Tag Archives: activities

Summer is just around the corner which means most of us are going to be looking for some activities that are enjoyable for the entire family. As a mother of two young children (ages 6 and 1), I know how difficult it is to find things that our family can do and everyone enjoy themselves. Obviously, when we are looking for family activities, our focus is on finding activities that our children will enjoy but that doesn’t mean that we (the adults) don’t want to have fun either, right? Below are some ideas for summer break activities that your entire family can enjoy.

The Beach – If you live within a few hours of a beach, then plan a day to take the family. There is just something about a family beach day that puts everyone in a good mood. Maybe I am a little biased as my family didn’t live close to a beach, which has made me come to realize just how awesome beaches and the ocean are. My family loves spending a day together lounging around on the beach. We suntan (well I try when the dad and the boys are busy playing), wade along the shoreline, build sandcastles, play Frisbee and a number of other things. It’s a fun, relaxing and inexpensive way to spend the day together as a family Aquarium – In many states, the summer heat can really play a toll on people, making it almost impossible to get outside in the middle of the day when temperatures have skyrocketed. Days like these are perfect for family trips to the aquarium. My children love visiting the aquarium as they enjoy watching and learning about marine life. My oldest son is at the age where he is fascinated with sharks so a trip to…

As we’ve rounded the corner of winter and are headed straight for spring, it’s time for us to start thinking about summer activities for the kids again. Summertime is a fun time for kids as they enjoy being out of school during the days and getting to spend their time doing whatever they feel like doing (and that mom and dad approve of). However, for parents, summer break can be a little bit stressful and many parents work and aren’t able to be home with their kids during those long summer days.

And, then there are also the parents who are fortunate enough to be able to stay at home with their kids. They too feel the strain of summer break as the days seem to drag on and on as summer rolls on by. The days can go by extremely slow when the kids aren’t involved in any summer activities. Therefore, pre-planning a few summer activities for your kids can be very beneficial for both you and your children! Below are a few fun summer activities that your kids may enjoy.

Horseback Riding Lessons: Learning how to ride a horse is not something everyone gets to do, making it a privilege for those who have the opportunity. If there is a nearby horse facility that offers horseback riding lessons during the summer, then this may be the perfect summer activity for your child. And, who knows, maybe it will be something they will want to pursue further! Regardless of whether it’s just a one-summer thing or turns into a passion for your child, horseback riding is an experience they won’t forget. Swim Camp: We have all heard about traditional summer camps, but what about a summer camp that’s for kids who love to swim? If you have a child…

I’m still in shock that we just finished up spring break. I mean, it seems like we just started the school year and here we are a little over a month away before school lets out for the summer! Time just seems to fly by faster with each passing year for me.

While I am very blessed to have a job that allows me to spend most of my time at home with the kids, summer breaks can get long for the kids and I both if I’m not adequately prepared for the 12-week break. For instance, last year, I wasn’t quite prepared for the break and about four days into summer break my son asked when he was going to get to go back to school.

Since I don’t want a repeat of last year, I have created this to-do list for preparing for summer break to help ensure that the kids and I both enjoy the entire summer break!

Shop the dollar stores. My kids are both young enough that they are still easily entertained with the cheap/silly toys found at the dollar stores. The dollar stores have lots of great toys for parents to whip out when the kids come and say, “mom, I’m bored.” Hula hoops, puzzles, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, etc. are just some of the treasures you can find here – and the best part is that they are all affordable! Book summer activities. One of the best things that I managed to do last year for my school-aged son was enroll him in a couple of week-long summer (day) camps. He participated in two art camps and a science camp. One of the camps was a half-day (from 8am until 11:30am) and the other two were all day camps (8am-4:30pm). Not only did he…

With spring and summer right around the corner, many people are beginning to think about what outdoor yard projects they need to put on the “to-do” list. My husband and I are included in this group of people as we have a pretty bare yard that needs a lot of TLC in order to fulfill our family’s needs and dreams.

As many of you know, we built our house just a couple of years ago and having the yard sodded was not an option as our front yard is roughly 10,000 sq. feet with the back yard about three-fourths the size of the front. Therefore, the past two springs and summer we have focused on killing the weeds while improving the grass. We also completed a landscaping project last fall as we put in our own stone-lined flower beds in the front.

While we are still looking for ways to improve the overall appearance of our yard, we are more focused on finding some fun outdoor features for the kids this year. Having a few outdoor activities for the kids will encourage them to find things to do outside during the warm weather instead of sitting inside watching the television. Below are a few outdoor features we are considering for our kiddos. Maybe they will give you some fresh ideas for what you can add to your backyard for the kids to enjoy this year!

Jungle Gym/Monkey Bars: As a child I can remember spending hours outside playing on the monkey bars that my parents had for us in our backyard. While I thought I was having a blast swinging from bar to bar, I was also getting some much needed exercise in. A jungle gym/monkey bar set is a great thing to add to your backyard as kids can…

We did t-ball last year, but this year it is going to be just a little different for our family. The big difference is that our youngest is now a toddler whereas last year he wasn’t fully mobile. He was perfectly happy sitting on a blanket or on our lap for the duration of the practices and games. This is definitely not going to be the case this year.

After a couple of weeks of practices, I’ve finally figured out a few tricks for how to survive these events with a toddler in tow. I’m sure as we work our way throughout the summer, I will acquire a few more tips for my “tool bag,” but these are what I have so far. If you have toddler that you will be toting around for your older kids’ activities this summer, feel free to give a few of these a try!

Bring a variety of snacks. Toddlers burn a lot of energy, especially once they really start getting around good. While it can be a little tiring digging for the snacks, when you are at summer activities, these snacks serve two purposes: 1) they re-energize the kiddos and, 2) they take up time. Getting toddlers to slow down is definitely a game and providing them with a variety of snacks is a good way to do it. This is especially true when you pull them out at different times throughout the event Go for a walk. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to get a toddler to sit still, nothing works. This is when I take the little one for a walk. If we are at t-ball practice, we walk around the edges of the field where I can still see what’s going on and how big brother is doing,…