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Can you believe it is just about the half-way mark for summer? If your kids are anything like mine, the battle cries of, “We are bored!” and “What are we doing today?” have started to fill the time between waking up and finishing my first cup of coffee.
I always like to hold out on some tricks up my sleeve for August. July is often filled with family visits, sleeping late and the standard quo ice cream, bike trips, pool days and backyard shenanigans. It’s busy and exciting and non-stop with late nights and jam-packed days.
Enter August. The back-to-school ads start popping up, supply lists come home and the reading project from school that’s been hanging from the fridge finally gets looked at. Even with all of that, fear not, because there is still plenty of time to kick back and check some items off the “list o’fun”.
Need some inspiration? Here are just a few of our favorites, in case you need to fill a weekend, a day or just an hour or two. 1. Rainy day/too hot? How about a PJ movie day? Set up a tent in the living room and watch from in there to make it even cooler! Don’t forget the snacks. 2. Have a few hours to spare? We love those cooking show challenges but my kiddos are not allowed to use the stove just yet. No worries. Pull out some random pantry ingredients and have the kids make a brand-new dessert creation. We like marshmallows, pretzels, cereal, chocolate chips, peanut butter, and candy of course! Don’t forget to give it a name and then invent something delicious and easy. Points for creativity, appearance, and taste. (I like to be the judge.) 3. Lots of school projects and drawings from June still laying around? Have souvenirs from your last road trip with no place to go? Why not create a family time capsule. Everyone can contribute a few things and write a letter to themselves for 10 years from now. Add a picture or two. Bury it in the yard or hide it up on a top shelf. Don’t forget to label it with a “Do not open until date.” 4. Need to get some yard work done? Let the kids have a little garage sale. Make signs and set up a small table. Let them sell the toys they don’t play with anymore or the bracelets they always make. Let them keep half the profit and donate the other half to your favorite charity, school, church, or the next ice cream run! Someone can be the banker, the planner, the advertiser, and the salesman/saleswoman. 5. Want to include some neighbors or friends? Have a wonderful babysitter or older cousin visiting? Why not set up backyard Olympics? Water balloon or egg toss. An obstacle course, potato sack races, tug of war, and dizzy bat relays are fun for everyone. Make teams with colors assigned or a theme. Add snacks, music, and prizes for added spectacle!
There are so many fun and easy ways to keep the summer going and to have the best one ever. Try some of these or make your own list together, as a family. The possibilities and memories to be made are endless.
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