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Fun ways to celebrate the start of summer with kids

 

Are you worried about keeping your kids happy and occupied during the rapidly approaching summer months? Summer can be a challenging time for many parents. While many are pleased with the possibility of more scheduling flexibility, fewer early-morning struggles and more time to just relax and have fun with the kids, there is still the challenge of how to deal with the “I’m bored” comments and having a little TOO much scheduling flexibility. 

As the mother of three school-age children, I realized that all the build-up and excitement about the arrival of summer can quickly give way to an attitude of “Now what do we do?” The last day of school can often be an anti-climactic event once the kids really think about it and remember that now they can’t see all of their friends every day.

I tried an idea last year that turned out to be a fun way to celebrate the beginning of summer vacation and helped get things off to a great start. On the last day of school, I gave each of my kids a “summer fun bucket”, a sand pail filled with things that I knew they would like.  This idea can be modified for any age child (even teens) based on what you put in the bucket (or gift bag or other container). Some ideas to include: a couple books for summer reading, new swim goggles, art supplies, small toys, DVDs, music CDs or iTunes gift card, scented lotion, a disposable camera for taking summer photos, stickers, sidewalk chalk, jump rope, bubbles, small outdoor toys, trading cards, candy or small snacks, reusable water bottle, card games and so on. If your child has a particular hobby, you could include something new that they can use for that. For example, my daughters enjoy making jewelry so including some new beads would be a perfect choice. 

Last year, I also created and included a “coupon book” for each child. These were coupons they could give me at random times during the summer for something extra special. The coupons included some outing opportunities, such as a trip to a bookstore, the beach, Milwaukee County Zoo, a local ice cream parlor, Milwaukee Public Museum, an ethnic festival and more. I also included coupons for things like a game and movie day, a sleepover with a friend, a treat from the ice cream truck, a day of shopping in Cedarburg (one of my daughters’ favorite things to do) and a dinner of their choice, among others. There are so many possibilities to include in your coupon book, from local events and places of interest to simple yet fun activities you can do at home as a family. Be creative and include coupons you know will be special to your child(ren) and fun for you to do together. Be sure to set some parameters for the coupons as well. Obviously, you may have something already planned on a day that your child hands you a coupon to go to the beach. Be sure to let them know you get the final say on whether an activity will work on a particular day, but that you will work together to find a day that works for everyone in the very near future. 

Summer should be a time of happy childhood memories and quality family time.  Starting it off on the right foot with a summer fun bucket is one way that will suprise and delight kids of all ages.