each others homes. The day all the kids are at your house you can plan fun activities that require more of your attention. Then, when the kids are at someone else's home for a play date you'll have that extra focus opportunity to accomplish a bit more.
Make meal time adventures - lunch or snack times are a great opportunity for something new and fun. Pack up the standard lunch and help the kids head to the backyard for a picnic in the sun. Or build a tent in the living room and have a snack time adventure right there in the house.
Mix it up in and out - make sure that you help the kids mix up inside time with outside time, especially for the kids that love the idea of sitting in front of the tv all day. Encourage them to get outside and search for bugs or run through the sprinkler. Making sure they move around will help prevent some of the standard "I'm bored" from all this free time.
Read Read Read - set up a reading log and encourage the kids to read 15 minutes a day. Even the little ones that aren't reading just yet, having them sit quite for 15 minutes with a picture book is a great start for building the habit of daily reading. Check with your local library to see if they have any summer reading log challanges you can participate in.
Taking the time to come up with a list of various activities you can rotate through will really help the summer fun continue. Encourage your child to think of new adventures and project ideas they'd like to do and then make a point to help them accomplish these ideas. You'll find when your kids are happy and busy, you'll be able to get more done yourself and still enjoy those hot summer days.
Check out more summer fun activity ideas at ProjectsforPreschoolers.com
More outdoor fun ideas: School is out in Denver - Top 5 outdoor toys to keep the kids busy
Additional reading:
- 3 fun ideas to keep the kids happy when you're stuck inside
- Work weekends, are they worth it?
Comments
YES! Reading is SOOO important. Those skills need to stay sharp.
Wonderful suggestions!
I love the tent in the living room...such a great idea for a rainy day!
Last year I learned about Activity Bags. Their Travel Games in a Binder are perfect for keeping little ones occupied during summer road trips.
All of their products are so easy to use, with everything needed to keep young ones occupied and learning. They also have Math Games in a Bag, Reading Games in a Bag, Science Experiments in a Bag, and Preschool Activities in a Bag. All are terrific to keep little minds active over the summer! www.ActivityBags.com
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