My children have ten days left of school. Sometimes by this time of year, I am tired of the routine of mornings, homework, and packing lunches and am ready for school to be over. This year isn’t one of those years. Summer has really snuck up on me.
I’ve got to get some stuff planned for the boys. They are all much too old to be interested in the sand box and bubbles. I do want them to have a lot of down time this summer, unscheduled fun – those days where they can just play and be creative. But I know we need to some other things too.
Tomorrow I’m signing all my kids up for swimming lessons. And they have the option of continuing their guitar lessons. And my ten year olds want to do “farm camp” again this year. There are so many other options too. Some of the museums have special days and exhibits for young children. The library not only has the summer reading club, but specials plays, magic shows, and crafts. Our zoo does a day camp where the children learn about animals and get to make lunch for the monkeys! Our art center offers camps and classes on pottery, photography, cartooning, magic, painting, and drawing. And our parks department offers tennis lessons for children. Even the roller rinks are offering summer packages.
The more I look, the more I find. I see classes for weight lifting, rock climbing, scout camps, karate lessons, gymnastics,computer classes, and language lessons. We could easily fill up every minute of summer.
But I don’t want to do that. I really think we all benefit from some slower and unstructured days. So this weekend we’ll talk about all the options and figure out the best things to do. But we only pick a few so that we leave space for those lazy popsicle eating days.
Also see:
A-Z Summer Activites for Homeschoolers pt 1(A-G)