If your a stay at home mom?

Question

what activities have you been doing with your children this summer? (it seems like we are already getting bored)
Thanks for your input.

thank you so much everyone so far these are great idea's

Answer 1

Board Games.... "outburst, scrabble, trouble, clue FX (great one)"

Searched for 4 leaf clovers,
flew a kite,
rode bikes together,
tried Yoga (fun)
instituted reading out loud... I recommend "where the red fern grows" and stopping after every chapter! (boys and girls age 8-15).

We toured the Louve online...

Pick one thing/person/issue each week to research such as an artist or a person in history. We post the answers on the fridge or wall.

painting figurines

Went through the family photos (kids love that)

Oh, and we got a slip and slide... gives me at least one hour every other day where they are busy and I can eat!

Answer 2

I have three kids, ages 11 and 6 years and 2 weeks. Other than the outside toys, bikes, sidewalk chalks and bubbles, we take walks with a twist. We create a scavenger list of items that the kids may find on their walk (a soda can, bumble bee, red flower, etc.). The lists go into a bin next to the door and on our way out, eat child picks a list. The kids are on an honor system so they don't actually pick anything up but they have a lot of fun and I get the exercise I need too! You'll be amazed at what other things the kids notice since they're walking with their eyes open!

Answer 3

Money's been kind of tight this summer, and having 5 kids, we've been doing a lot of things that don't cost that much.

The kids have been doing a lot of swimming. We have a lot of clean lakes in our area, and this is free for us. Some days we just eat sandwiches & play in the playgrounds around here.

We've also been doing a lot of fishing. Fishing license in wisconsin is $20 - and I found some good deals on poles and such. Worms, the kids dig them up themselves. (Which was another thing that they spent a lot of time on...) And, I have found fishing to be really relaxing. And since 3 boys have no problem taking the fish off the hooks for the girls..it all evens out.

I also signed them up on summer reading programs. Our library gives tickets to the kids to a local sports game, if they read so many books. They've been working hard on that every night. This also helps them settle down.

My brother gave us his trampoline - his kids are of driving age and don't use it anymore. Not only do my kids spend a lot of time on that thing - but the neighbor kids come over for some fun too.

We give the dog a bath or a shower outside. She's a mid-sized dog, so the kids all like to pitch in.

We go on bike rides, I live in a rural area near a lake, so we've got a lot of scenic routes. We also have a vegetable garden in the backyard. I've even got some pots in the house. They've been helping with that (and are more prone to eating their vegetables - the "fruits of their labor"

Instead of taking the kids to the movies, which always costs around $100 - we'll rent a movie instead. Or watch one of them that we own, and havent seen for awhile.

They'll pitch tents in the backyard and "go camping" Don't need to spend the $20-50 bucks a night in a campground, we have all the running water and showers right here, no quarters needed. We have a small bonfire pit, and even grill out.

If you're not in a rural area and still want to camp in your backyard - you can actually get smores kits, that act like bonfire pits. All you need is a can of sterno. We bought ours at kmart. Walmart might have them, shopko definitely does. Sterno would be in the sporting goods dept. My son went on a camping trip for school, and they used a can of sterno and put it under a coffee can, for "grilling." They made cheeseburgers & hot dogs on a coffee can!

You don't have to spend a gazillion dollars on summer. That's the great thing about it. There's more to do outside. There's only so much "coloring" and "crafts" you can do - and besides, my boys arent the crafty type. Watching movies, playing video games...my kids will gain 100 pounds over the summer! Sure, my girls are making beaded necklaces and all of that too.

But when my kids are doing stuff as a group, they have more memories to cherish later.

Answer 4

we read a lot - by ourselves and out loud to each other (even to older kids - mine are 12 and 13 and are avid readers, but still like me to read to them).

We go "exploring" in the area - go to your area Chamber of Commerce and and see what there might be to do in your area that you might not know about (or haven't thought about in yrs), and go do it.

Better than that even - pack a lunch and get on the nearest interstate and drive until you come to the nearest rest stop. Get out, have a picnic, and get a bunch of flyers /coupon books from the visitor info center and go be "a tourist for a day" in your own area - you would be surprised at what there is to do in your own back yard :-) We are a military family, so we move a lot and we always have fun exploring whatever place we happen to be living, and it's pretty funny, because we go and do all this stuff in the area, but when we talk to our "local" friends, a lot of times they didn't even know there was this or that to do in their area, or it's something they "knew about but just never got around to doing".
Also, a LOT of times you can find things that are very cheap or free to do this way and through the Chamber of Commerce.

If your kids are little - (or, if you're good at this, even if they're older), make a treasure map for them by leaving clues for them and they have to solve the first to get to the second, etc., then have the "prize" be a trip to get monster sized bannana splits (or whatever) at your local ice cream shop. Make it an adventure.

pitch your tent in your back yard (or, if you don't have a back yard or a tent, somewhere in your house with blankets) and have a campout day - play board games, cards, etc out there with them, bbq, and, if you all are up to it (and it's safe where you live) even sleep out there - you with them, or, if they're big enough - them out there alone (thats a BIG adventure - while of course you leave the door ajar and sleep on the couch so you can keep an ear out for them...)

Buy a couple of sets of cheap white sheets and some fabric markers, spread the sheets out in the yard or on the kitchen floor and let them decorate their own sheets to use on their beds (be sure to follow the marker directions to "set" the ink - some require ironing after you color.)

Anyway, hope some of these ideas help and you all have fun this summer :-)

Answer 5

we are actually in winter here but we just finished two weeks school holidays, i will through in some summer ideas too
swimming
seeing friends
dvd day
park
beach
rollerblading
kids resturant with playground
picnic
painting
science kits
plaster moulds
baking
let the kids entertain themselves
mini golf
bowling
movies
cooking
let the kids entertain themselves
build a fort out of chairs and sheets
bike riding
camping
hiking
get out on the scooters
play some sports...basketball,footy etc.
get some friends go to the park and have a picnic and sports day
do craft
Hope some of these help

Answer 6

Sorry to hear the kids are bored already!!

My son is eight and we went camping for five days, have joined the library's summer reading program (he reads ALOT), he's going to daycamp for a few weeks, playdates with friends, water fights, visit to the art gallery, the zoo, going to the local parks (they all have splash pads and such), reading, etc.

I guess I am lucky that he can amuse himself as well.

Plus he has football practices three nights a week, so we will keep out of trouble this summer :)

Answer 7

I've been to the local pool or the water park (that is free) by our house alot of the hot days, but I'm a part of the Mom's club and that helps because they keep a calendar of things to do almost every day of the week! Check your local chapter, it is great! Other than that, I'm doing swimming lessons, sports camp, and preschool camp which all cost way too much for kids nowadays!

Answer 8

Depends on their ages. What I did for mine (10, 12, 14) but will work for different ages is the following:
Make up a goal notebook.
In this book (which is private, by the way, not for Mom and Dad's eyes unless the child is pretty young) the child writes out simple goals which are short term (this summer I'd like to learn to swim) and long term goals (I want to be a firefighter when I grow up). These goals are things the child has control of (not something like I'll win lotto, for example). From there you sit down and break down each thing so the child sees what he can do today to reach one of his goals (visit a firehouse, talk to firefighters, get books out of the library on fire safety, for example). It sounds complicated to set up, but once the book is established, when your critter gets bored and you've run out of ideas, you have a road-map so you can steer the child in the direction of his genuine interests.
This is good for adults as well, it helps to visualize your road-map and teaches everyone in the family how to set, work toward, and achieve goals. Just look around at all the teens who have no ideas or goals. You'll have a head start.
I posted questions on my fridge (is there something I want to make? Build? Bake? Cook? Learn? A book I want to read? Someone I want to paint a picture for? A letter to write? etc.), so my kids can check the fridge when they are bored and come up with their activities themselves. I entertain for some of the time, but I am not their full-time entertainment, they do have to learn to entertain themselves.

Answer 9

I wanted to do interesting things, but I dont have a huge budget, nor do i have a car. You would be amazed at how the simplest things can be fun:

We bought a cheap back yard pool with a slide, and it can entertain them for hours!
Cheap playdough
papermache
sugar cookies
outings to different parks
picnics (even the mundane is fun in the park)
finger painting (I was lucky to catch a school supply store on the last day of their sale)
tenting (sheets and matresses in the living room)

I try to take them out to a park or to ride their bikes at least once a day.

good luck!

Answer 10

I am a working mom who works midnights 4 nights a week, I also have my mother take care of my daughter (and help with daily school stuff) while I am getting a few hours of sleep during the day. I work from midnight until 8 am.

I pick my daughter up from my mother's and take her to 30 min swim lessons (while at lessons I get a little nap), from there we take her to breakfast (at a sit down resturant/diner) and then go to hour long horseback riding lessons (again another nap). From there my mom takes my daughter for a few hours so I can get a little more sleep. When I wake up I take my daughter to the park, the library (she has her own card and loves that fact). We also play tennis, go rollerblading, ride bikes, or just go for walks (talking about leaves, plants, and animals), or have a picnic. If we have a picnic we both take about what we need and if we need to go to the store to get anything (I let her pick it all out and pay).

We have been known to have a great time with Crayola sidewalk paint, just like chalk and easier on the clothes; bubbles, jump rope, skip it, basketball, soccer, and volleyball (or so she tries).

On my days off I take her to one place every week. Either we go to the nature trails, the zoo, the waterslide, putt putt, go carts, the movies, art musesum, science center, etc. On the other 2 days we do things such as the park, the pool, beach, visiting friends/family, we also pick one thing a summer to donate time to (community service), or visiting farmer's markets or flea markets.

We also do school work such as working on counting money, time, writing, crafts, and science stuff (baking yummy treats) for about 2 hours on most days. My daughter also practices piano for 15 minutes every day. My daughter is also requried (by me) to read for 30 minutes everyday no matter what. While I cook dinner if she isn't helping me, I allow my daughter to play online (there are some really cool websites). I also let my daughter watch about an hour of TV a day, but must be watched with either me, dad, or grandma. Then there is free time that is where she makes the choices and she has to keep herself busy.

Also this summer, my child will attend Vacation Bible School and Soccer Camp. She also spends time with friends and has sleepovers about twice a month at our house, and about 4 times a month a friends houses.

I guess it all depends on how many kids you have and if your budget will allow you to spend for the extra things, if not, go check out your library there are books that you can do crafts with your kids and science projects and reading that will surely keep you all entertained.

Answer 11

I'm not a Stay at home mom, but we've still been doing tons of stuff this summer.
We signed up for the reading club at the library and have been going there often.
We've been at the park almost daily
We've gone on nature hikes and made up games as we've gone
One of there favorite things to do is to catch fire flys!and tons of other things....