How many of you have school-aged kids? *raising hand*
How many of you dread hearing the words, “I’m bored!” *slightly raising hand*
Whether your kids are young and just moving up a grade in elementary school, or they are being promoted from junior high to high school (my kids–ugh), or, maybe they’ve graduated high school…it seems that one of the dreaded questions parents face is “what are we doing this summer?” (in addition to many, many more I’m sure).
For our family, summer will include some travel softball. Our daughter, Kirsten, plays for the SI Aftershock. They have some tournaments coming up, and I have to say, I am a little excited to see them play. One of the perks of traveling for softball is we usually get to do things as a family. Most of the softball parks will allow a cooler, so there’s always an option for a picnic. Our son, Caden, judges the parks on a “Caden-friendly” system: 1. Do they have a concession stand? 2 Do they have a playground? He’s pretty much a fan of most of the venues we go to for softball.
In addition to softball, we hope to get in some weekend road trips to visit family and friends. Of course, Memphis comes to these trips (and softball games too), so we may have to do a little extra planning (stopping on the way for bathroom breaks, or breaks for him just to get out and stretch).
Not all of us have a money tree out back, so, if you are on a budget, or you just want to stick close to home, here are a few ideas you can use if you are wanting to avoid that summer boredom while school is out…
- Create a family scavenger hunt. Maybe you can create your own list of items to look for, or things around the house/neighborhood. Regardless of where and what you do with a scavenger hunt, you are still spending time together as a family.
- Cool off with a dip in a pool! Maybe your town has a local pool, or there’s a waterpark close by—visit that for some fun in the sun and water. Be sure to take your sunscreen, though!
- Visit a museum, or take a road trip to explore a museum…for us, we have to road trip a little, but for some, museums might be really close to your town/neighborhood. Whatever you do, a learning experience is good for summer break!
- Explore nature! We are so close to many hiking trails, parks, and just gorgeous beauty of southern Illinois…and we don’t get out to see it often due to busy schedules. I hope this summer we can take our bikes out or take a walk and just see the beauty that is in our area.
We are all about the memories at our house! Are there times where we might need a break from each other? Sure. Do we ever want to stay home and sleep in? Uh, yeah. But–our kids are growing up so.fast. We have a soon-t0-be-fourth grader AND a soon-t0-be-freshman (in high school). Ugh. Can they go back to being little kids? Maybe around 3, 4 years old? Time certainly flies when you are having fun. I know we enjoy the time we have together. Make the most of your summer! Make memories!
I love making memories with this crew! <3