Not That There's Anything Wrong With That - Once Upon A Puzzle Ponders Summer

 

Summer is coming and the children will be off from school for a loooong time...not that there's anything wrong with that...

I'm going to veer off a little from our usual blog posts to offer suggestions, ask for help and vent. Consider yourself warned.

Now I love the "little buttercups" just as much as the next mom but the thought of the long expanse of summer makes me think of, well, let's just say it isn't pretty (and yes, I know it's barely May).

We are fortunate enough to have local, affordable programs that my younger two will be attending - a week here, a week there, etc. My older child... not so much.

That leaves a lot of "off" time in the equation. I am a firm believer in a little down time now and again, however, my question is: How do I keep any and all of them from becoming "Couch Jockeys"?

• I have had success with Summer Bridge Activity workbooks. These are age appropriate worksheets that can help junior from forgetting what they learned the previous school year in a sticky, watermelon-clouded summer haze. We give the children a weekly assignment and they can decide when they want to complete it during that week. Aren’t we the progressive, diplomatic parents? Actually it saves us from being the bad-guys and makes them responsible for getting it done. (Hee-hee)

• Craft supplies, craft supplies, craft supplies. Have I mentioned craft supplies? Clay, pipe cleaners, decorative paper and beads have saved my sanity more often than a gimlet and a foot rub (Okay, they're also a lot easier to get). Alone, in pairs or the whole group have been known to break out something from the craft closet and wile away an afternoon "creating". They use their imaginations, work on motor skills and they aren't saying "Mom? Mom?? Mom!!!" every eight seconds. Now that's "WINNING" (take THAT Mr. Sheen).

• What do puzzles, board games and Just Dance 2 have in common? They are all fantastic group/solo children's activities. Puzzles are great for children myriad ways the least of which is strengthening developmental skills (don't tell the youngins’... it might spoil their fun...). My kids love to play board games both against their friends or by themselves. Okay, they don't exactly play by the rules when there is just a party of one involved but they use the game parts to create their own version of... something - it changes every time. Just Dance 2 is a new entry at our house. It's a video game in which the players jump around like lunatics, gyrating and sweating trying to replicate the dance movements on the screen. The kids are up and moving, learning to follow instructions and I would pay cash-money to watch them play because it is absolutely HILLARIOUS to witness!

• Books, word puzzles and Sudoku. Now this isn't exactly anti-couch-potato fodder but they are great summer activities. Our children all register and participate in our local library's summer reading program. Heck, if they are willing to read a slew of books for a rubber snake and a tee shirt - Where do I sign?!? The kids spend countless hours on the porch swing, in the hammock or yes... on the dreaded couch, reading. Their brains are developing, their vocabularies are increasing and they aren't chasing each other with badminton rackets in the dining room. B I N G O!

I’m sure as the dreaded highly anticipated end of school approaches I will have added more activities to my summer-survival tool kit. 

Do you have any “Summer-Sanity-Saver” ideas to share? We’d love to hear from you. Unless you’d like to keep them all for yourself… not that there’s anything wrong with that…

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