6 Ways to Prevent Bored Kids This Summer

Keeping kids busy during the summer can be challenging. I mean, really challenging. Especially when their ages vary and my kids are 4.5, 8, 10.5 and 13.5 so I can really empathize with busy moms that have bored kids. Here’s what we’ve been up to this summer:

• Get creative – At the beginning of summer I had a great idea, I went to Michael’s during a sale lucky me) and purchased some acrylic paint, paint brushes and about 25 canvases. It would be the summer of painting! There are tons of BYOB painting studios springing up, this is more like Bring Your Own Lemonade, but just as fun! Turns out, this project is a hit with EVERYONE – my kids, cousins, friends, and various other people that have been to our house this summer. Yes, I will have 25 finished canvases at the end of summer. My plan is to make an art wall in my house and probably select some for gifts (holiday gifts for grandparents? Done.).
• Pool time – We do lots of this. The diving board is our biggest hit. My kids can swim for hours. We added a few pairs of swim goggles this summer and those have been getting a lot of use as well. Various pool toys and friends can keep things interesting.
• Staycation – We had friends from Chicago in town for a visit and we crashed their hotel. We had a great time at the hotel pool and enjoyed the water slide too. We are considering doing this later in the summer again as our whole family had a blast. Since we live in a resort town, this is something a lot of locals wind up doing because there are great rates in the summer and its fun just to get into a different environment once in awhile.
• Sleepaway Camp – this year 3 of my kids ventured off to sleepaway camp. We feel extremely privileged to have a family budget to allow for this. An alternate to sleepaway camp is to arrange an overnight stay or two with friends or relatives in or out of town. During the time the other kids were at camp, our youngest, Molly was an only child (it was strange because we’ve never had just a 4.5 yr old before). My husband and I decided to make one of his business trips a family vacation and we took Molly with us to Seattle for some fun! That week she got to explore the Space Needle, the Chihuly exhibit, Pike Street Market, Mercer Island, Bellevue, some rain and cooler weather along with having her mom and dad all to herself.
• About Town – We’ve explored our local community center and used the pool there to change things up a bit. Had some jumping fun at the local trampoline place, AZ Airtime. Worked in some Barbie playtime, got our summer haircuts, visited the dentist and orthodontist offices, had some girly time to do nails and enjoyed time on the tennis courts with Grandpa as well.
• Summer Vacation – We are taking our annual family trip to Northern Michigan later this summer and will ENJOY the lake and all that it has to offer. We can’t wait to escape the heat for a bit and get to do some water sports.

What keeps you & yours occupied during the summer?